“In my view, conscience is a defining personal imperative that stirs deep in the soul of each person,” Elder Christofferson said.

I am afraid that our culture in general has reduced the role of fatherhood (along with marriage itself) to something nonessential or unnecessary. Even many men today regard parenting as being primarily the mother’s role and no longer associated with masculinity or real manhood, especially when it comes to spiritual formation. Instead, many have succumbed to modern caricatures — encouraged by feminist psychology — and the primitive role of hunter-gatherer, and thus assume that this is their main contribution to the family. As a result too many men, including professing Christian men, express their role as father exclusively in terms of financial provider. The fact is children are not looking for financial provision; they are looking for love, guidance, and a role model for what it means to be a man.

Fifteen years after her abduction, Elizabeth Smart says she is finally ready for a movie to tell her story. About the new Lifetime movie I Am Elizabeth Smart, Smart says, "I will say that it is the best worst movie I've ever seen. I mean, I think it's so well done. I think it was accurate. I'm very proud of it, but at the same time, part of me thinks I'll be happy if I never have to watch it again." Smart's story is currently being turned intotwo movies through Lifetime and A&E.

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.

Note: It is a pleasure to have Margaret Blair Young contribute to JI’s monthlong series on issues of Race and Mormonism. Margaret Blair Young has written extensively on Blacks in the western USA and particilarly Black Latter-day Saints. Much of her work has been co-authored with Darius Gray. She authored I Am Jane. The first staged reading of I Am Jane was on the Nelke theater stage at BYU. It was the climax of a playwriting class, and met some deserved criticism. It was, as I recall, about 120 pages. Too many words. The first draft I wrote used a clichéd convention: rebellious teenager dreams about/ learns about/ re-enacts the life of a heroic ancestor and gains self-respect and courage. But such a play is more about the teen than the character whose life I wanted to explore. And I was researching it even as I was scripting the play.

Did you know that you can send a virtual Christmas Card to your Facebook friends filled with a beautiful Christmas Mormon Messages video? You first choose a pre-designed Christmas card, write a nice holiday message to your facebook friend(s) and then embed your choice of four Christmas-themed Mormon Messages videos including "The Coat" which I highlight below. Click 'Send Card" to post the Christmas Card to the walls of the facebook friends you chose, where they can access the card, watch the video, and send an e- card to their friends if they wish. How nice is this? What a beautiful way to send some virtual greetings, courtesy of the church/Mormon Channel. Speaking of beautiful videos with touching messages, “Do You Have Room?” is the question of this nice post that features the lovely song of the same name by Shawna Edwards. It is just one of the many beautiful musical videos you’ll find featured throughout the Bloggernacle at this time of the year.

The hilarious notes are compiled on his Instagram account, @latenotes, and are providing plenty of laughts for his kids' teachers, as well as the general public.

Hollywood executives are responding to audience demand for more faith-based media, including television shows and movies. Recent productions featuring Bible stories have been popular with audiences in the past couple of years. In fact, last year was a banner year for faith-based productions. More television programming will be released this year as viewers enjoy Christian or spiritual content that addresses contemporary issues.

There's a significant possibility that 2012 will be the year that America confronts the question of whether a Mormon can be president. It seems like a question with an obvious answer ("I don't know. Can he?"). But surveys in recent years have consistently found that a large minority of voters are set against the idea, and the prejudice may be even more deeply rooted among a Republican primary electorate that is, as my colleague puts it, "struggling to decide which it hates most—being a Mormon or being sensible."

Joseph and Hyrum were in the jail at Carthage, Illinois, in June 1844. It was different this time. This time, they had come to their deaths, and the brothers knew it.