Mormon Noelle Pikus-Pace has become a household name in the past several months, and with good reason. Silver medal winner in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Pikus-Pace has attracted attention not only for her accomplishment, but also for her standards and incredible journey to the Olympics. Her path of perseverance, faith, and big dreams has now been recorded and will be released this September in an inspiring new book titled “Focused: Staying on Track, One Choice at a Time.”

ChenWei Guo, a Chinese student who was killed in a carjacking last week, brought many to the gospel through his faith, optimism, and firm testimony. At his funeral, his friends and family shared memories of Guo, including the incredible miracles that led him to join the Church in a country where religious freedom is limited.

In a Washington Post opinion piece about social mobility in the United States, columnist Fareed Zakaria says “cities with strong families, civic support groups and a community-service orientation do well on social and economic mobility.” He notes that this is “why Salt Lake City — dominated by Mormons — has mobility levels that compare with” countries in northern Europe that “do better at moving poor people up the ladder than the United States does." Salt Lake City may not be “dominated” by Mormons, but the Latter-day Saints there consider it a religious duty to help their neighbors.Zakaria calls this fabric of community relationships “social capital,” and it’s one of the values that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lives by. What’s more, this same “social capital” is greatly boosted by religion. Several commentaries on MormonNewsroom.org explain how Mormon faith and practice help create strong families and robust communities. But it’s not only Mormons. All people of faith nurture social capital in their efforts to make the world a better place.

Ann Romney Tuesday night became the first member of the Romney campaign this year to use the word "Mormon" in public, marking a new turn in a five-year debate inside Mitt Romney's circle about how to handle his faith. Since Romney announced his second presidential campaign 15 months ago, his strategy in dealing with questions about his Mormon faith could be boiled down to three steps: duck, dodge, and weave. But in the past two weeks, the candidate and his team of advisers have made a dramatic about-face in their approach to the religion question; allowing reporters to tag along with the family at church, instructing surrogates to cooperate with cable news specials about Mormonism, and devoting valuable primetime chunks of the Republican convention to anecdotes about the candidate's church service — an unexpected series of moves that comprise, as one campaign adviser conceded, "a total 180."

There’s this weird phenomenon I’ve observed. It’s unclear where it’s nexus lies— It may be influenced by the rise of the Pinterest quote culture, or the focus on and elevation of lifestyle blogs. Are wall-quotes in living-areas a symptom or a cause? I’m not sure. What I see in my own community, on social media, and online in general, is an elevation of happiness being considered a virtue, a morally superior position. Being happy is great, of course, but the converse side of expecting happiness (or cheerfulness) as a marker of faith is that those who are somehow not “happy” or who struggle in any way, are somehow perilously close to morally failing.

There is a divine pattern in the scriptures that shows how to connect the children of God with heaven. This pattern includes listening to the words of living prophets, studying the words of scriptural prophets, pondering those teachings, and then praying in faith to our Heavenly Father, knowing He will hear and answer your prayers.

It was just one video of many posted on Southeast Christian Church's Facebook page. A few members of the nondenominational evangelical Christian church in Salt Lake City made a video about their experiences in a financial seminar the church sponsored. Someone saw it on Facebook, stopped by the church to see if it would be offered again and ended up coming regularly: Virtual interaction became real contact. As more and more people use Facebook, it is only natural that churches might try to take advantage of its potential to connect with their members and with a broader audience. A report from LifeWay Research found that 47 percent of Protestant church congregations nationwide now use Facebook. But with this use comes questions about its appropriateness.

What can the largest women's organization in the world teach us about feminism, about strength, and about the kind of women who can change the world and stand for their faith, no matter what?

Serving a senior mission can be a sacrifice, as Sister and Elder Kartchner know all too well. After many sacrifices that required faith, the couple had just enough money for food, gas, and rent while they served their mission in New Zealand. But there was one other challenge that would require faith and sacrifice when Elder Kartchner, who had no fingers on his left hand, was asked to play the piano for his branch.

What profound insights from Dr. Taylor Halverson: "There is power in naming. A name provides clarity of identity. A name highlights significant characteristics. A name entrusts power and responsibility. A name ensures life."