The life and faith of an LDS sister missionary is explored in great detail this week on the Research on Religion podcast. The podcast, which is sponsored by the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion and hosted by Anthony Gill, a senior fellow at the institute, features Deseret News editorial writer Allison Pond, who served as an LDS missionary in Russia from 1997-98.

Bloggers have been dissecting this media-proclaimed “Mormon Moment” since its inception. And I just must feature a few of these well-written faith treatises of sorts. Bold statement: “Calling Yourself Mormon Is a Very Bold Statement," declares blogger Jessie Stay. Why? “It means you believe in modern-day revelation. It means you believe there are men today that speak to God, and God speaks to them.

When it comes to making big decisions, finding answers to questions, or searching for solutions, we know that seeking revelation is vital. But sometimes as we are pondering and seeking, we find that instead we are overthinking and worrying. Our fears and anxieties dominate our thoughts, and worries spiral to the point that we are unable to receive the heavenly direction we need.

The Church History Museum of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently launched a new online exhibit titled “‘Exceedingly Valiant for Courage’: Bravery in the Book of Mormon” this week. The exhibit’s artwork portrays how figures in the Book of Mormon displayed courage to declare their faith and defend their families. It is part of the museum’s ongoing series of online art exhibits highlighting the stories of the Book of Mormon.

On December 14, 2012, Alissa and Robbie Parker received a heartwrenching phone call—a shooting had happened at their daughter's elementary school, Sandy Hook. The nightmare of that day's events is still fresh in the Parkers's minds, but along with the horrors, the two recall many miracles that came into their lives the months and years after.

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."

After teaching his son Corianton concerning the journey of spirits—righteous and wicked—into the spirit world, Alma continued: "And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow" (Alma 40:12; italics added). We thus see that paradise is the abode of the righteous in the world of spirits, a "state of happiness," a place hereafter where the spirits of the faithful "expand in wisdom, where they have respite from all their troubles, and where care and sorrow do not annoy." 12

There are more similarities than you’d think between Abraham Lincoln and the Prophet Joseph. We stumbled upon these gems in Tim Ballard’s book The Lincoln Hypothesis. Here are five of our favorites:

The public dust-up over Ann Romney and stay-home mothers played out in a particular way in Romney’s own community of Mormon women, who are twice as likely to be housewives as non-Mormons. Mormon culture and preaching is strongly protective of distinct gender roles, with church members more likely than Americans of any other faith group to say it’s better for women to stay home and men to work outside the house.

When Dorothy came home from school to find the Relief Society in her living room instead of her faithful but imperfect mom, Rene, she was ill-prepared for how drastically her life would soon change. But despite the heartbreak of circumstances beyond her control, and with the help and support of her youth leaders Kurt and Naomi, Dorothy found the strength to believe in the healing power of the Atonement for every broken heart, including her own.