The following has been republished with permission fromtaylorhalverson.com.

The Preston Temple in Spring from LornArth on Vimeo.

To find out more about Mormons and their beliefs, Business Insider traveled to upstate New York earlier this month for the Hill Cumorah Pageant, the flagship pageant of the LDS Church, which takes place on the hill where Mormonism's founder, Joseph Smith, is believed to have found the Golden Plates that he later translated into the Book of Mormon. Despite the almost entirely Mormon cast and audience, the Hill Cumorah show, America's Witness for Christ, is actually written for non-Mormons. It amounts to a Book of Mormon 101 course, depicting pivotal scenes from the church's seminal sacred text, which Mormons believe to be a "record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas" and consider to be a "volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible," according to the Book of Mormon introduction.

What does a two-time cancer survivor, 24-year-old CEO, and podcast creator have in common? They are all mothers, and they all agree the best job in the world is motherhood.

The Mormons’ adherence to chastity and clean-cut family values has been mocked in a hit musical. But the leading opera singer Bryn Terfel has called for greater tolerance towards the faith after revealing how a musical journey to Salt Lake City resulted in a spiritual awakening. The second-fasted growing religion in American, Mormonism continues to attract hostility over its opposition to gay marriage and suspicion over some of the faith’s beliefs. The Book of Mormon musical mocked the do-gooding naivety of its young missionary protagonists.

Excerpt from "Dare to Stand Alone" by Thomas S. Monson

“The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines … It fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day. The type of apostates in the Book of Mormon are similar to the type we have today. God, with his infinite foreknowledge, so molded the Book of Mormon that we might see the error and know how to combat false educational, political, religious, and philosophical concepts of our time.” ~ Ezra Taft Benson, 1

Check out these stunning pictures of the new angel Moroni statue on the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple. What a beautiful addition to the city's skyline!

Recently, Bored Panda released their list of the "Greatest Photoshop Battles Ever." On the list of hundreds of Photoshopped pictures, The Book of Mormon made an appearance right near the top, coming in at number five. Check out this hilarious picture which they titled, "Just a Minute of Your Time, Sir":

In 1995 the first flat screen TVs appeared, eBay had just begun, the Sony PlayStation debuted in the United States, and the World Wide Web was stretching to schools and businesses. The President of the Church at the time was President Howard W. Hunter. In a March 1995 article in the Ensign titled “We Have a Work to Do,” President Hunter wrote prophetically about technology, saying: “In recent years we have begun using information technology to hasten the sacred work of providing ordinances for the deceased. The role of technology in this work has been accelerated by the Lord himself, who has had a guiding hand in its development and will continue to do so. However, we stand only on the threshold of what we can do with these tools. I feel that our most enthusiastic projections can capture only a tiny glimpse of how these tools can help us—and of the eternal consequences of these efforts.”