A commenter asked the question how I would know what their age is. The answer is in a response in the comments on a previous post somewhere that I could not find (you cannot search the comments - just the previous posts using the box in the upper left corner).
They are my age, maybe a few years older (that would be 45ish). How do I know? I was on my mission in Anaheim, CA in 1988 waiting for my visa to go to Brazil and working with an Elder Ream. He was a Vegas boy - mildly serious, but not a particularly hard worker. We would chat/speculate about different things - and, of course, that topic came up. He said he knew someone who had gotten the nod as one of them in their patriarchal blessing or something to that effect. I was intrigued with the idea that, if the Lord's coming were close, these guys would probably be alive and in the world. If Elder Ream were correct, they would be around our age. I still dismissed it as folklore unless I were to receive another witness. I thought and pondered on it.
Sure enough, true to form, a few weeks later I was reading an old Ensign (I believe it was between April 1980 and Oct 1981 - right around the start of that decade) - it was an article by Marion G. Romney, I believe, where he stated that they were in the world and had received the Aaronic Priesthood and were preparing themselves for their divine role. That would have put them at my age, or within just a few years of my age - and they would have had their Patriarchal Blessings by then - probably serving missions or would have just gotten home from one at that point.
Can you imagine the faith they would have to have to accomplish that mission to stay the wicked armies that engulf God's chosen people in one last attempt to extinguish them as a distinct group and attempt to thwart divine destiny and prophecy? What an epic battle versus good and evil - and the evil minions will think they have won - and then WHAM!!
Anyway, I bet they were great missionaries - I can only imagine what they are doing right now.
Since I have started this blog, I have scrubbed the internet inside and out and tried to find that article at LDS.org and do not have the hard copies to do a methodical search. It is GONE - but I know I read it. I do know the Church has taken stuff like that out of the record in order to avoid possible future embarrassment such as with the First Editions of Mormon Doctrine and the statements about the Moon by Bruce (I am a "let the chips fall where they may" kind of guy - and will not pull stuff I have gotten wrong from the blog record....).
I, for one, feel that timing is correct and watch each new appointment to the Quorum of the Twelve with great interest - especially those with the name of David (Bednar is one of my favorite Apostles). I expect that those two will be from that quorum - and quite probably on special assignment when the 3 1/2 year event goes down. If the average age of a man living a good life is 80-85 years, we may have 35-40 years left. Who knows? I think it may be quite a bit sooner - probably 20-25 years.
So there you have my speculation on this. I hope I am right - or this one will end up in the fail pile with a few others.
I would love to post a scanned copy of that statement on the blog as one of my gems - if any pack-rats out there can help.
Ahh....Elder Bednar is one of my favorites too!
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