A couple of years ago I wrote a column about Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the "South Park" guys, and their proposed Broadway-bound "Mormon Musical." After detailing how they have lampooned all things LDS since their earliest collaborations around 1993, I suggested it was time for the duo to find a new target.

When I was growing up, every December we would read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and Matthew 2 about Christ's birth in Bethlehem, the shepherds, and the wise men. But as Latter-day Saints, we know there's more to that story—there's a second Christmas account about what was happening in the Americas at the same time, found in the Book of Mormon.

A handful of Republican candidates were asked during last night presidential debate about Rick Perry backer Reverend Robert Jeffress‘ recent comments that Mormonism, Mitt Romney’s faith, is a cult. “Should voters pay attention to a candidate’s religion?” asked debate host Anderson Cooper.

In the ranks of today’s Latter-day Saints, there are thousands who serve in the armed forces. Here are 10 ways we, as an LDS community, can best support troops and their families.

Mark 1:21-45; 2:1-12; 4:34-5:43; Luke 7:11-17

In the sports world, Sunday is prime time for competitions. And the Olympics are no exception. With preliminaries, games, competitions, and finals all falling on Sundays, many Latter-day Saints are presented with a very personal choice as they come face-to-face with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in the pinnacle of sports competitions.

In 1888, speaking about the possibility of Mormon literature, the church leader Orson F. Whitney made an audacious promise to his fellow Mormons: “We will yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own.” Yet 125 years later, there is no Mormon Milton. There is no Mormon Milosz, no Mormon Munro.Mormons are, on average, better educated than most Americans, and they have written popular fiction. But Mormon authors tend to cluster in genre fiction, like fantasy, science fiction, and children’s and young adult literature. Orson Scott Card, who wrote “Ender’s Game,” the sci-fi novel on which the country’s current top-grossing movie is based, is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So is Stephenie Meyer, author of the “Twilight” series.

I bet you have a few SuperPails of grains in your long-term food storage. You’re probably planning on grinding the wheat into flour and baking with it. That’s a good plan. Now, consider how many ways you can use a SuperPail of wheat or oat groats if you keep some oil, vinegar, and spices on hand. You could make one of these tasty salads, or this easy and delicious breakfast.When thinking about food storage, many people just stock up on the bare minimum for survival. But having familiar and nutritious food on hand is important to your health and emotional well-being in a crisis. Consider keeping extra packages or bottles of the condiments and add-ins that you normally use while you cook. When you have to dig into your food storage, you’ll still be able to make your favorite meals because you’ll have your favorite ingredients on hand (instead of going to the store with the crowds and settling for whatever’s left on the shelves).

Commentators on both the right and left and both secular and religious note with disdain that Mormons (Latter Day Saints, as Mormons refer to themselves) have irrational practices and beliefs. The former, we are told, includes the wearing of sacred undergarments and the latter includes posthumous baptisms and the claims by the prophet of Mormonism to have found and deciphered engraved golden plates in New York State. I read and hear these dismissals of Mormonism with some amusement -- because everyone who makes these charges holds beliefs and/or practices that outsiders consider just as irrational.

Excerpt from "'The Light and Life of the World,'" by Dallin H. Oaks