On a sunny October morning in San Diego, a quartet of LDS missionaries gathers in a church parking lot to talk shop and plot course. All four men are wearing short-sleeved white dress shirts, dark slacks and striped ties; each sports the same style of close-cropped haircut. The black plastic name tags on their shirt pockets identify Elder Bott, Elder Hepworth, Elder Christensen and Elder Moreno as representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The absence of Bay Hawks captain Paora Winitana looms as a potentially decisive factor heading into the final four of the NBL in Wellington this weekend. Winitana will suit up on Saturday night for the Hawks' semifinal clash with the Wellington Saints but, should his side advance, the former Tall Black will be unable to take the court for Sunday's final.

In a world where Christmas season starts at midnight on Oct. 31, it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of Santa, reindeer, toys, gadgets and Black Friday madness. It can be even easier to overlook the real reason for the season. Add to that work parties, school parties, church and family get-togethers, it can be hard to find time to help your kids learn more about the Savior's birth.

So much content on social media and in person-to-person interaction is filled with hate. Black vs. white, democrat vs. republican, straight vs. LGBT, anti-Trump vs. Trump, conservative vs. liberal, religious vs. non-religious. I haven't even mentioned the "movements" that preponderates current news. I find the yelling matches of typing fingers to be an exhausting, venomous rhetoric. How can such conflict be resolved?

“I don't think that cop will ever know what he did for me,” Whitney says. “He saved my life that night.”

Jane Elizabeth Manning was born in Connecticut in about 1820. Her mother had been enslaved, but she was emancipated by the time Jane was born. Jane’s father died when she was a young child and, perhaps in part for that reason, Jane began working as a domestic servant for a wealthy white family in the next town over. As a young woman, she was baptized and joined the local Congregational Church, but not long afterward she heard a missionary from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints preach and she was convinced by his message. She was baptized a short time later, and she appears to have persuaded her family to join the Church as well. In 1843, the Mannings joined an interracial group of converts for the journey to Nauvoo. Although they left the Northeast together, the group was separated at some point during the journey. The white members continued to Nauvoo on public transportation; the black members walked. When Jane and her family reached Nauvoo, they were welcomed by Emma and Joseph Smith and stayed in the mansion house for a short time while they found jobs and housing. Jane remained in the mansion house, working for the Smiths as a domestic servant.

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.

What will be President Thomas S. Monson’s legacy?

Mitt Romney has largely avoided discussing the details of his Mormon faith throughout this year’s presidential race, speaking in general terms about his church-related values and charitable deeds. But the revival this week of a testy 2007 interview caught on video offers a reminder of the struggles Romney has confronted as a politician wary of being defined, or confined, by his faith. The video, which has become an Internet sensation in the closing days of his campaign to unseat President Obama, shows Romney sparring off-air with an Iowa radio talk show host over the tenets and beliefs of Mormonism — including a discussion of abortion and the second coming of Jesus Christ — and scolding the interviewer for bringing it up.