Not very many people know that Joseph Smith owned a faithful mastiff, Major. Read how the prophet's furry companion protected and loved him throughout his life, even in the dark confines of Liberty Jail.

When Niankoro Yeah Samake lands in Mali on Friday, following a successful California fundraising campaign, to register as a candidate in the country’s upcoming presidential elections, he will be carrying a lot of baggage. There will be the requisite suitcase stuffed with gifts from the U.S. for his family back home. He will have a sizable check from an American hair-products magnate to help fund his campaign. And he will have his well-thumbed copy of the Book of Mormon, scripture that has been a constant source of strength since he converted more than a decade ago. He is likely to need it. Aside from his wife and children, Samake is Mali’s only Mormon. He’s not even sure which will be more difficult: running as a Mormon in a country that is 95% Muslim, or being President of a nation so weakened by corruption that the past 14 months have seen the government felled by a coup and two-thirds of its territory overrun by Islamist militants. “I am not running for President because of my faith, but my faith will help me be President,” he says, via Skype on a layover in Paris.

What an incredible story of faith!

When "The Saratov Approach" hit theaters last October, it shocked audiences across the United States with its record-breaking success. Latter-day Saints and their neighbors alike connected to the heart-wrenching struggled of two kidnapped missionaries relying on faith and prayer to preserve their testimonies, and their lives.

"Can't believe this just happened," Elizabeth Smart writes on her Instagram post announcing her Emmy nomination.

With eight studio albums now under his belt, David Archuleta has come a long way as an artist and individual since his American Idol days. But the journey hasn’t always been smooth. One of the hardest lines the singer said he’s had to straddle is being a Latter-day Saint in a cutthroat music industry.

"Religious minorities have an uneasy presence in Russia today," an article by Emma Friedlander from The Moscow Times states. With an estimated 22,000 members in Russia, Latter-day Saints are among one of those minorities.

The following comes from the April 2019 Ensign.

“Your self-worth comes from who you are as a person,” Calaway says. “All of us have a divine beauty inside of us that we are gifted from our Heavenly Father, and we’re also gifted a beautiful shell, and when we learn to combine the two and to exercise control over our shell by using the knowledge we have of our spirits, we start to really understand our divine potential.”

“They don’t make ‘em like they used to!” I hear it all the time. Fact is, they do. A bevy of uplifting, inspiring films has recently hit theaters–—with more on the way. If I may be so bold to repeat the words of our late President Hinckley: “When there is a good movie in town, consider going to the theater as a family. Your very patronage will give encouragement to those who wish to produce this type of entertainment” (“In Opposition to Evil,” Ensign, September 2004).