President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and his wife, Harriet, recently visited Church members in Paris and Brussels on a Church assignment in Europe. Following devastating terrorist attacks in both countries earlier this year, President Uchtdorf remarked, “It is incredible how they reach out to those around [them] . . . When bad things happen to us, it’s always a time to reach out to those who need help.”

How relevant is religion? It’s a question each new generation asks itself. As times change, new circumstances present new challenges and possibilities. And yet, through it all, this immemorial longing we call religion continues on. In the 1960s, sociologists came to a consensus that religion was fading. As knowledge and freedom increased, they theorized, so modern society would outgrow religion. Thirty years later, however, that hypothesis was reversed. One of these sociologists, Peter Berger, explained the miscalculation this way: “Religion has not been declining. On the contrary, in much of the world there has been a veritable explosion of religious faith.”[2] He concluded that just because the world is becoming more modern doesn’t necessarily mean it is becoming less religious. Religion, it can be said, is just as relevant now as it has ever been.

On Dec. 19, Mitt Romney appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to read “The Top Ten Things Mitt Romney Would Like to Say to the American People.” He gazed into the camera and deadpanned, “Isn’t it time for a President who looks like a 1970s game show host?” He also poked fun at his helmet hair and took a jab at Newt Gingrich. One thing absent from the list: his religion. In speeches, Romney often talks about faith and prayer but rarely mentions that he is a devout Mormon. Perhaps that’s because national polls show many Americans—particularly evangelical Christians he needs to win—know little about the religion and are suspicious of it. A June Gallup poll found that 18 percent of Republicans wouldn’t vote for a Mormon for President.

I was reminded last week, upon reading Simon Critchley’s opinion piece in the New York Times, what a unique stretch of time we’re in. Much has been written about the Mormon Moment. As a columnist, I’ve been watching this moment snowball for more than a decade, from the rustlings that came during the 2002 Winter Olympics up until now. A lot has changed in that period of time. The number of famous Mormon faces has grown, thanks to reality shows, business success, blogging, politics and some best-selling books. The way we’re scrutinized has changed. A decade ago, the media often deferred to non-Mormon experts on Mormonism. Now they reach more from within the faith to source their stories.

Utah rock-pop group Neon Trees, are loud and proud about about being Mormons and as frontman Tyler Glenn and bassist Branden Campbell explain, it’s their faith that’s kept them straight and narrow on the rock 'n' roll road.

More than 2,000 people converged on rural North Carolina earlier this month for the third annual Wild Goose Festival, a gathering featuring music, art and speeches on religion and social issues — all with a liberal twist. The festivalgoers fit the description of what some call "religious progressives," a label that riffs on the idea of "religious conservatives" to describe those who exhibit both faith and left-of-center politics. According to research released recently by two liberal-leaning research groups, Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution, this group may have the potential to change the dynamics of religion and politics in America.

Read one Latter-day Saint's incredible conversion story, as well as her reconversion to the truths that have helped her through mental illness, addiction, and even the loss of loved ones.

When we focus on our commonalities with other religions and how we can help and lift others, we can find ways to share Christ's love.

Robert F. Bennett, a three-term U.S. Senator from Utah, died Wednesday surrounded by his friends and family.

If Manti Te'o's career at Notre Dame has seemed like something straight out of a Hollywood script, perhaps it is fitting the linebacker is cast as a underdog in the final two scenes of his collegiate career. First, he will try to become the first defense-only player to win the Heisman Trophy, going up against a couple of quarterbacks Saturday night in Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel and Kansas State's Collin Klein. Next month, he will lead the top-ranked Fighting Irish against defending champion Alabama in the BCS championship game as Notre Dame tries to become the first team since BYU in 1984 to start a season unranked and win it all.