About a year ago, I remember learning in seminary about a man named David W. Patten. In 1838 the Lord called him on a mission, as recorded in Doctrine and Covenants section 114. The Lord asked him to settle his business and prepare many other things so that he would be ready to do so. Brother Patten was obedient to the call of the Lord—however, within the same year, he was killed in battle and was never able to serve a mission.

Editor's note: Our bi-weekly Friday column, “Found in the footnotes,” explores some of the footnotes from remarks given by General Authorities and General Officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced today that, beginning in January 2021, the Church will replace its four current magazines with three global magazines: the Friend (for children), For the Strength of Youth (for youth) and the Liahona (for adults).

Editor’s note: “This week from the pulpit” highlights recent messages by General Authorities, General Officers, and leaders of the Church.

In 2014, I returned to Tucson after spending weeks at my parents’ house trying to figure out how to move forward. I had few answers, but one thing I knew was that I needed to stop hiding. I had decided not to force my experiences on anyone, but to be honest with people when my orientation came up organically. Dianna and I had carpooled to a young single adult activity on Mt. Lemmon, just north of Tucson, and as the two of us drove down the mountain I felt a prompting to come out to her. I mentioned our friend Laura whose nickname is Fun Laura. Dianna asked, “Does Fun Laura have a nickname for you?”

Editor’s note: “Resources to follow Him” curates study resources, teachings, and thoughts to deepen your study of this week’s Come, Follow Me.

Editor’s note: “This week from the pulpit” highlights recent messages from General Authorities, General Officers, and leaders of the Church. This story will be updated throughout the week. Find summaries of remarks below or use the hyperlink menu to jump to a specific section.

I always love hearing my friend Rob Gardner talk about writing Lamb of God, an Easter oratorio about the final days of Christ’s earthly ministry. I think part of it is because while Rob is incredibly talented (arguably a musical genius), I also know him to be a pretty normal guy. We’ve seen movies together and gone to London together, and what I appreciate about Rob is that he isn’t and doesn’t pretend to be someone who has it all figured out. And yet, he wrote what I consider to be a masterpiece all about the Savior of the world. He was young at the time and was enrolled in a program for film music at USC. He had been fortunate to be admitted to the program and was really enjoying it when all of a sudden, he began having ideas for what would become Lamb of God. He hadn’t even begun writing the oratorio when he contacted the London Symphony Orchestra via email and asked if they would be willing to record his composition. They wrote back explaining cost and availability, and Gardner booked it. He then dropped out of his program at USC solely based on the good feeling he had about the project, and a few months later, it was finished. Gardner’s Lamb of God explores the end of Christ’s ministry through the eyes of those who knew Him best.

The latest round of updates to the English version of the General Handbook: Serving in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was published today, August 4, 2021. It includes one new chapter, two rewritten chapters, one expanded chapter, and many updated administrative policies. It also includes smaller revisions in other chapters.