This Week in Mormons

[dropcap]G[/dropcap]iven our production schedule the past few weeks, we haven't actually discussed the big one: the Church's wealth! In case you missed it, a whistleblower alleged that the Church has mishandled charitable contributions and used them to either build a war chest or bail out other for-profit, Church-owned entities as opposed to spending the charitable contributions on charitable purposes. The Church is famously opaque about its finances, but that was not always the case. You might have read in passing that Salt Lake used to publish financial reports well into the 20th century, but then stopped sometime in the 1950s or 160s. The presumption is that this was to avoid shedding a light on all of our money. However, that wasn't the case, as this great op ed explains. It was to avoid embarrassment for being in the red during the McKay era due to spending so much money on international expansion. The tradition has continued, but at this point, for what purpose? Who is benefiting from caginess about money? We don't need to know everything, but perhaps some greater detail would take away the mystery and the bogeyman in the process. For its part, the First Presidency released a statement that largely said nothing new, and Newsroom also published an article purporting to explain how Church funds are used, but it was also (perhaps predictably) bereft of detail. If you want to see that lack of detail in video form, enjoy below. There's actually been news not related to the Church having a portfolio half the size of Apple's cash on hand! The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington performed at the Washington, D.C. Temple visitors center as part of the beloved Festival of Lights celebration. This seems like a perfectly good thing, right? Ecumenism! Outreach! New friendly relationships! Well, many of you on Facebook did not think so, and that makes us sad. In temple news on the other side of the country, the Salt Lake Temple is now closed for about four years to undergo the largest, most extensive renovation in its history. As one might expect, there are many couples who  have wanted to wed in the historic building, which resulted in a major crunch of weddings leading up to the temple's closure. One bride even reserved the temple before even being engaged! Also in Utah, a man claiming to be frustrated with the gentler sex's refusal to pay him the attention he feels he deserves decide to run around in the Logan Utah Temple with an ax. Neat.

Merry Christmas to you! To mix things up a bit this week, we've gotten together your favorite This Week in Mormons co-hosts to share personal stories of Christmas most relevant to them. You'll find laughter, tears, joy, and humility in these stories from Tiffany Hales, Devin Thorpe, Al Doan, Kurt Francom, Jared Gillins, Arianne Smith, and Geoff Openshaw. We hope they will bring you Christmas cheer. Transcript Geoff Openshaw: [0:16] Hello my little elves to die Santa. Headed to this week in Mormons thanks for taking the time to tune in this week because this week is Christmas were right upon it we wanted to mix things up a little bit. So what follows in this special episode are small Christmas anecdotes from the various co-hosts of this week in Mormons. Some of the stories are humorous some of the stories are tearjerkers summer touching summer spiritual summer secular. [0:45] What's Ray's we see the common threads of the Christmas season through different lenses through different hosts I want to take this time out front to thank everyone who participated and to get things kicked off. We're going to hand it over to our very own Tiffany Hales of the twin sisters was a story. About how she eventually got the best of her mother during Christmas. Tiffany Hales: [1:17] Now you may think the game of Survivor was invented by Mark Burnett and made famous by CVS and its host Jeff proust but you would be incorrect. The game of Survivor was invented by me and my mother. During my entire childhood Christmas was a dance my mother and I played to see who could outwit outplay Outlast, my mother never wanted anybody to know what they were getting for Christmas, she was famous for wrapping small items in big boxes with extra heavy items like bags of beans or towels to throw you off when you were trying to guess the gif, and you always had to guess the gift before opening it so it became a game between me and my mother for her to outwit my guessing skills, now my guessing skills became finely-tuned and quite Adept at a very early age I would scour the house for all the hiding places for presents until my parents got smart and started keeping the presents at my dad's business. [2:20] I would dig through the trash for receipts, I would look in the trash for bags from stores I would even go into my mother's sewing room and dig through the fabric scraps in her trash to figure out what she might be making me I would eavesdrop on conversations and I would unwrap and rewrap a present and you couldn't even tell I was obnoxious and I'm pretty sure I drove my mother that to the brink of Christmas insanity, no Christmas 1975 was a particularly memorable one in our game of Survivor I was 8 years old, the rule in my family was you could not have a Barbie and her accompanying accessories until you were 8 years old. I turned eight about a month before Christmas and received my first Barbie so of course for Christmas I wanted all of Barbie's accessories, specifically the carrying case with the fold-down bed and her Country Camper. I had picked them out of the Sears catalog as usual I could not sleep on Christmas Eve with the excitement of Christmas and my anticipated new Barbie toys. [3:27] Sleeping on Christmas Eve or rather not sleeping on Christmas Eve was normal and again part of the game of Survivor that my mom and I would play I would always be sent to bed about 10 p.m. I would struggle to fall asleep, and I usually wake up somewhere between 3 and 4 a.m. which was generally shortly after my mother went to bed we would then spend the next 4 hours with my parents yelling at me to get back in bed, threatening to take away my Christmas presents if I didn't I got really good at being as quiet as a church...

