Be part of history: How to volunteer during the Salt Lake Temple Celebration

At many times in my life, I have had to grapple with the humanity in our Church's history—the flaws and weaknesses that come with imperfect people attempting to establish a perfect church and gospel. As I've learned more about early Church history in all its complexity, it has humbled me to realize that if my life were subject to the scrutiny of historians and critics, my faults and missteps could fill novels. No one save Jesus Christ lived a blameless life. Thank goodness we belong to a Church filled with imperfect people, because none of us could belong in a perfect church filled with perfect people.

What do we know about the final judgment? A new video from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints illustrates that all of us will return to the presence of God to be judged. As the video description elaborates, "This judgment will come only after they have a complete understanding of God’s plan and have had an opportunity to repent of their sins, which is possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. . . . God makes sure that all His children will have a fair understanding of His commandments and the consequences of our actions, whether we learn those things in this life or as spirits after death."

The following article has been republished with permission from bookofmormoncentral.org.

As I listened to the women’s session of the October 2019 general conference, my focus was on a number of things. The talks were inspiring. I was looking forward to the additional information and changes to the Young Women program that had been promised in the previous session. My thoughts drifted from one to the other. Then my mind snapped to attention: Did Sister Aburto just say her father committed suicide? I listened intently to confirm that what I thought I heard was accurate. Indeed, it was true. Quite frankly, it was a bit of a shock. In over 40 years of general conference sessions I’d listened to, I cannot ever recall a brother or sister sharing something so intensely personal from that pulpit. I pondered, what are people going to think? Perhaps there would be some Church members that would think Sister Aburto had overshared, or that general conference might not be the best venue for such a personal experience. My thoughts were, Thank goodness; it’s about time.

For Bishop Caussé, that bill is worth far more than ten dollars. In fact, he has kept it tucked in his scriptures years.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the location of the Moses Lake Washington Temple.

Editor’s note: Since this article’s publication, Peter Tidwell has chosen a different spiritual path. This piece reflects his beliefs at the time it was written.

Elder Rasband also spoke to the Arizona Tempe Mission at the Institute building on Saturday, Oct. 19, with Elder Paul B. Pieper, General Authority Seventy, and Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé. He told the missionaries that as a young man he wanted to serve a mission in Germany like his father, brother and brother-in-law. When he opened his mission call at the mailbox of his home, he was disappointed to learn he’d been called to the Eastern States Mission. He didn’t want to show his disappointment to his parents, so he went inside and opened the scriptures before they came home.

This is the second in a series of articles from Sister Wendy Watson Nelson's new book, The Heavens Are Open. Read the first part here.