Why I’m so grateful someone pushed through awkwardness to serve

Elementary school teacher Diana Fairbanks received the surprise of her life when Michael Bublé brought the Latter-day Saint onstage to sing an impromptu Disney duet. That surreal moment for Fairbanks all began with a sign, one handmade by her class of sixth graders.

Latter-day Saints across Polynesia rejoiced (albeit reverently) Sunday afternoon when President Russell M. Nelson announced the first temple to be built in American Samoa.

There was real weight embedded in a light moment between Presidents Russell M. Nelson and M. Russell Ballard as the Latter-day Saint leaders wrapped up a news conference in March.

Tonight, the championship game of the NCAA Tournament will be played in Minneapolis, but recently, a group reunited in Salt Lake City to relive their own March Madness 50 years ago. These days, “Church Ball” is used to describe a recreation-league type experience held once a week at your local chapel or stake center. But in 1969, Marshall Hamilton and his teammates left their home in Cincinnati to drive more than 1,650 miles to play in the All-Church tournament. Victories in a stake tournament, a district tournament, and a regional tournament made them eligible to compete in the All-Church tournament so they formed a three-car caravan and made the trek west. Their team played their way to a championship on stomachs full of fried chicken, having consumed three meals a day from Harman Café (the predecessor of Kentucky Fried Chicken).

This general conference weekend was overflowing withinspiring messages and Church updates, but more than that it was a weekend of spiritual and emotional highs. We laughed, we cried, and our souls were filled to the brim. To keep the fun of conference alive, here are some of the best tweets from the 2019 April general conference.

"May I suggest that you bow your head with gratitude of heart," President Nelson said to members of the Church before announcing eight new temples, reminding us of the sacred nature of temples and asking that exclamations of excitement over new temples be kept reverent.

Find out more about the eight temples announced, a historic general authority call, the Church's new temple website, and more!

"The temple is the house of the Lord," Elder David A. Bednar declared as part of his general conference talk Sunday afternoon.

While there have been several significant announcements made this weekend, this general conference has moved at a different pace than what we've grown accustomed to since President Nelson became prophet—and it is exhilarating!