Original picture: Merrick's Art [dropcap]H[/dropcap]ave you survived your ward Christmas party? Did kids disappear? Was all hope lost? Was the program too long? Did Santa make an appearance? This is serious stuff! Tiffay is very bothered by Geoff's, Al's, and Devin's thoughts on the forthcoming Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, going as far as saying she has "street cred" on this issue. Do. Not. Mess. With. Tiffany. Either way, the Sisters are excited now that the cast has been revealed, a member of which is LDS and owns a tequila company.... Did you catch the Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert? How did such an affair become such a tradition? The Deseret News has the answer. In more Christmas news, what have the prophets said about Santa Claus? If this matters to you — and it shouldn't — LDS Living compiled a list containing such pertinent information. Here's a tragic tale of competing visions of what it means to "sustain" leaders and how it relates to LGBT rights. A young missionary from Idaho, serving in California, favored same-sex marriage. His stake president approved of him going to the temple and going on a mission. While in the field, the missionary lost his recommend. His mission president did not believe that he could sustain his Church leaders if he favored same-sex marriage, and a Seventy agreed. The problem? You can't be a missionary if you don't have a temple recommend. Related to same-sex marriage, we reported about 18 months ago that Family Search would be updated to allow records for same-sex couples. That effort has taken many years because the back-end infrastructure has required a complete rewrite to support such relationships. Now, the Church has announced that the functionality is live. Jeremy Goff is something of an influencer on Facebook. But sometimes noted bloggers are desperate for content, which brings us to his recent piece, "Have I Covenanted to Go to Church When I Am Sick?" No, you have not. Look, we've written stuff in desperation for clicks, too, but, come on.... The supposedly Latter-day Saint-friendly Trump administration, via the Department of Homeland Security, is dramatically increasing the cost to access records - by 500%. Mitt Romney is trying to stop it.

[dropcap]J[/dropcap]osie! Josie! Josie! We're thrilled to have our favorite expat back in the studio, and there's been plenty of international news to cover since we last spoke with Josie Gleave. Due to a protest at Utah's capitol building in supporting of Utah ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment, a long-gestating proposed Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Church felt it important to first have no comment, and then an hour later revise that lack of comment with a reminder that the Church's position on the issue hasn't change in 40 years. (See this primer from 1980 that elaborates in detail on said position.) But what is the issue with a piece of legislation that would codify equality between the genders? We know that women are paid less than men. We know that women face inequities in social situations. We know hat women aren't privy to the same opportunities as men. So what's wrong with formally banning such practices? It's more complicated than you'd think, and as is often the case with these sorts of things, the Church is wrapped up in wording and potentially broad interpretations therein as opposed to the idea of equality itself. In other political news, the Church has come out in favor of a federal Fairness for All Act as a replacement for the already passed Equality Act. The bill, sponsored by Utah Congressman Chris Stewart (R), is modeled after a similar piece of legislation that made it through Utah's legal apparatus recently. It aims to find a middle ground or a compromise in protection LGBT rights while allowing for some carve-outs that would allow church's and church-owned institutions (see: BYU), as well as small businesses some leeway in not providing services or employment to those who live a so-called "lifestyle" that contravenes one's convictions. Human rights groups have already decried the bill, arguing that compromise isn't appropriate when it comes to fundamental rights for a portion of the populations. Refugees, and immigration in general, remain a hot-button issue in the United States and elsewhere. The Church quietly released a statement affirming its supported of embattled communities, and encouraging members to accommodate those who are forced out of their homeland in search of safety and peace. However, a seemingly minor inclusion encouraging Latter-day Saints to use "legal" means to support these individuals is bound to become an excuse among a certain ostensibly rule-of-law focused subset of our population to ignore these individuals and continue on a path of discrimination and xenophobia. Don't be that person. These are all God's children who elected to keep their first estate. Also, the Church proudly reshared a Washington Post article (you don't see this much on official Church channels) discussing the work being done with refugees in Utah after the Trump administration has paved the way for states to block these programs. Lastly, the Church has now said it will support a conversion therapy ban in Utah.

