Freedom of religion has been, and still is, an essential moving force in the grand experiment of American democracy. Planting that principle of religious freedom in early America brought about two profound results—the rejection of a “divine right of kings” doctrine, and breaking the 1,500-year European tradition of upholding a state-established church.[1] And with that, a heritage of self government, not to mention distinctly different congregations, sprang up. Yet no one could take freedom of religion for granted. Baptists, Catholics, Jews, Mormons and others have all faced, at one time or another, overt prejudice and serious attempts to curtail their liberties (sometimes coming from fellow religionists). Yet looking back over the long narrative of American religious history and the experience gained, the principle of religious freedom is prevailing.

Maya Hidden Worlds Revealed currently at Natural History Museum of Utah through May 27, 2019.

This is the story of a man and a woman who couldn’t have children of their own, so they adopted them — and kept on adopting. Seventeen in all, and that doesn’t count the four they took in temporarily.

Every year, a few days before Christmas, my family walks into a superstore and with Mom and Dad’s help, our children scatter and purchase pre-budgeted presents for one another. They bob and weave like spies to avoid detection, hiding in clothing displays or playfully posing as mannequins. We meet up front when we’re done, purchase and triple bag the inexpensive gifts, then head home. It’s a highlight of the Christmas season that dates back more than 30 years to my own childhood with my own siblings.

The choir, orchestra, and United States Military Academy Band at West Point performed "The Stars and Stripes Forever," "Armed Forces Medley," and "America the Beautiful."

The upcoming devotional will focus on Church history found in ‘Saints,’ vol. 3, paired with historical and personal accounts.

In this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, Jenny's life comes to a screeching halt when a trip to the doctor reveals she has acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Determined to continue her life mission of studying Latter-day Saint women's history, Jenny endures multiple rounds of chemotherapy and painful bone marrow transplants as the cancer returns a staggering three times. But during her lowest moments of pain and suffering, Jenny finds solace in the stalwart spirits of the women she has come to know so well.

This month's edition of weekly FHE lessons is based on the new family movie Trek, which follows a young Mormon teenager named Tom and his friends on their handcart journey. Each lesson includes a scene from the movie to watch and discuss. Your whole family will laugh along and be inspired by Trek: The Movie, available at Deseret Book stores and deseretbook.com.

Conference Talk: