As part of the Church’s initiative to simplify and focus on our Savior, the Church moved away from holding a cultural celebration the night before the dedication of the Concepcion Chile Temple and instead held a devotional. During the devotional, President Nelson spoke of the blessings of the temple and how youth can prepare for the eternal blessings that await them.

Manual 3; Supplement from "Our Father’s Plan—Big Enough for All His Children" by Elder Quentin L. Cook

The Associated Press has updated its style guide to replace "LDS Church" and "Mormon Church," according to a tweet.

"It was as close to hell as you can imagine," returned missionary Josh Holt said of his imprisonment in Venezuela. But he also acknowledges, "We have to thank everyone that supported us, everyone that prayed for us, that put our names in the temples. Everyone that was there for us and in the end, thank God, he was the one that got us through it."

Whenever I talk to anyone, they ask the same questions. “What are you going to do after you graduate? Are you dating anyone? Why not?”

Description from YouTube: "This is merely a song visually altered to describe the story of a missionary (Adam Tanner) who receives his mission call and must say goodbye to his needy BYU girlfriend (Jenni Zackrison). Also following the loneliness and despair of Eponine (Julie Jacobs) who continues to stalk the elder to no end. On the other side of the earth, a district leader breaks the rules by watching a movie in a theater while on his mission and remains afraid that he will soon be in deep doo-doo. Back at home- as the mission prep instructor (Grant Amann) prepares his students, the missionary must come to a choice on whether to serve the Lord or to shrivel away forever. At the same time, a punk (Ryan Humphrey) watches the prep-class and decides to serve a mission as well........ while two hungry members sneak into the church kitchen and find the LDS church's beloved green-jello and diet products."

Manfred Gellersen was a soldier once, and young. He is neither now, and like many old soldiers, he has his memories and stories. A feisty, outspoken man of 90 years, Gellersen tells his tales in a rush of words with no chronology or other detectable order. They are like bubbles that rise to the surface as he reaches back through the years, and he tells them as they arrive. The things this tiny man has seen and done. He drove a Jeep through enemy soldiers, crashing under a hail of bullets. He built a raft and floated into the sea to escape the Russians. He saved an American captive from angry farmers. He survived the mud and snow of the Russian Front, not to mention the Russians themselves. He escaped his captors on two occasions. In quieter times, he attended church with Nazis meeting upstairs.

Black and White Chocolate Cupcakes

Both stay-at-home and working moms agree--they often feel judged, isolated, and looked down on as members of the Church. Why is that?

Pamela Dolan wrote a great piece about holiday drinking last week, and invited other Belief St Louis contributors to chime in, roundtable-style. I thought I’d take the bait, though it’s not obvious what I, a teetotaling Mormon, could add to a discussion about drinking in St Louis, a city awash in the influence of Anheuser Busch. Faithful Mormons eschew all drinking, and that prohibition is absolute: no exceptions for holidays or special occasions, not even an occasional glass of wine. I have been an active Mormon all my life, and like many other life-long Latter-day Saints I have never tasted a drop of alcohol, even in college. Now in middle age, my habits and identities are so firmly set that the thought of having a drink at a party or tasting a sip of wine would never seriously cross my mind.