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or those in the United States, we hope you had a great Thanksgiving and did not succumb to the worldly deluge the is Black Friday. (But we do hope that you had a fabulous Cyber Monday.) Comedy is a fickle medium. What's funny to one is not funny to another. Moreover, what passes as comedy in some environments is considered rude or inappropriate in others. Latter-day Saints are no strangers to comedy, having pursued it with varying degrees of success. BYUtv is eager to capitalize on the need to bring appropriate, uplifting comedy to the masses, and it has done so with its new hit improv comedy show, Show Offs. Lest you be confused, Show Offs is not just improv in the vein of Whose Line Is It, Anyway? Rather, it is long-form improvisational comedy neatly packaged for families. It's great. Two stars of the show, Hailey Smith and Lisa Valentine Clark, who joined us four years ago to promote One I Was a Beehive, are back in the studio to discuss comedy as it pertains to Latter-day Saints, the unique struggles and opportunities they face not just as women in comedy, but Mormon women in comedy, how they work with Hollywood A-listers (and keeping some of them clean is part of the fun), and what it's like to continue working in a Utah-based market for so many years. Transcript Geoff Openshaw: [0:00] Hey hey hey it this week in Mormons, love we have all of you with us today and always I am Geoff openshaw you were Intrepid host if you like what you hear please smash that subscribe button and whatever you're listening on make sure you're a regular repeating and give us a visit at this week in Mormons. Cam where you can not only listen to the show or other shows you can also read some of our, our news coverage some of our original blog content and all sorts of lovely things so we thank you for doing that in advance, so we're thrilled to be joined today by none other than esteemed comedienne-actor — I don't know exactly which gender pronouns are using nowadays — Hailey Smith of Show Offs. Hailey Smith: [0:46] Hey how's it going. Geoff Openshaw: [0:48] I'm doing great thanks so much for being here how are you doing. Hailey Smith: [0:51] Oh I am doing great so happy to be here thank you. Geoff Openshaw: [0:56] Just just a quiz you do you know where you are and that do you know what show you're on right now I want to see if you ask. Hailey Smith: [1:02] Oh I had something with something about this week or I'm familiar with the group. Geoff Openshaw: [1:12] Did you remember that you were actually on the show Once 4 years ago. Hailey Smith: [1:16] I do remember that yeah it was good times have I had to buy all with a few technical difficult. Geoff Openshaw: [1:25] We both have a lot of technical difficulties that was on here as well with Lisa Valentine Clark once I was a beehive so I think it's streaming scriptures or something like that, I think so. Hailey Smith: [1:41] Yeah I know it. Geoff Openshaw: [1:43] It might even be on Amazon Amazon Prime Prime Cut a random sore LDS related films to but. Hailey Smith: [1:48] Yeah. Geoff Openshaw: [1:50] So that was a lot of fun in that you referenced as we have all kinds of fun technical difficulties I actually review the episode before we talk today and it cracked me up how much stuff we left in there, oh my God hold on it said Lisa popped in here. Hailey Smith: [2:05] O Visa.

