God chooses his leaders. This is true at every level of Church administration. Joseph was chosen by the Lord and so were those who came after him. But in those early years, before the practice of succession in the Church had been formalized, some members were uncertain of the format succession ought to follow. In an August meeting held to resolve the matter of succession, the Lord placed the stamp of his approval on Brigham Young. One account gives the record in these words:

The major burden of the priesthood of God is to serve God’s children. The higher the office in the priesthood, the greater the expectation to serve well and much. Without service, the priesthood is a hollow ordination and counts for little. Without service, there can be no power in the priesthood. It is through service that the power of the priesthood is manifest.

Gumdrops and chopsticks don't usually come to mind when we talk about missionary work.

Sometimes it can be a challenge to craft a family home evening or Primary lesson to match the needs of the children in a family or classroom. Now it’s easier than ever.

This year has been quite the "Mormon moment" with politicians, musicals, ad campaigns, athletes – you name it – and many of LDS Living's stories have followed these people and topics.

On Tuesday, the Church held a special news conference on Temple Square about "Religious Intolerance and Discrimination." Speakers at the conference included Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Sister Neill F. Marriott, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Each took a few minutes to share some of the churches thoughts on the increasing concern over the place of religious freedom in our society.

Get the full lesson, "Prayer--A Commandment and a Blessing" from The Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith at LDS.org.

In family, from the get-go memories are being made. I’ve been with Lizzie when each of our five children were born. My theory that girls are much more expensive to raise than boys was verified when I noticed that my boys came out of the womb with their little hands clinched into a fist. To me, that was symbolic of the challenges that boys have to face in life. But when my girls came out of the womb their little hands were cupped just wide enough for an American Express card to fit in it. My “pet peeve” while the children were tiny, was changing a wet diaper and as soon as I’d finished, they’d wet again. Lizzie was so patient when they did that. She’d just pinch their little cheeks and say, “you little rascal you.” I, on the other hand was terrible, I admit it. When they would wet after I’d changed their diaper I’d say, “Hey man, you had your chance!”

When confronted with a rare tumor, Tyler Hallsey said he would do “whatever it takes” to fight the disease.

Dear Dave,