During the week of Aug. 8-14, the First Presidency urged Latter-day Saints to wear masks and be vaccinated. President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Brother Bradley R. Wilcox, second counselor in the Young Men general presidency, spoke at the Abundant Life Conference for single adults across the North America West Area. Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the new Mesa Arizona Temple Visitors’ Center. Relief Society General President Jean B. Bingham shared about revelation in the video “Scattered Among Us.”
The Church News podcast featured Church History Library Director Keith A. Erekson on dispelling latter-day myths and rumors. An exhibit at the Matthew Cowley Church History Center and Museum located in Temple View, New Zealand, shares how the labor missionary period was the Nauvoo experience of the island nation. The Primary organization’s 143rd anniversary is this month.
Find links and summaries of these nine article below.
1. First Presidency urges Latter-day Saints to wear masks, be vaccinated
“We find ourselves fighting a war against the ravages of COVID-19 and its variants, an unrelenting pandemic,” wrote President Russell M. Nelson and his counselors, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring, in the message Thursday, Aug. 12, sent to Latter-day Saints around the world. “We want to do all we can to limit the spread of these viruses. We know that protection from the diseases they cause can only be achieved by immunizing a very high percentage of the population.”
Read the entire letter and how the Church has contributed to past vaccination efforts
2. During his first travel since early 2020, President Oaks says God and absolute truth are fundamental to life on this earth
No individual can overcome life’s challenges without the spiritual strength that comes from the Savior, President Oaks told some 40,000 participants from the Church’s North America West Area at the Abundant Life Conference for Single Adults. It was the first time a member of the First Presidency has addressed a public audience outside of Utah in nearly 17 months.
“Jesus Christ is the source of our strength to bear the burdens of mortality,” he said.
Learn more about what he said, plus the service activities at the conference
3. Elder and Sister Bednar ask single adults: How do you access the power of godliness?
Latter-day Saints have access to the power of godliness as they are “yoked to and with the Savior through sacred covenants and holy ordinances,” Elder Bednar said during the opening devotional of the Abundant Life Conference.
Joined by his wife, Sister Susan Bednar, they led a panel discussion with six single adults from the Bay Area in California — where Elder Bednar lived as a child. Held in the Interstake Center adjacent to the Oakland California Temple, Elder Bednar recalled his baptism in the building, where he also sat with his mother as a young boy during the 1964 dedication of the temple.
Find out more about the panel discussion
4. ‘Stay in the lifeboat,’ Brother Brad Wilcox tells single adults
The Titanic was built like no other ship before it, said Brother Wilcox. Many believed it was unsinkable. Many passengers didn’t believe the ship was sinking and that they needed a lifeboat until the Titanic tilted dangerously to one side.
Brother Wilcox compared the world to the sinking Titanic and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to a lifeboat.
Discover more about the analogy with the Titanic
5. Elder Soares dedicates new, relocated Mesa Arizona Temple Visitors’ Center
Elder Soares, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, presided over the Thursday evening, Aug. 12, dedication ceremony for the Mesa facility, one of a dozen such temple visitors’ centers worldwide for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “The idea,” he said, “is to integrate the messages of Jesus Christ, the temple, eternal families and history in a way that helps guests understand how they are part of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and provide them an inspired opportunity to take a new step in their spiritual journey.”
Explore more about the new visitors' center, including the key role young adults played in the design and emphasis, and a virtual walk through the center; plus what Elder Soares told youth in the Caribbean at FSY
6. Video: Revelation is ‘scattered among us,’ President Bingham says
President Bingham has often heard the expression from senior Church leaders that “revelation is scattered among us.”
“It’s really true,” she said. “The Church is governed by councils, and that’s how we grow, that’s how we make progress.”
Watch the Church News video titled 'Scattered Among Us'
7. Episode 43: Church History Library Director Keith A. Erekson on dispelling latter-day myths and rumors
Erekson joins this episode of the Church News podcast to give tips on using critical thinking skills to study the past and dispel latter-day myths and rumors. He also showcases the digital and physical resources of the Church History Library.
Listen to his 5 criteria to help find good sources in distinguishing myths and rumors while searching for truth
8. Sacrifice and consecration: How the labor missionary period was the Nauvoo experience of New Zealand
Stories of faith and sacrifice are the impetus behind a new exhibition at the Matthew Cowley Church History Center and Museum located in Temple View, New Zealand, the Latter-day Saint community nestled among the verdant hills below the Hamilton New Zealand Temple. The exhibit, titled “Sacrifice and Consecration: The Lord Builds a People for the Temple,” highlights the call to serve on the project, the daily life of those in the construction camp, and the continued commitment of Latter-day Saints to sacrifice to attend the temple.
Read more about the stories and experiences of the labor missionaries
9. Timeline: When and how did the Primary organization begin? Take a look at its 143-year history
Under the direction of priesthood leaders, the first Primary was held in the Farmington (Utah) Rock Chapel on Sunday, Aug. 25, 1878, with 224 children attending. In 1880, the Primary was organized at the general Church level, with Sister Louie B. Felt called as Primary general president.
Since then, the Primary organization has grown worldwide with more than 1 million children attending.
