Recent
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First Presidency Discontinues Annual Priesthood Leadership Conference on Scouting at Philmont Scout Ranch

Deseret News - On Friday, the First Presidency sent a letter to Area Seventies and stake and district presidents announcing the Church would discontinue its annual Priesthood Leadership Conference on Scouting at the Philmont Scout Ranch.  The LDS Church is discontinuing its annual Scouting-focused priesthood leadership training conferences hosted at the Philmont Scout Ranch in northeastern New Mexico. The announcement comes in a letter Friday from the First Presidency sent to Area Seventies and stake and district presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the United States. “As part of an ongoing effort to reduce demands made upon leaders and simplify the...

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U.S. Presidents and Mormon Leaders: A History of Visits to Utah

Deseret News - Do you know which U.S. president was the first VIP at the Hotel Utah or which President offered Church leaders a tour of Air Force One? Find out the fascinating history of U.S. Presidents as they visited Mormon leaders in Utah.  When  President Donald Trump comes to Salt Lake City  on Monday, he'll be the 23rd sitting president of the United States to visit Utah. And when he tours the LDS Church's Welfare Square, he'll be the 17th president to either meet with church leaders or set foot on church properties or facilities. Most visiting presidents have interacted with one or...

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President Uchtdorf Shares Touching Childhood Christmas Tradition, How We Can "Love Better" at Christmas Devotional

LDS.org - "Christmas inspires us to love better," President Uchtdorf shared at the Christmas Devotional on Sunday, adding that divine love, "refuses to allow bias or prejudice to stand in the way of imparting comfort, compassion, and understanding. It is completely devoid of bullying, discrimination, or arrogance. . . . This is the kind of love we strive for. It should be our defining characteristic as a people.” Sharing joyful memories of Christmases he experienced in the lean years during his boyhood in Germany, President  Dieter F. Uchtdorf  encouraged “greater generosity and increasing love” as he spoke at the annual First Presidency’s Christmas...

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Why Being More Vulnerable with God Produces Miracles

Emily Freeman, Excerpted from "Even This" - I have heard the story a thousand times; sometimes it feels as if I am becoming story about tethering, about tracing God’s goodness, about choosing whether or not to give a heart to God. You have heard it told. How the baby’s mother places him, tiny and helpless, into the handwoven sweet grass basket, how his sister stands at the brink to watch him float down the river alone, how the daughter of Pharaoh comes down at just the right time and lifts him out. The daughter who was unknowingly sent to bring about God’s goodness—God was aware of even this....

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14 Meaningful Gifts for Your Home and Visiting Teaching Families

Kensie Smith - Whether you want to leave a spiritual message or just let those you visit and home teach know that you're thinking of them, there are plenty of options. Check out our ideas below or email yours to us! Unto Us a Child Is Born Booklet  | $17.45 for 5 Booklets | This year's Christmas booklet, from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, teaches us to make the purity and innocence of Christmas one of the purposes of the holiday season. Because an innocent child was born on Christmas, we can return hope to the world. Buy Now Greg Olsen Diorama Nativity  | $3.99 |...

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9 Delicious Appetizers to Impress Your Family and Friends This Holiday Season

LDS Living Staff - The holidays are now in full swing, and you know what that means—holiday parties. And whether you're hosting or asked to bring something to eat, we all know appetizers are where it's at. So break away from the cheese and crackers and bring something new, something that's sure to impress your family and friends straight from Celebrate Every Season with Six Sisters' Stuff . 1. Shrimp Taco Bites Serves: 12, 2 taco bites per person | Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 8 minutes | Total time: 28 minutes Serves: 12, 2 taco bites per person | Prep time: 20...

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12 People Who Were Given Names by God

Jannalee Sandau - Names are an important part of our existence. We use them every day, in all of our communications with others. But a precious few have actually been given their earthly names by God himself. Here are a few of those, as found in the scriptures:  1. Adam This one is perhaps a dead giveaway. After all, who else was around to give the first man on earth a name? Still, Adam's name is significant and was carefully picked out by his Father in Heaven: “And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many” (Moses 1:34) ....

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Finally, a Christ-Centered Family Tradition to Replace Elf on the Shelf

Miranda Richards - I just don't get Elf on the Shelf. Maybe that's because I'm not the kind of person who can commit to nor remember to move a stuffed elf around the house every night, let alone set up some adorable but all-too time-consuming mischief that elf has gotten into in the wee hours of the morning, all why I lose sleep. But beyond that, I just don't see the point. Why do we do this night after night? Just to convince our children Santa is keeping an eye on them all day to bribe them into being good? To me, it seems...

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10 Overlooked Christmas Songs to Bring Christmas Cheer to Your Home

Kaeley Scruggs - You may have heard them in church once or on the radio. While the classics like “O Holy Night” and “Away in a Manger” always bring the spirit of Christ, here are a few other Christmas songs you may not have heard but will help you feel the Christmas spirit all the same. 1. "Night of Silence" by Daniel Kantor Written in 1981, composer Daniel Kantor wrote the song while taking a graduate music theory course. It remains Kanto’s most successful composition to this day. 2. "In the Bleak Midwinter" Written in the late 1800s for a U.S. Magazine, Christina Rossetti...

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Watch: LDS Singer Performs Mindblowing "The First Noel" and "Silent Night"

LDS Living Staff - What do "The First Noel" and "Silent Night" have in common, other than they're both Christmas songs? They happen to be Junior Maile's favorite Christmas songs. In a recent video from Mormon Channel, Junior sings "The First Noel" accompanied on the piano and "Silent Night" playing the guitar. Junior says he started singing because his mother would have him and his brother sing together when they were very young. “I know a lot of times we get caught up in buying presents and just the stress of making sure the kids are happy on Christmas in morning,” says Junior. “But in our...