The Small Plates of Tom: Prophecy for the Country of Latvia

The Star Valley Wyoming temple is scheduled to be dedicated on October 30, 2016. I learned this temple is in fulfillment of a prophecy given by Elder Moses Thatcher at least 122 years ago from today (an apostle of the church at the time). It is quite amazing! The site, www.ldschurchtemples.com, reported as follows about the prophecy for the Star Valley Wyoming temple (zoom on image to read if it necessary):

Here is the original Deseret Weekly article that recorded that Elder Moses Thatcher gave such a prophecy (zoom to read it if necessary):

What I found interesting is this prophecy was recorded in what is probably now considered a very obscure place from a year 2016 perspective. It was also a very short and simple record that an apostle gave a prophecy.

James E. Faust
1920 - 2007

So, what does this have to do with Elder James E. Faust and the country of Latvia? There is a prophecy Elder Faust gave that is worth mentioning here since I was unable to find it referenced on the Internet.

I have a physical copy of the Church Almanac of 2007 produced by Deseret News. If I recall correctly, Deseret News no longer produces these almanacs so this almanac may become obscure in the future just like the "Deseret Weekly" is for us living in 2016.

In the Church Almanac of 2007 on page 393, the following prophecy was recorded as follows relating to country of Latvia:

"In March 1993 Latvia was visited by Elder James E. Faust of the Quorum of the Twelve. During that visit, Elder Faust said in a missionary meeting, 'I prophesy, in your lifetime, you will see several stakes organized in the country of Latvia under Latvian leadership. You are pioneers; you can tell your children about it.' "

Here is an image of the where the prophecy is recorded (you may need to download it and zoom in):

Just like the prophecy relating to the Star Valley Wyoming Temple, the prophecy relating to the country of Latvia is short and simple and also recorded in an obscure place. Since Elder Faust's prophecy was given during a missionary meeting in 1993, I presume he was speaking to young proselyting missionaries who were around the age of 20. If some of those missionaries live to around age 80 or 90, the fulfillment of the prophecy may occur sometime around 2053-2063 if one wants to speculate. The years 2053-2063 seem reasonable based on life expectancies these days. To date, there are not multiple stakes in Latvia so this prophecy has not yet been fulfilled.

I also want to add that a church's official news site, www.mormonnewsroom.org, lists a practically verbatim description of Latvia compared to the almanac of 2007. See the screenshot below from Mormon Newsroom and compare that to the screen shot above of the almanac's description of Latvia. A major difference between the Mormon Newsroom (image taken September 25, 2016) and the 2007 Almanac is that the Mormon Newsroom omits the prophecy given by Elder James E. Faust. I just want to note this as an observation.

Overall, let it be known that prophets, seers, and revelators still live in our day and this prophecy can be followed to see its fulfillment. I have faith that it will be fulfilled eventually, and that it will be fulfilled just as Elder Faust says.

Latvia from Mormon Newsroom: