Recently, the Church Newspublished the First Presidency's Christmas messagefor 2017:

There are lots of obscure, or forgotten tidbits in LDS Church history and policy. Here’s just a sampling of 8 things you probably didn’t know, gathered from a variety of sources:

Andrea Erickson Lindsey received her master's degree in Religious Education from BYU. She was a full-time Professional Religious Educator for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until the birth of her son. She has presented at Education week, S&I Area Meetings, EFY, the Church History Symposium, S&I Research Conference, Single-Adult Events, and has been a volunteer Institute teacher for several years. She is the author of God's Plan, Book 1 of the True Doctrine Series, which was awarded best seller status on Amazon. You can order with the link provided on her website. https://andreaericksonlindsey.com/ Andrea loves wearing the color black, not just because it is slimming, but because it absorbs light, and like all of us she loves light. She and Kendra George are co-hosts on the podcast Gather in Christ, where they focus on the blessings of following a living prophet’s invitations, while seeking to build faith in the basic doctrines of the Church. Presently, Andrea is having her book, His Gospel Restored: Book II of The True Doctrine Series, illustrated. Follow her for future details. You can order prints by contacting her at authorandreae.lindsey@gmail.com.

God’s power can help us to lead out, solve problems, nurture humanity, and strengthen relationships. One way we can access His power is in temple worship. In fact, President Nelson promised us this in his most recent General Conference address: “Every sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will find Him in the temple. You will find His mercy. You will find answers to your most vexing questions. You will better comprehend the joy of His gospel.” And as women of faith, this is what we want! More Jesus in our lives. Because with Him, all things are possible.

Nothing can compare to the feeling that comes when President Thomas S. Monson starts in on one of his famous stories. The emotion and power behind his words can make us not only laugh and cry, but have a desire to truly change our lives. So, in honor of Pioneer Day, we wanted to share three of our favorite pioneer stories shared by President Monson throughout the years--pioneer stories that show how they can come from all ages and parts of the world.

For National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, we wanted to highlight this powerful story from LDS author Ganel-Lyn Condie.

MR says: You all lovedthe first one, now here's part two in a series of 8 things every young woman needs to hear.

On this week’s episode of This is the Gospel, three storytellers share what it means to them to “act well thy part.” Among these guests is Charlie Bird, who speaks of his wrestle with coming out as gay to his brother, Sam, for fear of damaging their close relationship. But as they were climbing Mount Kilimanjaro together, something clicked. “I have to tell him,” Charlie realized. Read Charlie and Sam’s account of what happened next.

While critics of organized religion may point to hypocrisy, the bad examples of some are not reasons to reject faith in God or his church. While it is true that some have twisted God’s word to suit their personal agendas or to justify cruelty to their fellow man, God’s church remains a beacon amidst the groping fog of the "carnal mind" (Romans 8:7).

First came the surge. Next comes the settling.