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Sometimes these ancient individuals, like Mary, can seem a little flat and unidimensional...but surely they were robust and complex, not unlike human beings today.

The new movie highlighting the relationship between black convert Jane Manning James and Emma Smith, wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comes out in only a few short days (click here for more information on where you can watch it starting October 12, 2018!). The story truly lets you see these two women in Church history with all their flaws and strengths as you watch them grapple with the nuances of their faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ and their love for the martyred prophet during a fictionalized account of a night spent guarding Joseph Smith’s body after his death. While the night itself is not found in the history records, the emotions, stories of Jane and Emma’s previous interactions, people, and much of the dialogue comes straight from accounts left behind by those who lived early Church history, brought to life in the poetic, visual world of film. Here are a few of the true facts from Church history that you will find in Jane and Emma.

Many years ago when my children were small, my wife prevailed upon me to “be a good father” and buy a swing-set for the family. She envisioned the children swinging and playing happily in a yard full of neighbor kids, and then she could be a “Kool-Aid mom” by providing treats. In contrast to her vision of all the great things a swing-set would do for our children, I envisioned fights, broken arms, and worn spots on my grass.

Most of us have heard of Ephraim Hanks, Porter Rockwell, Eliza R. Snow, and many other high-profile pioneers who accomplished notable events during the early years of the Church. But there are also others who were influential members of the Church who impacted the Latter-day Saints as well as the outside world. Here are just a few significant pioneers that you may never have heard of before.

It all started with three.

If you’ve ever had a fortune cookie, you know its crispy sweetness is just half the fun—inside these cookies is a fortune on a slip of paper that is said to bring luck and prosperity to the receiver. The verses in this week’s lesson of Proverbs 1–4; 15–16; 22; and 31 as well as Ecclesiastes 1–3 and 11–12, may at first remind you of the messages inside one of these tasty treats. But as we dive deeper into the meaning of these verses, we think you’ll find something much more satisfying than any fortune cookie can offer.

Here’s a fun fact—the word for “Ruth” in Hebrew means "compassionate friend." And when you think of how friendship was all Ruth and Naomi had during a time of uncertainty, that name has an extra special meaning. As we study the book of Ruth and 1 Samuel 1–3 this week, we’ll see how this compassionate friendship exists between Ruth and Naomi and between all of us and Christ as we face challenges and uncertainties in our lives.

What is your approach to a new year? Are you a “new year, new you” kind of person, or do you usually find yourself in survival mode, just trying to keep things together? Either way, we’ve been there. But what if we tweaked that New Year’s mantra and said, “new year, knew you”? What if this year we all focused on learning just how well God knows us? A goal like that has the potential for lasting change in everyone’s lives. So on this week’s episode, we’ll study the first chapter of Matthew and Luke and learn that God knows us so well that He even sent the Savior to “guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:79)—and we think that is a path we all want to walk in 2023.

Marcus Martins never planned to serve a mission, to be sealed in the temple, or to serve as a bishop. These things would require him to receive the priesthood, and there was a restriction in place that precluded him from doing so. But Martins’s life changed forever on June 8, 1978, when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy male members ages 12 and older. Since that day, Martins has served not only as a missionary, but as a bishop, a temple officiator, a Book of Mormon translator, and a mission president. On this week's episode, Martins explains how he developed a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ even before 1978 and why he has never looked back in the nearly 50 years since he joined the Church.