Utah has hosted a variety of presidents from President Ulysses S. Grant to President John F. Kennedy. But there is one president in particular who made a lasting impression on the people of Utah for sharing his faith values while serving our country.

When Niankoro Yeah Samake lands in Mali on Friday, following a successful California fundraising campaign, to register as a candidate in the country’s upcoming presidential elections, he will be carrying a lot of baggage. There will be the requisite suitcase stuffed with gifts from the U.S. for his family back home. He will have a sizable check from an American hair-products magnate to help fund his campaign. And he will have his well-thumbed copy of the Book of Mormon, scripture that has been a constant source of strength since he converted more than a decade ago. He is likely to need it. Aside from his wife and children, Samake is Mali’s only Mormon. He’s not even sure which will be more difficult: running as a Mormon in a country that is 95% Muslim, or being President of a nation so weakened by corruption that the past 14 months have seen the government felled by a coup and two-thirds of its territory overrun by Islamist militants. “I am not running for President because of my faith, but my faith will help me be President,” he says, via Skype on a layover in Paris.

“Now there is a stake in the highlands of Guatemala,” said Elder Renlund. “You realize the Lord is hastening His own work. He’s causing these miracles to happen. He’s blessing the people with the leaders, the faith, and all they need to be established as a stake.”

With 224-mile-per-hour winds, flooding, and at least21 people killed, Cyclone Winston has been characterized as the most powerful tropical storm ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, according toKSL.

Brigham Young University President Kevin J. Worthen appointed J. Spender Fluhman as the new executive director for the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. He will be replacing M. Gerald Bradford, who became the executive director in 2008.

Last summer, Jared Dangerfield was simply 19, skateboarding the streets of suburban Salt Lake City, plugged into the Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu. He had just wrapped up his year at Utah State University, where there was a girl he liked to make laugh.Memories of college and family are kept in a photo album his sister gave him when they said goodbye, but it is rarely looked at.

On Sunday, February 17, 2019, Church spokesperson Daniel Woodruff made the following announcement:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is growing across the earth. As this occurs, local Church leaders and members are encouraged to focus on gospel learning in their homes and to participate in Sabbath worship and the Church’s supporting programs for children, youth, individuals and families. The goal of every activity in the Church should be to increase faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and to share His gospel message throughout the world. Local celebrations of culture and history may be appropriate. Larger productions, such as pageants, are discouraged.

With the popularity of The Book of Mormon musical, many people are becoming interested in LDS missionaries and what their experience is really like.

The Church has released a gorgeous artistic rendering of the first temple to be built in Thailand—the Bangkok Temple.