(I hope that they won’t mind my use of this astonishing photograph, with acknowledgement. If there is an objection, I can be reached at daniel_peterson@byu.edu.)
Here’s an updated account from Tad Walch, for the Deseret News:
You will notice the way the Catholic video ends on a critical note. It’s interesting to contrast its tone with the tone of President Nelson’s remarks in the official Latter-day Saint video that’s available at the Church’s “Newsroom”:
“Prophet Meets Pope Francis at the Vatican”
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This is really quite a remarkable testimony. I don’t personally recall ever hearing anything like it from the wife of a president of the Church. It lasts about three minutes, and I hope that you’ll watch it:
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One of the Interpreter Foundation’s vice presidents, Dr. Jeffrey Mark Bradshaw, is back over in Africa to help with this:
“Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple Opens to the Public”
Did you realize, by the way, that Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world? Paris is the largest, with approximately 12.2 million residents. But Kinshasa has roughly 9-10 million (and perhaps even a little more), making it larger than any city in France other than Paris. And if you add in Brazzaville, the capital city of the separate Republic of the Congo, which sits directly across the Congo River and has a population of at least 1.8 million, the combined conurbation of Brazzaville-Kinshasa has something on the order of 12 million residents. In other words, Paris may already have been eclipsed as the largest Francophone city in the world — and, if it hasn’t yet been, it probably soon will be.
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Did I already share this? I can’t remember. In any case, it won’t hurt if I repeat it:
Latter-day Saints Around the World Country Newsroom Websites March 1, 2019
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She just passed away:
An amazing woman.
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If John Dehlin has influenced you or someone you know to doubt the claims of the Restoration, it’s time to do a little rethinking on that score. Here’s yet another entry on a new website that examines how far he can be relied upon:
“Was Steel Known in Nephi’s Day?”
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Incidentally, I noticed at least one carping critic of the Church complaining that, while all fifteen members of the Twelve and the First Presidency were in Rome, there were — he had counted — only thirteen wives with them. He wondered what the secret (and, no doubt, disreputable) explanation for this might be. Maybe they’re closet doubters? Maybe they refused to come? Well, it’s easy to explain: Sister Barbara Ballard, the wife of President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve, died on 1 October 2018, last year. And Sister Kathleen Eyring, the wife of President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency, has been seriously ill for years, and has not been out in public for a very long time. (A touching Deseret News article, again by Tad Walch, published on 8 November 2018: “President Eyring paints to capture memories of his wife, who is in failing health.”)
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