From landing men on the moon to helping humans reach interstellar space, these Latter-day Saint pioneers dedicated their lives to exploring the outer most limits of space and expanding our understanding of the celestial.

These introductory paragraphs are excerpted from a 1995 manuscript by Herbert Kurt Ludwig and the author. Ludwig was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who served in the German infantry in World War II. His journey through World War II took him from the freezing steppes of Russia to the burning sands of North Africa, where he served as a motorcycle messenger in the headquarters of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Along with a 136,000 other Germans, he was abandoned by his country in North Africa, facing new dangers, opportunities, and challenges throughout the rest of the war.

Our favorite toys are back together again in Toy Story 4, 24 years after the original Toy Story hit theaters to instant, raving fans. How does this franchise consistently pump out one fantastic film after another? Disney and Pixar’s magical formula has done it again. Former Chief Creator Director of Disney John Lasseter has always said that Pixar wouldn’t make another Toy Story movie unless it was as good or better than previous versions. Mission accomplished. To infinity and beyond!

Recently I was visiting another church for a meeting when I noticed tiny handprints on the glass doors. I had time to spare and my first thought was to grab a rag and some Windex and wipe them off.

The history of Latter-day Saints and Hollywood is more exciting and far-reaching than most people realize. Check out these 40 ways Church members have left their mark in television and on the silver screen.

“I had no money. I could not afford school. In some way, I felt I had to give up on my dream to finish an education.”

On the western shore of the Sea of Galilee was the city of Magdala, an important fishing settlement and the hometown of Mary Magdalene. In Hebrew, the word Magdala means “tower,” and indeed, Mary Magdalene became a tower of strength, both to her fellow disciples and to us today as well.

Mary Magdalene is one of the best-known characters in the New Testament, yet we know surprisingly little about her. In all but one of the twelve times that she is mentioned in the four Gospels, she is either named alone or first in a list of women. The sole exception is in John’s account of the women who stood by the cross in which the mother of Jesus is listed first (John 19:25). Nevertheless, in the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene is the premier witness of the Resurrection and the only one commissioned to tell others the stunning truth. The primacy of her name in these accounts, the frequency of her mention, and her role on the morning of the Resurrection suggest that she was a prominent and respected disciple in the first century. From the earliest interpretations of her, however, she has been assigned polar opposite roles: at one extreme, a repentant sinner who quietly served; at the other, the apostle to the apostles.

Our youngest son recently graduated from high school with plans to attend college in the fall. Because of a number of vacations and other summer plans, it hasn’t worked out for him to get steady employment during the time between graduation and college departure. As such, he’s kind of broke most of the time, but he has things he wants to do, some of which cost money. I will periodically get a text message saying, “Dad, could you loan me some money for [insert item here]?” When I get such texts, I usually have two competing thoughts. The first is I love my son and want to do everything I can for him. I want him to be comfortable and enjoy life. Just give him the money! The second thought is Hold on! He needs to learn to be responsible and that money doesn’t grow on trees. Make him work for it. Those thoughts duke it out in my brain for a moment, and then after consultation with my amazing wife, we usually arrive at a compromise that enables generosity combined with responsibility.

Have you ever had this happen before? It’s dinner time and you’re about to dig into your favorite meal. You scoop your plate full of food only to discover, to your disappointment, that you get full before you can finish it all. I have. And it’s a sad feeling.