The first group of missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived Wednesday to officially launch the church's new Missionary Training Center facility in Mexico City. LDS officials said the inaugural group at the new MTC facility consists of some 100 new missionaries. Previously, the church had an MTC near its Mexico City Temple at which some 125 missionaries at a time — most of them from Mexico and Central America — were trained. The new facility has been created on the 90-acre site of the church-owned Benemerito de las Americas School, which graduated its final class earlier this month before making the transition to an MTC to help accommodate the surge of young missionaries that will report for training this summer. It will eventually accommodate about 1,000 missionaries at a time, with many of those missionaries coming from North America.

Dear Dave,

God once told Joseph Smith that his name would be “had for good and evil” in the world. We often see the fulfillment of that prophecy in extremes: some set Joseph up as a god-like figure of perfection, and while others see him as an evil, corrupt man. That stark dichotomy can make knowing what the prophet was really like feel as impossible as time travel.

MR says: Following a stellar audition in June that got all of the judges talking, Alex Boye and his band got some bad news after their most recent performance.

(Select one from each category.)

Elder David A. Bednar has spoken many times about the principle of receiving personal revelation. But there’s one question he’s heard more than any other: “How do I know if it’s me or the Spirit?”

A recent letter to the Tribune’s Public Forum ("LDS liberals," Sept. 8) makes an argument I have heard often from my fellow LDS Church members who oppose government programs designed to help the poor. The argument goes something like this: Although God, through His prophets, has commanded us to perform charitable works and care for the poor, this commandment is for individual, voluntary charity. Government programs rely on taxation, which is force, and therefore evil and part of Satan’s plan.

What do we know about the final judgment? A new video from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints illustrates that all of us will return to the presence of God to be judged. As the video description elaborates, "This judgment will come only after they have a complete understanding of God’s plan and have had an opportunity to repent of their sins, which is possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. . . . God makes sure that all His children will have a fair understanding of His commandments and the consequences of our actions, whether we learn those things in this life or as spirits after death."

The following is an excerpt from However Long and Hard the Road.

A few months ago, I received a strong impression to write on a specific topic. It was a welcome revelation, because as far as my writing has gone, it has seemed that God has had no strong feelings on what I should write. I know He cares about my hobbies and interests, of course, but as I’ve prayed about what to write in recent years, passing ideas by Him or asking for direction, it’s almost been as though His answer has been, “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. You could do that. Whatever you feel you want to do is fine with me.”