Recently, the Church removed options to donate to the Temple Patron Assistance Fund and Perpetual Education Fund from the online tithing forms.

On June 7–9, a group of refugees from Myanmar's Karen and Karenni tribes will reenact moments from the Book of Mormon in "Mormon Speaks." With no Church materials translated into their native language, the experience of creating this production has shaped their faith and understanding of God's power and love.

Certainly one of the most anticipated events for any family with a missionary in the field are the Christmas Day and Mother’s Day phone calls. This is especially true when it is the first phone call home from the missionary who is serving. The chance to actually hear your missionary’s voice (and maybe see his/her face too, if you’re using Skype) can be an immensely gratifying and uplifting experience. The opportunity to call home should be an experience that will motivate both the missionary and their family. The following tips come from my own experiences and from several other RMs to help you make the most of your phone call.

Emphasizing that Christmas traditions of giving are rooted in the life, message and mission of Jesus Christ, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles heralded the Christmas season at the Washington D.C. Temple and Visitors’ Center on Dec. 2. With honored guest, Manuel Sager, Ambassador of Switzerland, Elder Christofferson switched on more than 600,000 lights that will illuminate the temple grounds until Jan. 1, 2014, as part of the annual Festival of Lights.Other special guests for the lighting ceremony included members of the Washington diplomatic, political, business and religious communities. Also attending the ceremony were Sister Kathy Christofferson and Mrs. Christine Sager. J.W. Marriott Jr. and his wife, Donna, once again hosted the event as they have for 36 years, and Ann Santini of the Office of Public and International Affairs noted that the lights were a beacon to all of Washington, saying “come join us.”

Since there were three gifts given to the Christ child, we naturally assume there were three wise men. However some academics believe this wasn't the case. Here's what we know about the magi.

As a part of the "millennial" generation, I read CNN's religion blog post "Why millennials are leaving the church" with great interest. The author explains how churches are trying to appeal to my generation through casual services, pastors in skinny jeans, and coffee shops in the meetinghouses — at the cost of teaching what constitutes the heart of Christianity. With the ongoing cultural wars, pretentiousness, and seeming exclusivity, young people my age are struggling to find Jesus when they go to church. Reading this article made me think carefully about how my faith, the Mormon church, is instituted. While I admit that our church leaders have their own struggles in retaining some who are my age, I think that the Mormon institution solves many of the problems that other millennials experience when attending church.

“Many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and a delightsome people”

MR says: Not only are Mormons good at businessand some of happiest people around, it turns out we're pretty good at security too.

Mormon actress Danielle Chuchran recently shared with The Christian Post what it was like being a Mormon filming in Amish country. Chuchran, who has starred in "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat" and "The Bold and the Beautiful," is getting ready for the release of her newest film, "Love Finds You in Charm."

As a young missionary first arriving in Tonga in 1953, Elder John Groberg couldn't imagine the impact that the small island nation and its people would have on his life and on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.