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]evin Thorpe, the nicest person alive and host of Your Mark on the World with Devin Thorpe, is in the guest seat today. We love you, Devin! Arguably the biggest story this week is BYU-Idaho's decision to stop accepting Medicaid, the government-sponsored health care plan for low-income individuals and families. University policy requires students to have a form of health insurance, and without Medicaid, some students are required to purchase BYU's more expensive health care plan. What is the deal here folks? Update since time of recording: BYU-Idaho has rescinded the policy. Check out this new Nativity video, The Christ Child. The Church has gone to enormous lengths to make it as historically accurate as possible, and we dare say, it might be the best Nativity video ever produced by anyone ever. Period. Related to that, apparently there is a faith-affirming legend that the Three Wise Men are actually Samuel the Lamanite, Nephi, and Lehi. Yes. This is real. Google it! Mormons love Disney, so it should come as no surprise that Google search traffic over the past year has shown Utah to be, far and away, the U.S. state with the most interest in Disney+, the recently released streaming service. Peggy Fletcher Stack has a new article about polygamy, particularly how the practice remains an eternal principle within Mormonism even if it's currently illegal. Moreover, men may be sealed to two women at the same time while all parties are still alive. What does this mean for Latter-day Saint women who are uncomfortable with the practice? Since the October General Conference, we've been speculating what the upcoming 2020 General Conference "unlike any other" might entail. We got a small peek into that this week when the First Presidency announced that instead of a Women's Meeting or Priesthood Session on Saturday night, there will be a Saturday evening session for everyone age 11 and up, and the letter hints at the proceedings focusing on the Restoration. Who knows if this is a permanent change or not. The Church has been involved in essential charity work of late. In Cambodia, it has been improving hospitals, this hot off the heels of announcing an amazing-looking temple. In Papua New Guinea, the Church has helped provide beds. In addition, the Church

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e've got a smattering of a news, a veritable cornucopia of information for you to digest as it relates to Latter-day Saints. Plus, TWiM founder and all-around wonderful human, Al Doan, is back in the hot seat along with Geoff. There's a new white handbook for missionaries. To be clear, this is not a replacement of Preach My Gospel, which is more of a missionary manual. The white handbook, which now has a faded image of Christ on the front (how Catholic of us, having Jesus near our hearts!) contains rules and regulations, as well as best practices for missionaries. It was last updated in 2010. In other missionary news, North American (i.e. American and Canadian) missionaries were pulled from the Bolivia Cochabamba Mission last week following weeks of civil unrest due to disputed elections in the Andean republic. No missionaries have been harmed, but given the history of violence against Latter-day Saint missionaries in Bolivia, it's understandable that the Church is being cautious. The final details have been revealed for the much-hyped Children and Youth program, following a "Face-to-Face" event with Elder Gerrit W. Gong and organizational leaders. Goals will be made! Pendants will be worn! Rings will be placed upon fingers! Mutual will cease to be fun (per Al)! Additionally, a few outlets have wondered why the Young Men's theme does not gel with that of the Young Women when it comes to recognizing Heavenly Mother. Also, there's this amazing post by Elder Gong: You can follow the new Children and Youth program at Strivetobe. Lots has been happening in Southeast Asia this week! President Nelson is on a tour of the region at present. First, he stopped in Vietnam, a country that recently granted the Church a certificate of operation of sorts only last week. Next, he was off to Cambodia, where he revealed the amazing design of the Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple. In crucial Latter-day Saint news, we've all learned that the Real Housewives franchise is coming to Salt Lake City. How many ministering assignments will be ruined? How many releases will be extended? How many overly pious women will make Latter-day Saints look like close-minded fools, and how many media outlets will be more than happy to run with that story? It's going to be interesting. Farewell, "Mormon Moment." According to an article at the Exponent II, motherhood may be bad for your health. Well, yes. Motherhood is not easy.

