This week, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints used their social media channels to teach about religious freedom, exercising faith and the doctrine of Christ.

Sunday School General President Mark L. Pace explained two distinctions in this year’s “Come, Follow Me” curriculum from previous years: a feature called “Thoughts to Keep in Mind” that provides historical context on various topics, and suggestions for reading and learning from the most helpful chapters and stories.

When Primary General President Camille N. Johnson was in Primary, she had a younger brother who was a toddler. Every day after school, she would put him in a stroller and take him for a walk.

She extended an invitation to teach children the stories of Jesus, and then ask, “What would Jesus do?”

President Johnson also posted about a recent update to the General Handbook. A counselor in a ward Primary presidency may now be assigned by the president to help parents prepare their children to be baptized and confirmed, and the other counselor may be assigned to help parents with temple and priesthood preparation.

“We are not just preparing our children for events; we are preparing them for a lifetime of covenant keeping,” she said in a video with her two counselors, Sister Susan H. Porter and Sister Amy A. Wright, who also shared about the update.

Sister Wright also wrote about one of her goals for the new year, and shared an article in the Friend about setting goals in the Children and Youth program.

During this week’s BYU devotional, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared the story of Troy and Deedra Russell and their family’s continuing trials.

“We don’t know why all of the things that happen to us in life happen, why sometimes we are spared a tragedy and sometimes we are not,” Elder Holland said in a social media post. “But that is where faith must truly mean something, or it is not faith at all.”

He also shared the full video of his remarks from the devotional.

Elder David A. Bednar and Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke at a “The Islamic World Today” conference in October 2021, where they previewed a new pamphlet that enhances understanding between those of Muslim and Latter-day Saint faiths. The pamphlet was made available on Jan. 20 at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

“Hopefully, greater knowledge and appreciation of one another will help us be more kind and more accurate in what we say and feel about each other,” Elder Bednar wrote in a social media post.

Elder Gong called upon people of faith to “stand together for tolerance and dignity of people of all religious beliefs.”

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote about the need for “an ongoing, daily infusion of heavenly light.”

“After all, the Restoration of the gospel and the Church is not something that happened once and is over,” he said. “It is an ongoing process — one day at a time, one heart at a time.”

In a recent devotional in Puerto Rico, Sister Michelle D. Craig, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, was reminded once again that as “covenant disciples of Jesus Christ, age, race and gender are not important.” 

“What does matter is that, because of our covenants, we are bound to Jesus Christ and to each other,” she wrote.

On Jan. 16, National Religious Freedom Day in the United States, Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles posted about how religious accountability benefits secular society, and the need for all faiths to be part of a coalition of faiths ​​”that succor, act as a sanctuary, and promulgate religious freedom across the world.”

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles called religious freedom “fundamental to societal well-being” and said that religious conscience “encourages the virtues and habits of good citizenship necessary for a free society.”

“When religion is given the freedom to flourish, the good of religion, the reach of religion, and the heroic acts of loving our neighbors — which religion inspires — only multiply,” Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote.

Brother Milton Camargo, first counselor in the Sunday School general presidency, shared a photo of his grandson Christopher and his hand drawn representation of the doctrine of Christ. 

“Faith in Christ, repentance, baptism (covenants), gift of the Holy Ghost (revelations) — simple, powerful, so much needed, and applicable to each one of us,” Brother Camargo wrote.

According to Brother Bradley R. Wilcox, second counselor in the Young Men general presidency, trust in the Lord is not like “a spare tire in the trunk of the car that we don’t think about until we have a flat” but instead “should be a much more integral part of our lives than that.” He shared a link to the 2022 Youth Music as a way to “stay close to Him always.”