Just this week, my friend Jana Riess wrote an article regarding an attack made on Elder Oaks because of his statements on same-sex marriage. Jana notes that many liberals were disappointed in his strong stance against it in General Conference, but that the vicious letter from a returned missionary was not called for. Elder Oaks response was also published, wherein he asks the man to see his local leader for guidance on repenting (ostensibly for his belligerence towards an apostle). Wading through the hundreds of comments, I noted that many defended this angry man, expecting Elder Oaks to apologize, “turn the other cheek”, etc.

You never forget the moment you become a mother. Ready or not (I'm guessing not), it's an instant that will forever be etched in your life. Every woman's experience is unique, but here are a few things you will learn in those first moments of motherhood.

Björn Bauerfeind has vivid memories of being a Latter-day Saint in East Germany, where his “faithful parents far behind the Iron Curtain” were serious about serving the Lord in an area where government officials closely watched the Church. Every Sunday, his parents, Dieter and Ilse Bauerfeind, took him, his sister, and two brothers to attend church, about 40 miles (64km) from their home in Stendal. “The Rathenow Branch consisted of 10 Church members, including our family,” said Brother Bauerfeind. “Branch President Ferenz, a 91-year-old man, never missed a single meeting either. Contact with other Church members was very limited due to long distances to other Church units. As a little child, sometimes the thought, ‘What a lonely bunch of Mormons,’ crossed my mind. What I did not realize back then was how many blessings the Lord had in store for us for the future. We would live to see many of the promises made by servants of the Lord become reality.

Jason F. Wright, a Mormon New York Times best-selling author, decided to give a classroom of children and their teachers a big surprise. One of his biggest fans, Zack, and his class were reading one of his books. After being asked by the teachers of Monroe Elementary School to Skype and talk with a classroom of children about being a writer, he decided it would be more fun and fulfilling to give them a surprise and actually show up at their school.

Dear Dave,

Everyone loves a cute baby meme, and Mormons are no exception. We've compiled some of our favorites for you here. Enjoy!

Chapter 5: The Keystone of our Religion

Beginning around 1970, our department had sponsored newsreel-style movies under the series title The Church in Action. These annual or five-year retrospectives used existing footage to feature newsworthy events like the international travels of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Brigham Young University’s dance teams. Useful though they were in featuring Church events in multiple countries, these films did not begin to capture the depth of Church history around the globe. [1]

Boyfriend and girlfriend Simon Olsen (18) and Hailie Godfrey (18) were in their car at an intersection in Eagle Mountain, Utah, when a Ford F-250 drifted over the center line and struck them head on.

Torrential rains, terrible floods, 11 dead, and 40,000 homes destroyed. These are the bleak circumstances following the deadly Louisiana flooding.