Pres. Porter shares one of her darkest moments—and how she found light

Stake president of the Pleasant Grove Manila Stake, President Scott Livingston, posted on the stake's Facebook page asking "for your faith and prayers on behalf of Sister Jacie Robinson of the Manila 5th Ward."

In November 1997, an Isuzu trooper carrying two missionaries, a counselor in the mission presidency, and his wife traveled through the jungle of Suriname, 25 miles away from the nearest city, Paramaribo. Baby alligators crawled among the dense coconut trees that hung heavily with heat and humidity.

In the Bible, there is a story of two disciples who were discouraged and grieved. Their leader and exemplar and friend Jesus Christ had died and they thought he was gone forever. They were walking to a town called Emmaus when a stranger came up to them and they conversed and walked together. The stranger asked what troubled them, and they told them all about the horrific death of their beloved Jesus. The stranger quoted scripture and told them to not worry, that Jesus Christ would rise again. That stranger was Jesus Christ, but as it says in Luke 24:16, "Their eyes were holden that they should not know him."

Every six months, we have the opportunity to tune in to new sessions of general conference where we can receive powerful inspiration and counsel from our church leaders. As amazing as that opportunity is, we sometimes neglect to revisit conference talks after the weekend is over, never taking full advantage of all they have to offer. When we do this, we are missing out. Here are 25 suggestions for making the most of general conference, allowing it to power our lives every month, week, and even day, of the year:

On April 24, 2005, President Gordon B. Hinckley addressed over 100,000 members in 27 stakes on the islands of the southern Philippines. In a live broadcast originating from Salt Lake City, he spoke of the Church’s progress and the requirements to have a temple built in the Cebu City area. After acknowledging their desire for another temple, President Hinckley challenged all the adult members to qualify for a temple recommend. Then he said, “If enough of you can do this, we shall be obliged to build another temple in the Philippines more convenient to where you live.”

In ancient Israelite storytelling, the meaning of personal names was used to enhance the memorability of a story. Consider the name of Noah in Genesis 6–9. His name in Hebrew, nōaḥ, means “rest,” which represents a major theme in Noah’s story: The dove sought rest as it searched for land. The ark finally rested on a mountaintop. In addition, Noah’s name written backward, ḥn, means “grace,” pointing to a sub-theme of the Noah story, highlighted in Genesis 6:8, where we read that “Noah [nḥ] found grace [ḥn] in the sight of God.” By learning the meanings within Noah’s name, ancient listeners could remember that they, like Noah, could find rest through the grace of God.

Get the entire FHE lesson series on "The Family: A Proclamation to the World."

An LDS family has been gaining national attention for their five newest family members.

The BYU Men's Chorus recently released a stunning music video of the hymn "It Is Well with My Soul." The chorus created this video to celebrate the five-year anniversary of their Set Apart album, which can be downloaded for free at setapartalbum.byu.edu. So watch the video or check out their website for uplifting hymns and music.