Mormon Life - What We Believe

'Daughters in My Kingdom'

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:16:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

As Sister Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president, has traveled the world, she and her counselors — Sister Silvia H. Allred and Sister Barbara Thompson — have visited with thousands of Latter-day Saint women. During those visits, the members of the Church's Relief Society general presidency like to listen to the questions women have. They write them down and pray about them.

"I have been touched by the questions that come from the sisters," Sister Beck said during BYU Women's Conference in May 2011. "It gives me an understanding of the broad spectrum of the experience you're having, the difficulties and the joys in your lives and the things you are trying to accomplish."

Professor discusses repentance and the miracle of forgiveness at BYU Devotional

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:00 -0700

source: news.byu.edu

Michael Dunn, an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science, spoke to students Tuesday in the Marriott Center in a heartfelt devotional about repentance and the miracle of forgiveness.

In the New Testament account of the woman who approached Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee, as well as the record of Enos, the two experience their sins being forgiven.

Elder Zwick counsels leaders 'to let the Spirit guide them'

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:53:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

When the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ visited the Nephites and instructed them, the 12 disciples whom the Lord had chosen knelt and prayed to the Father in the name of Jesus for "that which they most desired" (see 3 Nephi 19:9).

Elder W. Craig Zwick finds it striking that of all the things they could have prayed for on that occasion, "they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them."

Restoration of the gospel, Elder Duncan shares personal testimony

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:52:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

Like the glow of the morning sun coming over Y Mountain east of the Provo Missionary Training Center is the Restoration of the gospel, said Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the Seventy in his Jan. 11 address at the Seminar for New Missionary Training Center Presidents and Visitors' Center Directors.

Can Mormons cheer for Mitt Romney without voting for him?

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:15:00 -0700

source: MormonTimes.com

This year has brought some lively discussions around the dinner table. A lot of them revolve around, “Hey, Mom, is that Mormon guy still winning?”

Of course, they’re talking about Mitt Romney, and our answer is usually, "Well, sort of.” Which always leads to a discussion about politics in general. We are a politically divided family. My 9-year-old is firmly aligned with the Democrats. (“The Republicans remind me of old Mr. Potter from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’” he announced the other day.) My 8-year-old is a Republican. The 6-year-old is undecided and the 2-year-old isn’t potty trained, so he isn’t allowed to vote in the Lewis family election.

My husband and I are… Well, I’m not telling, but I will say this: I’m not a Romney supporter. I am a Romney fan, in the way we Mormons like to see those of our faith win. We are Team Mormon. Go Jimmer Fredette! Go David Archuleta! Go Dawn Meehan on “Survivor!” Go Mitt Romney!

Elder Nelson visits Central America

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:21:00 -0700

source: news.lds.org

In January, as part of an assignment from the First Presidency, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles traveled to El Salvador to train priesthood leaders and instruct local members.

On Saturday, January 14, Elder Nelson met with bishops, branch presidents, district presidents, and stake presidents from around the country in a meetinghouse on the grounds of the San Salvador El Salvador Temple. He was accompanied by Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy; Elder Enrique Falabella, President of the Central America Area; Elder Carlos Rivas, Area Seventy; Walter Ray Petersen, temple president; and David L. Glazier, El Salvador San Salvador Mission president.

This year is the time for youth to live standards with exactness

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:17:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

To begin the new year, a new edition of "For the Strength of Youth" has been launched. It is now available on the Internet (standards.lds.org) and booklets are being translated and printed in the coming weeks. The revision of this resource for youth, parents and leaders does not mean that the standards of worthiness and conduct for Latter-day Saints have changed; however, the world in which our young women navigate has changed dramatically. The Lord's standards will always remain the same and, as President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve has taught in a general conference address, "We do not set the standards, but we are commanded to teach them and maintain them. … However out of step we may seem, however much the standards are belittled, however much others yield, we will not yield, we cannot yield" (Boyd K. Packer, "The Standard of Truth Has Been Erected," Ensign, November 2003).

Fundamental principle: Know for certainty the character of God

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:09:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

At the heart of LDS missionaries' message is the doctrine concerning the Godhead, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland told 21 couples gathered for a three-day seminar in Provo and Salt Lake City Jan. 10-12.

Speaking at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building Jan. 12, Elder Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve gave the closing presentation of the annual Seminar for New Missionary Training Center Presidents and Visitors' Center Directors. Other addresses from the seminar are covered on page 5 of this issue; addresses to the couples and to the MTC devotional in connection with the seminar by Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve were covered in the Jan. 14 Church News.

Growth in the Church: Retaining the spiritual change of heart

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:08:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

Teaching others the doctrine of Christ, inviting them to come unto Him and helping them endure to the end are components of what many of the Brethren are now calling "real growth" in the Church, Elder David F. Evans of the Seventy said in his presentation Jan. 10 at the Seminar for New Missionary Training Center Presidents and Visitors' Center Directors.

"For the Church to be built up, we must have real growth," said Elder Evans, executive director of the Missionary Department, who addressed the 21 departing couples in one of the opening sessions at the Provo Missionary Training Center.

President Packer seminary centennial: How to survive in enemy territory

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:18:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

Fifty years and more than 2.5 million miles of worldwide travel later, President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve still has an ever-deepening interest in the seminary and institute programs of the Church, and more particularly in the youth of the Church.

“We invest in our youth,” President Packer said during the seminary centennial broadcast held in the Conference Center on Jan. 22. “We know of your worth and potential. I speak as one who has seen the past and would prepare you for the future.”

Sister Julie B. Beck on roles of Relief Society and Priesthood

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:19:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

Mormon Life says: What a good BYU devotional. We will miss her when she's released. Quorums and Relief Societies are meant to be a safety and a refuge in these difficult days and to support and strengthen the identity, roles and responsibilities of Heavenly Father's sons and daughters, said Sister Julie B. Beck on Jan. 17.

"What the Lord envisioned regarding quorums and Relief Society has not yet been fully utilized," said the Church's Relief Society general president. "Many quorums and Relief Societies are at present much like sleeping giants waiting for you to breathe new life into them."

Elder Nelson tells of 'harvest' of converts

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:18:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

Some Church members are acquainted with the incident Elder Russell M. Nelson has shared about lending his copy of the Book of Mormon to a couple and refusing to accept its return until he was certain they had read it.

He shared the rest of the story Jan. 10 at a dinner greeting to departing Missionary Training Center directors, Church visitors' center directors and their wives.

Messages of inspiration from President Thomas S. Monson

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:54:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

New Year's resolution

Four pledges for the new year: I will listen, I will learn, I will labor, I will love. As we fulfill these pledges, we can have the guidance of our Heavenly Father and in our own lives experience true joy. Now, I don't simply mean that we should make a wish, or that we should dream a dream, but rather determine to do that which we pledge to accomplish. We can, if we will. … Now, shall we go forward with such resolutions? Can we change our practices if such need changing? I declare that we can. — "A Time to Choose," BYU devotional, Jan. 16, 1973

Pursuit of doing good

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:55:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

By some statistical accounts, about 25 percent of those who, just a week ago, made a New Year's resolution have already abandoned it.

The road to hell, it seems, might well be paved with good intentions!

But good intentions can also be the beginning of good works. And good works are good because they can change our hearts, and, if we so allow, our very nature.

Got a little food storage? Don't stop now

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:30:00 -0700

source: MormonTimes.com

Some people buy a few cans or a case or two of food storage then divert their attention to other things. At least they’ve done something, right? Here is some "food for thought" that can provide motivation to keep going with food storage and be better prepared with a long-term supply of food.

At first for me, food storage seemed too hard and I wasn’t excited about figuring it out.

One day I saw a news report of a major disaster affecting many people. For some reason this time I saw with greater clarity how vulnerable we all are and how critical having some stored food would be.

Good, better, best and the parable of the Great Supper

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:28:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

As we dawn a new year and prioritize between good, better and best, consider the parable of the Great Supper in Luke 14:16-24. The Savior teaches an invaluable lesson about the destructive consequences of allowing worldly excuses to annul the things that matter most.

In the parable, a certain man hosts "a great supper" and bids his guests to attend, saying through his servant, "Come; for all things are now ready" (Luke 14:17). But one by one, the diners who had committed to the feast make excuses, including awaiting a land inspection, caring for oxen, busy with domestic life, etc.

When the excuses are relayed to the master, he commands his servant to go into the streets of the city and invite the poor, the maimed and the blind to the feast. He further instructs the servant to go beyond the city walls to "the highways and hedges" that "my house may be filled" (Luke 14:23).

The daily routine of a Mormon prophet, George Albert Smith

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:38:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Editor's note: This is an excerpt from "Against the Odds: The Life of George Albert Smith," by Mary Jane Woodger and published by Covenant Communications.

Though George Albert Smith entered the First Presidency in his eighth decade, he was insistent that his age not be a handicap. One of his favorite sayings was, “I would rather be 78 years young than 50 years old.”

In his efforts to maintain a youthful energy while serving as the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Smith kept a rigid dietary routine. He typically ate a light breakfast, consisting generally of prunes and a dish of steamed wheat with cream.

Media for 2012 Mutual Theme

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:03:00 -0700

source: ldsmediatalk.com

Media is now available online for the Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood Young Men in support of the 2012 Mutual theme “Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations” (D&C 115:5).

The 2012 media includes 19 videos featuring stories of youth around the world, messages from youth leaders, and a music video.

Elder Quentin L. Cook Delivers Speech on Morality and Religious Freedom

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:52:00 -0700

source: Newsroom.lds.org

In a timely speech Friday, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) stressed the importance of restoring the principles of morality and religious freedom to modern society.

Elder Quentin L. Cook delivered the address, titled “The Restoration of Morality and Religious Freedom,” to graduates of Brigham Young University-Idaho during the school’s winter commencement exercises.

“My purpose today,” said Elder Cook, “is to challenge you to work with people of other faiths to improve the moral fabric of this nation and the world and to protect religious freedom.”

The apostle invoked Alexis de Tocqueville, the famous 19th-century observer of American democracy, to emphasize the important role religion plays in society. “The greatest advantage of religion is to inspire … principles,” said Elder Cook, quoting de Tocqueville. “There is no religion which does not place the object of man’s desires above and beyond the treasure of earth, and which does not naturally raise his soul to regions far above those of the senses. Nor is there any which does not impose.”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: A 'mission Christmas'

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:20:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

I suppose everyone remembers his or her first Christmas away from home. The reason might be missions or military service, student life or employment assignments but, whatever the reason, that first Christmas "away" is a poignant memory for all of us. To those who have been away from home at Christmas, or who may be away from home this year, I dedicate my own such remembrance.