The calamity of September 11th, 2001 has cast a long shadow. Ten years later, many of us are still haunted by its terrible tragedy of lost lives and broken hearts. It is an episode of anguish that has become a defining moment in the history of the American nation and the world. This week, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with Tom Brokaw, will pay its own homage to the unforgettable events of September 11, 2001. There was, as many have noted, a remarkable surge of faith following the tragedy. People across the United States rediscovered the need for God and turned to Him for solace and understanding. Comfortable times were shattered. We felt the great unsteadiness of life and reached for the great steadiness of our Father in Heaven. And, as ever, we found it. Americans of all faiths came together in a remarkable way.

In June 1979, a coalition of conservative religious leaders led by a Jewish Howard Phillips, Catholic Paul Weyrich, and evangelical televangelist Jerry Falwell banded together to wage a political "holy war" against the liberal establishment. They called their organization the "Moral Majority" to signify the large number of social conservatives they believed were being ignored across American culture. Forming a political action committee, the organization registered 4 million voters in 1980 and purchased $10 million in radio and television ads questioning President Carter's patriotism and Christianity. Its message struck a chord with a large swath of Americans, and their efforts are credited with helping to elect Ronald Reagan. More importantly, the birth of the coalition began of a period of political dominance for the religious conservatives that would span at least three decades.

How unthinkable it was, not so long ago, that a presidential election would pit a candidate fathered by an African against another condemned as un-Christian. Yet here it is: Barack Obama versus Mitt Romney, an African-American and a white Mormon, representatives of two groups and that have endured oppression to carve out a place in the United States.

As part of the Church's 2016 "Light the World" Christmas campaign, many LDS artists have released music videos to spread the message of the gospel with their fans. American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic also released a peaceful instrumental version of "Candlelight Carol" to #LIGHTtheWORLD.

Americans who have only passing contact with Mormons are more likely to react to negative information about Mitt Romney and his faith and less inclined to buy into the counter, pro-Mormon argument, according to a new study. The research, by three political science professors, including one at Brigham Young University, contends that voters who know Mormons well (such as having a family member or close friend who is in the faith) tend to dismiss outside arguments about the religion, while those who have had no contact with Mormons were the "most persuadable" either for or against Romney and the Salt Lake City-based religion.

Despite a deep drop in the number of Americans who identify with a particular faith, the country could be on the cusp of a religious renaissance, says Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of The Gallup Poll. Grounded in more than a million Gallup interviews, Newport’s new book, “God is Alive and Well,” argues that the aging of the baby boomers, the influx of Hispanic immigrants and the links between religion and health could portend a bright future for faith in America.

While in Paraguay during his South American ministry tour, President Russell M. Nelson spoke with the missionaries serving in the area. Two of these missionaries took quite the journey to hear the words of the prophet, traveling for two days straight. Watch what they had to say about the experience below. For more about President Nelson's travels and teachings in South America, visit the Church News.

Joshua Holt, who has been imprisoned in Venezuela for over a year and a half, has sent his wife's 7-year-old daughter to live with his parents in Utah.

Years ago, in the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan made an offhand comment that for some reason has stuck in my mind for 30 years.

It is the number that may very well define the outcome of the 2012 presidential race. Less than a year ago, a Gallup poll revealed that twenty-two percent of Americans said they would not vote for a Mormon to be president. Only atheists and gays rated less popular. And breaking this number down between Republicans and Democrats did not improve the picture. The same poll indicated that twenty percent of Republicans and twenty-seven percent of Democrats would not vote for a Mormon presidential candidate. Gallop also reported that these percentages have remained essentially unchanged since 1967 when the firm first began polling on the issue of Mormons in politics.