Dear Dave,

Hi, friends!

This was a rut I was grateful to be stuck in one crisp, blue-sky morning in western Wyoming. Standing deep in a trough on a sparsely wooded hill overlooking the North Platte River near the outskirts of Guernsey, I felt the earth rumble as oxen mooed, whips cracked, and covered wagons creaked up the steep rutted incline hauling heavy loads of the essentials, and the trivial. Hardened women in bonnets and long skirts followed coughing in the dust, and men in hats on horses yelled at their livestock and encouraged children and the old staggering to keep pace. Among this rolling wave of humanity were hundreds of poor English and Scandinavian Mormons on foot who had no idea what awaited them in October of 1856 as they pushed and pulled two-wheeled carts with bloody hands ever-onward to Zion and the Valley of the Salt Lake for 1,300 tiresome miles in the ultimate test of their faith.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson told an interfaith group in Brazil — a country recognized by the Pew Research Center as a global leader in religious liberty protections — that "religious freedom is the cornerstone of peace in a world with many competing philosophies." This is because religious freedom "gives us all space to determine for ourselves what we think and believe — to follow the truth that God speaks to our hearts."

Along with this stunning Christmas lullaby, "Sweet Little Jesus Boy," LDS artist Valaura Arnold wrote on her YouTube channel, "If we can look through the eyes of a child we will truly see those who need our help. Light the world!"

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is on track to grow in a way that will change the religious complexion of the United States, social scientist and LDS convert Mark Koltko-Rivera says.This so-called "Mormon moment" in U.S. culture — when everything from the presidential race to Broadway's award-winning musical features Mormons — is about "to morph into the Saints' century," Koltko-Rivera predicts.

Carol B. Moss was ready to know the truth.

For the last three nights, the musical "The Book of Mormon" has served up an irreverent dose of humor at the Landmark Theatre. Much of that humor comes at the expense of the Mormon faith and its missionaries.

When we come across something in Church history or when we struggle with a point of the Church's doctrine, it can feel uncomfortable to ask questions about it.

A good person and a good friend, Simon Critchley, wrote a piece for last Sunday's New York Times, "Why I Love Mormonism." Almost as soon as I got home from church, I started hearing about it from other Latter-day Saints. We like to be liked, just like anyone slightly neurotic about their social status. In America, Mormons are still teenagers anxiously waiting to see if we can fit in at the party and at the same time, knowing ourselves, convinced that the answer will be "Not really." But from all of the recent talk about Mormons, in response largely to Mitt Romney's candidacy, it looks like we at least got invited.