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]ragedy has struck a Latter-day Saint offshoot in Mexico, with Mexican cartels executing women and children near the Mormon colonies. As the affected families mourn, many have noted that these individuals are not Mormons, but fundamentalists unrelated to the Utah church. So what defines a "Latter-day Saint" or a "Mormon"? Who owns the right to be called a "Mormon"? And why are Mormons in Mexico in the first place? Let's talk about bishops. Should we still call released bishops "bishop"? Kurt, a former bishop, has experience with this. Geoff, as his usual self, demands that all female leaders be addressed as "President" following their release. Also, what is a bishop's most important duty in the new era of Young Men and Young Women organization? On to Utah, land of glory and fry sauce. We now know the location of the unfortunately named second temple in the St. George metropolitan area. Wikipedia also has a wonderful article about "Utah Mormon English," reminding us all that Utah is weak! We're a few years removed from Russia adopting strict laws regarding religious activity, some of which have even caused the closure of entire missions, but now we've seen a Jehovah's Witness imprisoned simply for living his faith. Russia. Our friend in peace. Do you make a difference in your calling? Our own Jeff Borders wonders that very thing. As a convert, he had unique experiences when he received a certain calling, and he wasn't sure if he was being successful. Matthew Gong, son of apostle Elder Gerrit W. Gong, is gay. He recently penned a birthday letter to himself where he elaborated on his experience as the gay son of a prophet. It's a great read that covers many bases, but it forces us to ask ourselves whether our religion, our church,

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t's a week of temples, Halloween post mortems, garment reviews, and Church school news. Jared Gillins is back to bring his special brand of wit and brilliance to the proceedings. Are ward trunk or treat activities ruining the community vibe of Halloween (i.e. are parents not bothering with actual Halloween in the neighborhood in favor of the ward activity)? One op-ed writer for the Salt Lake Tribune seems to think so. If you have ever been in a leadership position, you might be familiar with the wonder that is the "reporting month." The problem is, the "quarterly" report is poorly representative of actual attendance and outreach efforts. The Church is looking to change that a bit with a move to count and record sacrament meeting attendance weekly. This is huge! Trust us. http://www.thisweekinmormons.com/2019/11/were-one-step-closer-to-the-end-of-the-reporting-month-with-weekly-sacrament-meeting-attendance-records/ On to temple news. Moses Lake, Washington, a reasonably small metropolitan area, is slated to receive a temple, and now the Church has revealed said temple's location, right on some farmland off of Interstate 90. Some source, reportedly on the record, have stated that the Washington DC Temple open house will occur in fall 2020, over two and a half years after the temple closed for major renovation work. After a number of temples were closed because of weather damage, then quietly rebuilt from the studs up, we wondered how long it would take to finish such work. We've already seen the rededications of temples in Oklahoma, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Now, the last of them, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, will finally be open to the public before a dedication ceremony. http://www.thisweekinmormons.com/2018/03/mini-temples-renovation-complete-rebuilt/ This one's for the men out there. Who has purchased the new Cotton Stretch garment style? Do they breathe at the expense of being too tight? Do the new cuts sufficiently hide your thunder? Geoff and Jared have both tried them out and have competing visions. Also, should garments be worn 24/7? Jana Riess wonders. The Tabernacle Choir will be joined by singer Kelli O'Hara and narrator Richard Thomas at its annual Christmas concert. Will mail robots be safe?! Now onto Church schools. BYU once considered opening satellite campuses throughout the west. How would this have changed things?

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hat a week! The Sisters are back after their wonderful General Conference recap appearance to bring you their solo (soli?) show. How's your Halloween prep going? Does your ward have a trunk or treat activity? What of the hilarious people making headstones to commemorate all of the Church programs that are now DEAD? Tiffany receives a call to be the ward family history consultant, but everything is nebulous. What are her responsibilities? What is the reporting structure? Nothing is organized! Apparently the calling is supposed to be a priesthood leader, but it's all a mess. So what happened? Is she still the leader while someone else has the title? We were remiss in talking about women now being allowed to serve as witnesses for baptisms. Anyone who is a member of the Church can, in fact! And women can witness for sealings! The Sisters have a powerful perspective on this. How wonderful it is to see a girl sitting in a witness chair in the baptistry. The Church appears to be getting involved in Cuba! In a shocking appearance, the Cuban ambassador to the United States visited with President Nelson in Salt Lake City, describing the saints as "welcome" in his communist country. Neat! Kristin Chenoweth demands that Kelly Clarkson sing with the Tabernacle Choir. C'mon, Kelly! Stop hosting your weird daytime talk show and siiiiiiiing with us! Noted blogger, Jana Riess runs a first and second part in a series breaking down the new temple recommend questions, describing them as "clear as mud." Is that the case, or is Jana trying to find problems where they don't exist? If you want to send some love to our buddy, Al, Inc. carried a podcast covering the Missouri Star Quilt Co, his baby. Mormons Behaving Badly! * A Utah woman is charged with illegal sexual conduct with two underage girls * A Mormon financial planner sentenced to 14 years in prison for scams! * An assessor in AZ had a side hustle - of running an illegal adoption ring The University of Utah to

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t's been a week of humorous highs and sobering lows when it comes to Latter-day Saint related news. Our international correspondent, Josie Gleave, is with us to has it all out. Let's talk about Pierre. It seems one Willard "Mitt" Romney has been skulking about the depths of Twitter using a pseudonym, according to a great new profile by friend of TWiM, McKay Coppins. However, what was a cursory mention of said Twitter lurking led Slate to investigate further, and they have discovered Romney's secret life! Mitt Romney has, narrowly, won the internet for the week! Our friends at The Cultural Hall also managed to secure an interview with the "real" Pierre Delecto, who is concerned about Romney trying to co-opt his identity. That's not the only Mitt Romney news. The Los Angeles Times picked up on the so-called "White Horse Prophecy" and how Mittens may be a fulfillment of it. Of course, the Times goes to no lengths to explain that the "prophecy" is apocryphal at best and forms no part of Latter-day Saint canon. Besides, we saw North Korea's leader on a white horse only this week! Important news! Geoff is appearing in a Reddit AMA on October 23. Sign up for Reddit and be there! In more important political news, this week, the Church came out against a Utah bill that would ban conversion therapy, a process to essentially flip a gay individual over to straight. The practice has long been decried by professionals and even the Church. (The Church goes to lengths to explain that Family Services expressly prohibits its counselors from employing any form of conversion therapy.) As expected, most media seized upon this with headlines along the lines of "Mormons Refuse to Denounce Conversion Therapy," but as is the case with headlines, that fails to tell the whole story. We get more in depth about the Church's reasons for not backing this bill, and a lot of it comes down to semantics. Using his heightened apostolic sense, President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, seems to think not all is well in the United States. What could possibly be wrong?! In a meeting in Massachusetts that was broadcast across the northeast United States, President Ballard encouraged Latter-day Saints to pray for the United States, that it can be led by righteous individuals, and that proper rule of law and morality can prevail. Geoff chooses to see this as an oblique critique of the Trump administration. Josie, the expat, is baffled by such US-centric counsel coming out. Which leads us to international news. Singapore celebrates the Church's 50th anniversary in the country with an

Devin Thorpe, arguably among the 10 nicest persons in the world, is in the hot seat as we hash through dozens of amazing Latter-day Saint news stories! Did you know that the sacrament prayers are grammatically wrong? This is the hot-ticket news you need to know! Mac Christensen, founder of fabled Utah apparel chain Mr. Mac, passes away at age 85. He's remember by thousands of missionaries who loved his polyester suits. Are Mormons to the rescue in the every-downward spiral of American politics? The New York Times explores one Willard "Mitt" Romney and whether Latter-day Saints will finally be the bulwark against Donald Trump. Also from the New York Times, a fascinating overview of the burgeoning film industry in Utah, some of it done by the Church itself, other parts from independent filmmaking. One thing is crucial: Kirby Heyborne lives. A couple random mentions: the president of Kiribati visits President Nelson, a beer truck spills its load all over a meetinghouse parking lot in Sandy, President Nelson is off to carry on his Global Ministry tour in Southeast Asia, and a school in Utah will open a time capsule from 1887! Oh hey! The beloved Layton Utah Temple rendering has been released. The temple looks... fine. http://www.thisweekinmormons.com/2019/10/rendering-released-of-layton-utah-temple/ Devin shares a wonderful story of black Latter-day Saints finding the gospel, and personal insights into the lift of the priesthood ban in 1978. The Church Newsroom has been sort of neutered in terms of its social media presence. Want to visit the Newsroom on Instagram? Too bad! http://thisweekinmormons.com/2019/09/church-combines-social-media-accounts-of-newsroom-and-main-pages Ugh. Latter Day Matchmaker is at it again... Check out this very random video where two different analysts independently peg the date of the First Vision! LDS Earth Stewardship is a thing! Transcript Geoff Openshaw: [0:00] Everybody Geoff openshaw here before we get to the show I just want to wish you a brief apology and before you think I'm going to apol...

