What Pres. Freeman would tell every young woman considering a mission

The story of Nephi being commanded to kill Laban at the beginning of the Book of Mormon in order to obtain the brass plates might be a distressing story for some readers.

2019 was a big year for FamilySearch. According to an article released by FamilySearch, new tools helped users index 123.6 million new records and upload 850 million new images of historical records. Growth was not only seen in records uploaded and indexed but by the number of new people added to the FamilySearch Tree: 46.9 million. Within the report, FamilySearch thanks its 318,000 volunteers for serving a total of 15.4 million hours.

This excerpt originally ran on LDS Living in July 2016.

BYU Women’s Conference announced Wednesday that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will speak at its 2020 conference. Elder Holland will close the two-day conference on Friday, May 1 at 3:45 p.m. MST in the Marriott Center.

As someone who has been observing the development of the curriculum for the Children and Youth program, I have been impressed with its focus on transitioning children into responsible adults. I believe all parents want to see their children evolve into responsible adults, though there are as many varied opinions as there are parents on how best to accomplish that goal. Achieving the goal of transitioning youth into adults appears further complicated by the fact that children with different personalities may actually require a parenting approach tailored to their unique strengths and weaknesses. Sister Joy D. Jones, Primary general president shares, “Leaders and parents, keep in mind that you help children and youth best when you support their efforts instead of tracking them.” It’s my hope that all parents will be able to see how the new program encourages children to take personal responsibility for their development and can be easily adapted to the specific needs of each individual child.

A joyous sight fell in Sydney last night—rain.

Following a 5.8 magnitude earthquake on Monday, civilians of Puerto Rico were jolted awake by an even greater earthquake measuring 6.4 on Tuesday morning.

Construction crews now dot Temple Square as the Salt Lake Temple begins the process of renovation, starting with decommissioning.

I was called as the mission president of the France Bordeaux Mission in 1989, and we arrived in Bordeaux in the month of July. The mission was just opening, and we were the first family to live in the mission home, which was still being furnished when we arrived. The mission home needed a piano, and we were encouraged to visit local music stores to find one. It seemed with each store we entered, seeing our missionary tags with the name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the proprietor of the store would say, “I know one of your members, Philippe Moreau.” Philippe was a concert pianist of some reputation in Bordeaux, and I was impressed that he was so open about his beliefs. I expected to meet him soon. When we did not meet him, I asked the leaders in Bordeaux about Philippe Moreau. Their countenances saddened at the question, and they informed me that he was no longer a member of the Church. They explained that he had joined the Church in his late teens and had been a fervent disciple of the Savior, but then had moved away from the Savior’s teachings.