On a Tuesday morning before the world outside turned upside down, it was quiet and peaceful in the Washington D.C. Temple.

“The Latter-day Saint community [in Las Vegas is] vibrant across every facet—politically, public service, charitable. … No other group of people [comes] close.”

From monster truck driving to the Olympics and the NFL to the NBA, many famous athletes have found the gospel and discovered the fullness it brings to their lives. Here are just a few remarkable stories of athletes who have converted to the Church.

► Related content: The Church and Coronavirus: A Timeline of News Releases and Media Coverage

The songs in “Shine” are anything but traditional as the album reimagines old-time favorite Primary songs in a variety of styles, including gospel, jazz, R&B, neo-soul, reggae, and Atlanta hip hop.

In some ways, the two men were polar opposites. DeMille was an icon in the 20th-century film industry who directed 70 motion pictures in a career that spanned four decades. Living in Los Angeles, he was referred to as “Mr. Hollywood.”1 President McKay, on the other hand, was dedicated to building Zion as prophet, seer, and revelator.

In a live, worldwide event, youth asked Elder David A. Bednar questions that ranged in topics from member missionary work to pride and doubt. Youth were able to submit questions before the event and also during the event on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag #LDSface2face.

There are many reasons why Jesus came to earth, and our word Atonement has come to embody them all, but I think, if I had to be specific, I would say that the essence of His life centered on forgiveness. In the great hymn of the Restoration, Joseph Smith caught that spirit when he wrote, “Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven” (D&C 128:19). The Savior is the incarnation, the personification, the grand architect of forgiveness and mercy. It is inherent in almost every act of His life. It is the one single most significant quality of the Father that Jesus came to teach us with His words and show us by His example. Indeed, the most beautiful words He spoke during those last agonizing hours of His life are, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Whenever I feel the difficulty of forgiving in my own life, I read those words and the feeling of forgiveness moves into my soul.

God promises to provide powerful blessings when we live the law of tithing. But the fruits of obeying this commandment aren't always what we expect.

Today most of what politicians argue and clamor about devolves down to the distribution of “stuff”—money and materialism—in the furtherance of some relative sense of social justice. As a Latter-day Saint serving as a United States Senator, I never had the sense that the Spirit of the Lord was much a part of these debates, those involving the grubby details of government or of contentious partisanship. Yet, always, I keenly sensed that Providence cared about America and was alarmed by policies that fostered improvident living, dependence and indolence in its people, and all on borrowed money. Another election season soon will be upon us, one with two Latter-day Saints contending for the presidential chair. The central issue for debate that will and should attract our earnest attention is the deplorable condition of the nation’s finances. The nation’s debt clock is rapidly becoming a time-bomb. America cannot long remain simultaneously the world’s super power and the world’s super debtor. All great nations in history have presaged their declines with massive, unsustainable debt, the Roman and British Empires being two obvious examples. Of one thing I am certain: the world will be a poorer and a much more dangerous place if a debt-laden, lethargic America no longer has the strength to lead and foster around the world the values of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”