[dropcap]G[/dropcap]eneral Conference was amazing! What a weekend. Even aside from some incredible changes for youth as well as some amazing new temple announcements (that matched up gorgeously with our predictions), there were so many fantastic talks this weekend that we hardly have time for it all. So join Geoff Openshaw, Kurt Francom, Jared Gillins, and the TWiM Sisters as they break down their favorite conference talks as well as the incredible news. Plus, we get to wonder what the heck is going to happen with conference in April????? Plus, if you missed our Tie Tracker, well, don't miss the Tie Tracker! Transcript Geoff: [0:00] Everybody thanks so much for tuning in once again to this weekend warm it's been a busy week of podcasts on Twin we're going to turn out like, technically speaking 3 episodes within a 7-Day time span and Kurt I am very sorry for your suffering, responsible for two-thirds of those episodes but we're very glad everybody's here.Kurt: [0:20] Whatever you need from me. Geoff: [0:23] Well you're very nice you're too nice to nice I'm going to say that open mics it's other post-conference rap episode where very excited to have a panel here this week already talking about this week is what we just had in general conference all the cool things that went down and honestly will baby do five minutes of recapping talks and then spend a good hour a speculating on what the heck is going to happen in April 2020, for General Conference cuz that's really all anybody's going to care about I kid I kid, very happy to be here let me introduce our panel you have me of course Jeff up and show your founder and host of twin also joining me as I mentioned there was Kirk Franklin of leading Saints. Kurt: [1:02] What what hey Jeff have you been. Geoff: [1:05] What what also. Kurt: [1:06] I've got a list of speculations I'm ready to share. Geoff: [1:09] I'm sure you do I'm so cat good. Sisters: [1:15] Hi hello. Geoff: [1:19] How is Idaho. Sisters: [1:20] It's good we made it through conference weekend with all kinds of children I spent 1/2 of conference weekend in Logan with my college daughter I drove home last night. Geoff: [1:32] That sounds terrific. Sisters: [1:34] It was fun. Geoff: [1:35] I've barely been to look into my life anyway. Kurt: [1:37] I love you I love you or just your your post-conference dad voice it's I'm I'm right there with you man. Geoff: [1:44] This wonderful that's great dear that's wonderful and Ginger Gilligan's. Jared: [1:49] Hello I'm back can't keep me away. Geoff: [1:53] Nor would I ever want to you can knock on my door anytime you want for anything at all because most of because you are physically the person. Jared: [2:01] Astronaut have to drive for like 45 minutes but I could go. Geoff: [2:04] I don't live 45 minutes away this drives me crazy I work down in downtown DC and my colleagues I'll describe where I live at ...

