This story will inspire you to reopen your scriptures

While acknowledging that the Latter-day Saint focus on Church and family is appropriate, Elder Steven E. Snow of the Seventy said he hopes members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also give high priority to how they treat all of God’s creations.

Our Church leaders placed a heavy emphasis on ministering during the October 2018 general conference. They discussed the deep meaning behind the “newer, holier approach” and taught that our brothers and sisters on this earth need us, and we need them.

Chris Burkard isn’t known for his endurance on a bike, but perhaps he should be. Burkard, a photographer whose Instagram account is followed by 3.5 million people, was this week’s guest on All In and shared the lessons he learned while participating in Iceland’s WOW Cyclothon this June. Burkard set a new solo record in the race, completing the 844-mile race in 52 hours, 36 minutes, and 19 seconds, besting his previous record by over 20 minutes. Burkard said one of the biggest takeaways from the race was the recognition that we need others’ support in life.

I have a distinct memory of sitting in a junior high school math class, tearing a piece of paper from my binder, and scribbling a note for my friend who sat a few desks in front of me to see if he had plans for the weekend. I folded the note as small as I could, waited for a time when the teacher wasn’t looking, then passed it forward. Over the course of 45 minutes of stealth, the two of us resolved to meet at the bike racks after school and decide what to do next. Today, I can press a button on my watch, speak a message, and have it sent to someone halfway across the world in a matter of seconds. Technology has absolutely transformed the way we communicate and interact with each other.

Over the years, I’ve had sisters share a number of questions and concerns with me about Relief Society, with additional ones being shared with the ministering changes. Some are logistical questions. Others are deep-seated concerns. Below I address a few of these, in no particular order.

The groundbreaking movie Jane and Emma will be released in select theaters tomorrow, October 12, 2018. The film tells the incredible story of Jane Manning James and her conversion to the Church as one of the first black members. The story highlights her relationship with Joseph and Emma Smith while addressing controversial issues such as polygamy and racism.

The Church released a statement Wednesday regarding missionaries.

In our last essay we wrote about the definition of families in the world where Jesus ministered in order to better understand what He taught about His Father’s family, what He called the Kingdom of God. In Jesus’s day families—both wealthy and those with fairly meager means—would be more accurately described as households. They were comprised of not only what we call the nuclear family—consisting of father, mother and children—but also aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings, and their families. The patriarch controlled those kinship-bound members of the household as well as his slaves, bondsmen, servants, laborers, and a whole host of other “retainers” whose numbers depended on the household’s economic status.

Shuffling through dirt and mud, stumbling over cold stones that rubbed their skin raw, Jane Elizabeth Manning James and her family inched toward Nauvoo, Illinois, barefoot. It was 1843; James was one of the first black converts to the Church and lived in a time where some people saw her as property first and a human being second.