After 20 years of Latter-day Saint cinema (and 19 years of the festival itself), the annual LDS Film Festival is going stronger than ever, offering a wholly unique and wholesome spin that Sundance, Cannes, and other festivals can’t match. By showcasing the talents of Latter-day Saints and other Christian filmmakers, this weeklong event offers much by way of worry-free entertainment, learning about filmmaking, and rubbing elbows with the artists themselves. It all starts tonight and runs all week at the SCERA theater in Orem, Utah.

Feel your heart swell with gratitude as you consider these 10 overlooked blessings.

Part of the information sent to prospective missionaries is a list of needed clothing, supplies, and incidentals. The Missionary Department is appropriately concerned that missionaries arrive in the field properly equipped for the service they are expected to render. I remember receiving my list in 1965 and I have been with my eight missionary children as they received theirs. My children have generally requested a new suitcase, although we have convinced most of them that such an expenditure is not necessary. We have a nice selection available. Then the shopping begins, as they scour the city for the things they will require for the time of their service in Santiago or New York or Las Palmas or San Salvador or Salvador or Carlsbad or Añasco or White River. My bank account has ached with the abuse it has taken. My Mastercard has been swiped so many times it nearly set my pants on fire.

The Church’s new historic book, Saints, has already been read or listened to by thousands of people. It brings a fresh perspective on the story of how the gospel and The Church of Jesus Christ evolved. While it tells many familiar stories in a conversational, dialogue-based style, there are also many stories that even avid Church history researchers might not have heard, including stories that portray the more human sides of some of our revered early Church figures. Whether you’ve already read Saints once or haven’t started it yet, here are five unique facts that you can watch for in the book.

Complete with cowboys, fugitives and dusty little cabins euphemistically dubbed ‘flannel palaces,’ the story of a Mormon settlement in southern Alberta reads with all the intrigue and romance of the Wild West. However, the migration north is first and foremost a story about faith and cultural resilience, said Lynn A. Rosenvall, who will discuss the transfer of Mormon culture to the region in his keynote address at the Mormon History Association’s upcoming 47th annual conference in Calgary, Alberta.

On Wednesday, August 22 and Thursday, August 23 “World News with Diane Sawyer” aired a two-part report “Inside the Mormon Church” from ABC’s Dan Harris. In introducing the series Diane Sawyer said — “It’s a time of change in America. In the last 12 years alone we have seen the election of the first black President, the first Jewish candidate on a major ticket — Senator Joe Lieberman, and next week, another breakthrough – the first Mormon nominee for President, a profound and historic moment for the Mormon faith, which is a still a mystery to a lot of people. So tonight, Dan Harris begins a two-part series, answering questions about this uniquely American religion.”

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.

Preparing to serve a mission can be scary. There are lots of things you might worry about—money, knowledge, shyness—but no matter the concern, you can find the reassurance and courage you need. Here are some common questions and answers to help you overcome your fears and find the faith to go forward.

It is almost as if Rodney Stark had taken up the ultimate "set a date" missionary challenge — by the time 2080 rolls around, 267,452,000 people will be Mormons. "Set a date" refers to a common practice among members the LDS Church to make goals to introduce someone to their faith by such-and-such a date. But it wasn't a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who made this prediction. Stark is a sociologist at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, a private Baptist university and made that prediction in 1984.

In her documentary, Paige Olsen highlighted her grandfather’s commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ.