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Show The Top Church Stories Of 1968 By DELL VAN ORDEN 1968 has been written into the for the Church, the The yejrwasbooksfilledandwith events many year some major, others heartwarming but all significant in the lives of the people who were involved in them. And in all cases, the Church News attempted to bring to its readers coverage of the people and events which made the top news stories of the Church during the year. President David O. McKay played an Important rie In many of the top stones as he led the Church through a year of growth and expansion. One of the highlights of the year was the announcement in November of a new temple planned for the Washington D.C. area the eighth temple either constructed or announced since President McKay became President of the Church in April, 1951. In December, ground was broken for site the temple, to be located on a pear Silver Spring, Md. The new facility, 57-ac- to be called the Washington Temple, will serve the more than 238,000 members of the Church living east of the Mississippi and in eastern Canada. Also during the year, architectural (drawings for the two new Utah temples, to be built in Provo and Ogden, were approved by the First Presidency. A new member of the First Presidency was named during April General Conference. President Alvin R. Dyer, who was ordained an apostle In October, 1967, was called to serve as a counselor in the First Presidency. The calling was the highlight of President Dyers long Church career. He became a General Authority in October, 1958 when he was called to be an Assistant to the Twelve. Previously, he was first assistant in the YMMIA general superintendency, and had been president of the Central States Mission. He also served as president of the European Mission after he had been called as a General Authority. During the same conference, Elder Marion D. Hanks, who had served in the First Council of Seventy for nearly 15 years, was named an Assistant to the Twelve, to fill the vacancy created when President Dyer was ordained an apostle. Two new General Authorities, both called to the First Council of Seventy, were named during April Conference. They were Elder Hartman Rector Jr., who had been senior president of the 542nd Quorum of Seventy in the Potomac (Va.) Stake, and Elder Loren C. Dunn, who had been first counselor in the New England Mission presidency. One death occurred among the General Authorities during the year. Elder William J. Critchlow Jr., Assistant to the Twelve, died Aug. 29 at the age of 76. Growth of the Church played a significant part in the years history. During 1968, 25 new stakes and six new missions were organized as the Church membership went over the 2.7 million mark. Membership at the beginning of the year was 2,614,340. Official figures will not be available until the annual statistical report is released at the April General Conference. Five of the new stakes were created in Utah, three in California, two in Texas, one each in Nevada, Montana Colorado, Oregon, Hawaii, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, Maine and Michigan, and four outside the United States, in Brazil, Europe, New Zealand and Tonga. The new stakes bring the total number In the Church to 473, compared with 448 at WEEK Announcement of a new temple near Washington D.C. ceremony were among the top stories of the Church. the beginning of the year. Only in two other years have more stakes been created than in 1968. In 1960 there were 29 new stakes and in there were 26. There were also 25 new stakes created in 1963. 1961 the year, there were missions. During the year, one mission was discontinued and six others were organized, bringing the total number to 83. New missions were Japan and created from the discontinued Northern Far East Mission; Brazilian North, Mexican North Central, Australian West and Colombia Venezuela. At the beginning of 78 Japan-Okinaw- a, and the ground-breakin- g One of the top news stories of 1968 was in early December when President - elect Richard M. Nixon announced that two Mormons would serve in his cabinet. Gov. George W. Romney of Michigan, and former president of the Detroit Stake, will serve as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development David M. Kennedy, chairman of the board of the Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Co. of Chicago, and former counselor in the Chicago Stake presidency, will be die Secretary of the Treasury. Other prominent Church members in the national limelight during the year included Mrs. Belle S. Spafford, general president of the Relief Society, who was elected in October as the president of the National Council of Women; and Mrs. Florence S. Jacobsen, general president of the YWMIA, who was named a Woman of Conscience by ihe womens council. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir enjoyed the national music spotlight during 1968. As the year drew to a dose, it was announced that the choir would sing at the Presidential Inaugural ceremonies, marking the second consecutive inauguration to which the choir has been invited. Late in September, the choir participat-e- d in a tour of Texas and Mexi7,000-mil-e co, performing in 11 concerts, induding two at San Antonios HemisFair 68. The Mormon Pavilion at the HemisFair was a tremendous missionary tool for the Church, as more than 600,000 visitors toured the facility and viewed the many displays and exhibits illustrating the story of the Church. , Visitors centers were popular tourist attractions during 1968. In January, the lower floor of the Visitors Center on Temple Square, designed for spedalized teaching, was formally opened and since then thousands of touHsts and have visited the facility. In April, the Church announced plans to erect a Visitors Center in Independence, Mo on the 18 acres which the Church owns of the original dedicated temple land. Construction is expected to be completed in late The Mormon Pavilion at HemisFair '68 was tourist attraction during the year. ENDING JANUARY 4, 1969 a top 1969. There were also some significant genealogy stories during this year. In January, it was announced that Polish records would be microfilmed, and in December, it was announced that microfilming of Korean records would begin. Also in December, a new system, dealing with the submission of names for temple work, was announced. Called GIANT, short for Genealogical Information and Name Tabulation, the program puts genealogy into the electronic age. |