He left everything behind. His family, his friends, his girlfriend, his glove. He packed his bags for Europe, walked away from the game, and was prepared to never come back. It was 1999, and Jeremy Guthrie, having just finished his freshman year at BYU, was off to Spain to serve a mission for the Mormon Church, and over the next two years, he did not pick up a baseball—he barely even thought about baseball. “It wasn’t one of those things where I prayed one night and said, ‘Lord, if I do this, you promise [to do this for me],” Guthrie recalled last week during the World Series. “It was not that way. It was: ‘I'm going to give this up, and I know whatever happens will be the best for me.’”

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."

With the launch of mormonsandchina.org, a new website aimed specifically at those from the People’s Republic of China who have joined the LDS Church while living in other nations of the world, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is publicly addressing for the first time a number of questions about its membership and operations in China. “Our more open communication about the church in China follows our developed relationship of trust with Chinese officials and our concern for the PRC citizens who are joining the church throughout the world,” said Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the LDS Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who has supervised the church in the People’s Republic of China under the direction of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for a number of years.

Jazmyn Jeppson returned from her mission on December 16, just in time to spend Christmas with her family. But, a little after a month after returning from her work serving the Lord, she was hit and killed by a man attempting to flee the police.

From Oregon to Brazil and the Philippines to Nevada, learn more about these eight newly called mission presidents and their wives.

When Tupou Neiufi was just 2 years old, she was injured by a hit-and-run driver, leaving her with paralysis down the left side of her body and a traumatic brain injury that forced her to learn how to sit, walk and use her arms all over again. After years of therapy, one of her therapists suggested swimming as a way to strengthen her muscles and coordination.

Life is hard and we all have those days when it feels a little harder. Whatever you're going through, we hope you'll find comfort in these quotes.

If you've been on BYU campus the last few weeks, you may have noticed a number of students wearing hijabs. One student, Sondra Sasser, says, "We have a lot in common with our Muslim brothers and sisters," and she and other students have found a way to reach out to them and show love and support:

Watch Lindsey Stirling perform live on the TODAY show and learn more about how the death of her best friend and her father being diagnosed with cancer influenced her newest album.

Prayer is a powerful tool; it is a way for us to invite the Spirit into our lives so that we may know how to bless the lives of those around us. Through prayer, we can ask that our neighbors and our Church leaders be blessed. This month’s visiting teaching principle and First Presidency message invite us to consider ways that prayer can help us minister to our assigned families and prepare for the upcoming general conference.