Editor's note: This story was originally published by LDS Living in April 2020 and is being shared again in anticipation of October 2020 general conference. Here's how you can watch.

After joining the Church in the US, Sahar Qumsiyeh began the difficult journey of living her faith and strengthening the Saints back in her homeland of Palestine.

1 & 2 Peter, Jude

Learn more about these Latter-day Saint culinary masters.

This was a rut I was grateful to be stuck in one crisp, blue-sky morning in western Wyoming. Standing deep in a trough on a sparsely wooded hill overlooking the North Platte River near the outskirts of Guernsey, I felt the earth rumble as oxen mooed, whips cracked, and covered wagons creaked up the steep rutted incline hauling heavy loads of the essentials, and the trivial. Hardened women in bonnets and long skirts followed coughing in the dust, and men in hats on horses yelled at their livestock and encouraged children and the old staggering to keep pace. Among this rolling wave of humanity were hundreds of poor English and Scandinavian Mormons on foot who had no idea what awaited them in October of 1856 as they pushed and pulled two-wheeled carts with bloody hands ever-onward to Zion and the Valley of the Salt Lake for 1,300 tiresome miles in the ultimate test of their faith.

Thousands of lights adorn the grounds of the Sydney Australia Temple during the holiday season. Similar to lighting displays at other temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the presentation also features life-size nativity characters and an art show. The collection of paintings in the show chronicles the life of Jesus Christ from birth to resurrection, a story that is particularly interesting to individuals of the many non-Christian faiths who reside in Sydney. Christmas lighting displays are uncommon in Australian culture, so the staging at the temple provides a unique means of celebrating the holiday for thousands of residents, according to Alan Wakeley, country director of Public Affairs for the Latter-day Saints.

On Monday afternoon, just hours before the Alabama Crimson Tide blew out the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the BCS National Championship football game, Peggy Fletcher Stack posted a short note at the Salt Lake Tribune‘s Following Faith blog on the Catholic pregame rituals of ND. Specifically, Stack drew readers’ attention to the Mormon story embedded within a fuller exploration of that subject at the Wall Street Journal: Star linebacker, Heisman Trophy runner-up, and devout Mormon Manti Te’o joins his teammates in “attend[ing] a Catholic Mass, receiv[ing] ‘a priest-blessed medal devoted to a Catholic saint,’ and ‘kiss[ing] a shrine containing two slivers Notre Dame believes came from Jesus’ cross.’” He was even photographed receiving a blessing from Notre Dame president emeritus Father Theodore Hesburgh (a blessing Te’o reportedly sought out).

What a fascinating look into why our Church leaders are mentioning our Heavenly Parents now far more often than ever before.

April 27 marks the hundredth anniversary of Family Home Evening, a weekly Mormon event inaugurated by President Joseph F. Smith (not to be confused with founder Joseph Smith; this was his nephew). Once a week since its initiation, Mormon families have come together for prayers, Scripture lessons, songs, games and a snack. The idea is that the night makes families stronger and more faithful in their calling.

Professor Daniel C. Peterson examines many arguments against the Book of Mormon and why he still believes in Joseph Smith and this holy scripture. "I’ve said sometimes that I just don’t have the faith to disbelieve Joseph Smith’s story; I just can’t get there; I can’t do it.”