It’s unlikely that anyone in the Church (except for the apostles) anticipated that Neal A. Maxwell would be called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles when he was. As far as most people knew, there wasn’t a vacancy to be filled. Generally, a new apostle is called when an apostle dies. However, in 1981, the health of all three members of the First Presidency was declining. After many vibrant years of service together, they were slowing down. President Spencer W. Kimball, in recovery from surgery, felt “a restless urge to breathe needed vitality into the First Presidency”. President Kimball called Elder Gordon B. Hinckley to be a fourth member of the Presidency on July 15th. This left a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve.

The feeling of receiving a carefully prepared soup or dessert dropped off by Kate felt like true devotion. It felt like true love. It felt like God.

The following is an article written by Tim Kaine for the Deseret News. Here are just a few highlights:

To celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, Utah couple Melissa and Kurt Cochran traveled through Europe, stopping in London to visit Melissa's parents who were serving a mission in the London temple. The day before they were to return home, they were caught in the middle of a deadly terrorist attack. Though heartbreaking, the family feels as though this tragedy has brought them closer together.

Wilford Woodruff Emery (1889-1954) was president of Samoan Mission at the outbreak of World War II. He wrote of a harrowing wartime experience in the South Pacific: While in the Samoan Mission Sister Emery and I had been over to the island of Tutuila for a visit. We had completed our work and prepared to return to Upolu, our headquarters. We were late leaving the harbor of Pago Pago and it got dark on us almost as soon as we reached the open sea. We headed westward for our destination and then made ourselves as comfortable as possible. We lay on the hatchway in preference to the small, ill-smelling bunks inside the cabin. If it should rain we would take to the cabin to keep from getting wet. It was a beautiful night, although pitch dark. The few passengers and two or three of the crew also made themselves comfortable on the hatchway, using their lifebelts as pillows for their heads.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson recently returned from a trip to Sierra Leone, where he met members who have survived a civil war and the Ebola outbreak. In an article about this trip by the Deseret News, Sarah Jane Weaver focuses on the challenges the Saints in this region have faced in the past and reveals how the direction from prophets can save lives:

MR says: A ward in Salt Lake City is focusing on healing after a member and father of four, Russell Jacobs, was shot by a man in their neighborhood--Jesse Lyle Bruner, someone many members remember as having grown up in their ward. Members of the stake presidency visited the ward this past Sunday to help bring unity and added comfort to its members.

I recently had the privilege to visit a Relief Society whose members are all elderly sisters in their 80s and 90s. Because it is winter in this part of the world, it is a time that can be challenging for those who are shut in or have difficulty getting around.

“Now is not only a time for us to look back, it is the time to look forward with excitement to the future,” said President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during a visit to the Republic of Singapore. “What a glorious future is in store for you.”

OREM, UTAH - A benefit concert featuring singing sensation Nathan Pacheco and Grammy-nominated violinist Jenny Oaks Baker will be held Friday, October 3, at 8 p.m. at the UCCU Center at UVU to raise money to support LDS missionaries worldwide.