“The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.” (Henry David Thoreau)

Historians have long known of the existence of the Council of Fifty and the minutes of its meetings. Until recently, though, the minutes had never been made available for historical research. Because of their inaccessibility—and because historians knew that they were made during a critical and controversial era of Mormon history—a mystique grew surrounding the records. What did they contain? Why had they been withheld? Here are five insights from these important documents that every Mormon should understand about the Council of Fifty, as adapted from the new book The Council of Fifty: What the Records Reveal about Mormon History.

As we sustained two new apostles this conference weekend, we were able to hear their powerful testimonies of the Savior. Their witnesses flooded our hearts with the Spirit, helping us remember our relationship with our Heavenly Father and our conviction to do His will.

Our youngest son recently graduated from high school with plans to attend college in the fall. Because of a number of vacations and other summer plans, it hasn’t worked out for him to get steady employment during the time between graduation and college departure. As such, he’s kind of broke most of the time, but he has things he wants to do, some of which cost money. I will periodically get a text message saying, “Dad, could you loan me some money for [insert item here]?” When I get such texts, I usually have two competing thoughts. The first is I love my son and want to do everything I can for him. I want him to be comfortable and enjoy life. Just give him the money! The second thought is Hold on! He needs to learn to be responsible and that money doesn’t grow on trees. Make him work for it. Those thoughts duke it out in my brain for a moment, and then after consultation with my amazing wife, we usually arrive at a compromise that enables generosity combined with responsibility.

Conference Talk:

They were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II when Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia, served as the U.S. naval and military headquarters in the South Pacific. Years later, more Church members, these ones from French Polynesia, came to New Caledonia to work in the nickel mines. Those Saints were organized into New Caledonia’s first branch in October 1961. At the time, the branch was part of the French Polynesian Mission almost 3,000 miles away.

After completing the fourth ministry tour since his call as a prophet, it seems there is no slowing President Nelson down.

No matter who you minister to, we’ve come up with dozens of great gift ideas that will fit every budget and personality!

This year has brought some lively discussions around the dinner table. A lot of them revolve around, “Hey, Mom, is that Mormon guy still winning?” Of course, they’re talking about Mitt Romney, and our answer is usually, "Well, sort of.” Which always leads to a discussion about politics in general. We are a politically divided family. My 9-year-old is firmly aligned with the Democrats. (“The Republicans remind me of old Mr. Potter from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’” he announced the other day.) My 8-year-old is a Republican. The 6-year-old is undecided and the 2-year-old isn’t potty trained, so he isn’t allowed to vote in the Lewis family election.

David A. Bednar serves as an apostle in the Quorum of the Twelve for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is also a man who has developed a deep love for the scriptures and its teachings. In this biography of David A. Bednar, read about some of the stories from his early years before he was called as an apostle.