On this special bonus edition of This Week in Mormons, we thought it would be fun to bring our semiannual temple predictions, which were just published a few days ago, to you in podcast form! Join Geoff Openshaw and Joe Peterson as they audible hash out temple predictions, explaining their choices, and lambasting those who disagree with them. Hear the voices of these nuanced scholars! Also worth checking out is this cool temple predictions matrix that amalgamates temple predictions from across the Bloggernaccle, assigns them a weighted score, and provides rankings, accordingly. It's pretty excellent! You could read the transcript, but you might as well just read the predictions in another tab while listening. That will give you the more robust TWiM experience. Transcript Joe Peterson: [0:00] I'm very sorry Jeff. Geoff Openshaw: [0:07] Everybody works out to do a little something here on this week in Mormons this week I am of course Geoff openshaw of your wonderful tour guide around this exciting place I'm joined, for the special episode by none other than Joseph Angie Peterson. Joe Peterson: [0:24] Oh man that takes me back yeah it's my first time so pardon. I didn't mean to rain on your parade there so are there. Geoff Openshaw: [0:32] I don't think it's your first time I think you did one episode of twin with me I don't even know. Joe Peterson: [0:36] I did write it was with our wives back in the day yeah yeah. Geoff Openshaw: [0:40] Oh we did do that one with the wives back in the day when we when we were neighbors and that was our. Joe Peterson: [0:45] That was fun. Geoff Openshaw: [0:46] That was a good show so Jo tell us about yourself and why you are involved in the Twin what is your relevance to being here and why are we here today. Joe Peterson: [0:56] Well Jeff I no longer your neighbor but according to what I'm reading that you wrote is that I am a sometimes social media and huge twin cheerleader. Geoff Openshaw: [1:09] Yes that sounds about right. Joe Peterson: [1:10] I would also add you know I'm I'm a contributor you know I don't write a ton but I. Geoff Openshaw: [1:15] Okay you're a contributor. Joe Peterson: [1:17] 20 + that are maybe even more than that articles for twin yeah I've been around the block with him for a while I I was more involved back in the day especially when we both lived in Virginia doing the social pretty pretty regularly and you know mostly on Facebook I think but I will occasionally hear you know now that live in Utah go to various boncom and other type influencer events or whatever, Maybe, shootout at We Tour to on behalf of twin but for the most part you and I are just friends and this is a cool thing that you do that I support. Geoff Openshaw: [1:55] Yeah man now you've always avoid the back and you do more than I think people would realize you might not be one of the voices all the time but you are heavily involved. Joe Peterson: [2:04] Behind the scenes. Geoff Openshaw: [2:06] You might be listening to this and wondering why on Earth am I here I just heard it episode with Jeff and Kurt like a day ago, that may be the case where is your temple predictions Joe and I do them together we've been doing them together semi-annually for many years now I think we're going back on and I don't know if 5S years probably ...

Photo by Jonathan Kland, LDS Architecture: ldsarchitecture.wordpress.com [dropcap]I[/dropcap]t's the week before General Conference, so naturally, Kurt and Geoff have some thoughts on what might be coming this weekend and how we can best prepare. Don't miss our General Conference rumors, either! http://thisweekinmormons.com/2019/09/october-2019-general-conference-rumor-roundup/ By Common Consent posted an interesting Twitter rant this week: One blog's opinion: people don't want less church. They want better church. They want experiences that bring them together. They want to feel like they belong to something bigger and worthwhile. /1 — BCC (@ByCommonConsent) October 1, 2019 Is two-hour church actually working? We're not talking about whether home-centered church or the new youth program are working. We're asking whether the two hours that we do spend together are spent as best as they can. It's easy to argue that it is not the most effective use of our precious time together, but what's your take? Has your ward benefited from the shortened block or do people feel more distant? Do you still get chances to socialize? Is there a spirit of camaraderie? On September 29, we all enjoyed a broadcast on the new Children and Youth program, which is designed for, uh, children and youth. The broadcast was bereft of any real content or explanation of the structure of the program, but we love that kids will be setting goals and getting ready for FSY every two years. Another Missionary Training Center is closing, this one in Guatemala. This one wasn't even particularly old. What's up with the slew of MTC closures? Kurt also has a great idea for how to hold fundraisers at the MTC. Temple news: design revealed for Feather River California Temple, location revealed for Tooele Valley Utah Temple, and groundbreaking date revealed for Puebla Mexico Temple. http://thisweekinmormons.com/2019/09/temple-predictions-october-2019/ A story went viral last week of a Baptist preacher giving a sermon on the Book of Mormon for 10 solid minutes. Even we loved it! Of course, this is why we can't have nice things, because it turns out the "Baptist" is a baptized member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and isn't recognized as a preacher by his fellow Baptists. Apparently he sees himself as a bridge between the two groups, neither of which embraces him. Are Latter-day Saints stuck with the Republican Party despite alleged (and decreasingly manifested) discomfort with Donald Trump? The Washington Examiner thinks so, but Kurt, a more traditional Republican, isn't so sure. James Curran/JTM/James the Mormon is doing the rounds, explaining why 50% of the people are mean to him. Robert Kirby