Lunch and Learn Series with Deseret Book Artists and Authors11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Downtown Deseret Book Store, SLC, Utah

Let’s face it — most people don’t visit Las Vegas to see historic old forts. Many of you have probably driven past a little piece of history in the middle of town and never even realized what you had missed. After all, it’s located at the northernmost end of Las Vegas Boulevard itself.

Dear Dave,

For Shay and Collete Butler, family life isn't too private, but they wouldn't have it any other way. For the past four years the Butler family has been known to the world as the "Shaytards" on YouTube with more than 1 million followers.

They say a family that plays together stays together, but what about a family that plays together on national television?

On a TV special, the Latter-day Saint singer shocked four viral fans who cried hysterically when he lost the TV show.

I mentioned previously that ward leaders would soon be able to manage home and visiting teaching and callings on LDS.org from any internet-connected device without having to use MLS on the computer at the church. It’s now here. (At least for my ward. If you can’t get access as described in this article, don’t worry. It will be coming to your ward very soon.)

After two wars, numerous natural disasters and an economic downturn, Americans suddenly have a voracious appetite for survival skills. They’re researching underground bunkers, buying freeze-dried food and watching television reality shows like "Doomsday Preppers."

I joined the LDS Church less than three weeks after my first encounter with two Mormon missionaries, who I initially suspected were regular salesmen. It's a story I shared in my previous column. And now, as Paul Harvey used to say, here is “the rest of the story.”

When Reed Mellor was growing up, his father would pick up hitchhikers, bring them home for dinner, and invite them to stay overnight. The next morning, he would give them $20 before sending them on their way. “You know, you’re being taken advantage of,” Mellor recalls telling his dad, a schoolteacher who had to work summers on a farm to make ends meet. His father replied, “That’s okay. It won’t be the last time. I’d rather give to lots than miss the one who needs my help.” It was not just the hitchhikers who were the beneficiaries of his father’s generosity. The Mellors were (and are) devout members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; they gave dutifully to the church and all of its activities. Today, it is Reed himself who takes this approach. Reed is a successful engineer with his own business outside of Salt Lake City. He and his wife, Lareen, who works as an accountant in the business, are by any measure quite generous with the success they’ve enjoyed. Their charitable giving starts with tithing. “Everything on earth is God’s,” he says. “We are just required to give him 10 percent back.” In this, the Mellors are representative of Mormons in general. Tithing is expected, and widely practiced.