Over the last week and a half, the Church News has featured stories about members of the Church, snippets of how family history has changed over the years and a new Church book to be published on Sept. 4. Here’s a recap of five of those stories so you can catch up on what you might have missed:
1) How the gospel has shaped the life, career and trajectory of this Austrian medical student
Esther Wosnjuk Duffles may hail from Alaska, but her heart will always be in Austria. As she’s deepened her understanding of the gospel, Duffles has found it taking her in a different direction than she first envisioned.
“I’d like to go where I’m needed,” she said. “The gospel brought the idea of keeping people healthy to the table.”
As she pursues her career and other life choices, Duffles always comes back to her philosophy, “What can we give each other?”
2) Do you think family history is boring? Catch the genealogical bug with these 7 stories
In light of the announcement of 63.7 million indexed names being added to FamilySearch, the Church News took a look back through its pages to see how technology has advanced the way genealogy is done. From Great Domesday Books to a grandfather’s dream of “a great religious work for our family,” these snapshots of family history can help anyone catch a genealogical bug.
3) From a bakery to a prison, a prophet retraces the steps of Joseph Smith
In 1978, Church News reporter Gerry Avant joined President Spencer W. Kimball and his wife, Sister Camilla Kimball, on a trip to Nauvoo, Illinois. Following along with a camera and a notebook in hand, she recorded their journey as they visited Church history sites like the Heber C. Kimball home and Carthage Jail.
4) Church’s self-reliance program results in temporal and spiritual change
Since 2015, the self-reliance initiative of the Church has helped over 670,000 people all over the world improve their lives through four courses: Personal Finances, Find a Job, Education for Better Work and Start and Grow a Business.
“To me, this is one of the greatest things I have ever seen the Church do,” Elder Michael Ringwood, General Authority Seventy, said. “One of the blessings is for me to see people across the world willing to help each other, willing to minister to each other in a way that allows people to provide for themselves. It allows people to reach a different spiritual level in their relationship with Heavenly Father and the Savior. It helps relieve burdens on bishops.”
5) New Church book ‘The Standard of Truth’ covers controversial topics
This year, the Church will release a volume of history unlike any it has ever published before. “Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days” presents the history of the Church in a narrative, engaging way. The first volume, “The Standard of Truth,” which covers the period of Joseph Smith’s youth through the dedication of the Nauvoo Temple (1815-1846), will be released on Sept. 4.
