As The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prepares for the public open house of the Washington D.C. Temple this month, Church leaders welcomed media representatives and invited guests to take special tours. During the week, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke about the purpose of the temple.

Also during the week of April 17-23, Primary General President Camille N. Johnson outlined how faith groups serve others and need the freedom to do so, during a symposium at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. “Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 3: Boldly, Nobly and Independent, 1893-1955” was released on Friday, April 22. The majority of temples are now in Phase 4, in the process of returning to normal operations.

Elder Kevin W. Pearson, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Utah Area, joined the Church News podcast, with Sheri Dew as guest host. Elder S. Mark Palmer gave three action words to the graduating students at Brigham Young University. The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and cruise line Azamara announced a way to benefit three nonprofit organizations. And Iowa’s Kanesville Tabernacle began a major change.

Learn more about these stories below.

1. Washington D.C. Temple tours begin

Elder David A. Bednar, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, left, laughs with Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan after a tour of the Washington D.C. Temple and visitors’ center in Kensington, Maryland, on Monday, April 18, 2022.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

As media gathered Monday, April 18, to see the newly renovated temple, Elder David A. Bednar did not focus on the temple’s prominence nor structure.

“We hope that what you’ll learn today is not just about this building, how it was constructed and how it was renovated,” he told local and national media representatives gathered in the temple visitors’ center.

Read what Elder Bednar said was most important and find out what the Church did to to restore, refurbish the temple; also see photos of the inside

2. Videos from Washington, D.C.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Susan Bednar, are interviewed at the Washington D.C. Temple in Kensington, Maryland, on Monday, April 18, 2022.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

A new Church News video, titled “Reserved for This Day,” features Latter-day Saint youth offering service during the Washington D.C. Temple open house in Kensington, Maryland, on April 18.

A second Church News video, titled “Be Still,” features Elder Bednar and Elder Gerrit W. Gong, both of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, speaking about temples — and peace.

Watch ‘Reserved for This Day’ and ‘Be Still’

3. ‘It will take all of us’: How religious charities and volunteers are in a unique position to help relieve suffering in communities, globally

Primary General President Camille N. Johnson poses for a photo on the Iowa capital dome in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Faith groups are uniquely positioned to help people around them, whether individually or in their communities or on a broader scale, Primary General President Camille N. Johnson said during the Freedom To Serve Symposium at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday, April 19, in conjunction with Iowa Religious Freedom Day. 

Learn the five reasons why religious freedom matters

4. 3rd ‘Saints’ volume shares global stories of hope, faith through pandemic, wars and challenges

The cover artwork of “Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 3, Boldly, Nobly, and Independent 1893 -1955,” which be released on Friday, April 22, 2022.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Events of the 1918 flu pandemic, two world wars, the Great Depression and parts of the civil rights movement are covered in “Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 3: Boldly, Nobly and Independent, 1893-1955” released on Friday, April 22. 

Explore the stories told in the new volume

5. Majority of operating temples now in Phase 4, moving toward normal operations

The Winnipeg Manitoba Temple is illuminated in Winnipeg, Canada, Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021.

Daniel Crump, for the Deseret News

With a second group of temples last week starting the gradual move to normal operations following COVID-19 pandemic closures and phased reopenings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now has a majority of its operating temples worldwide designated as in Phase 4.

Find out which temples are in Phase 4 and see the temple status reopening tracker

6. Episode 79: Elder Kevin W. Pearson on the positive influence Utah has on the global Church; featuring Sheri Dew as guest host

Elder Kevin W. Pearson, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Utah Area, joins the Church News podcast to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities of building the Church in Utah.

This episode of the Church News podcast features Elder Kevin W. Pearson, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Utah Area, to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities of building the Church in this area of the world.

Listen to the podcast

7. Elder Palmer challenges new BYU grads to stay focused, stay centered — and then recenter

BYU graduates gather outside the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, on April 21, 2022, prior to graduation exercises.

BYU Photo

Focus. Center. Recenter: These three action words anchored a trio of tips shared by Elder S. Mark Palmer to the more than 6,800 students graduating Thursday, April 21, from Brigham Young University.

Read what he told the graduates

8. Unique collaboration between the Tabernacle Choir, Azamara cruise line to benefit relief efforts for 3 global nonprofits

The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square sings during the April 2022 general conference. In July, the Choir will perform its first major public concert since prior to the pandemic.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

A unique partnership between The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and cruise line Azamara will benefit three nonprofit organizations to help alleviate suffering around the world, the choir announced on Wednesday, April 20, at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Find out about the cruises and see the new opening for a managing director

9. Site of the rebuilt Kanesville Tabernacle is changing to include more ways to remember notable events there

The Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs, Iowa, is shown in October 2019.

Kenneth Mays

The Kanesville Tabernacle was built in three weeks to have a space large enough for a conference for the displaced pioneers to sustain Brigham Young as Church President in December 1847 in the area of Council Bluffs, Iowa. A replica tabernacle, which could no longer safely accommodate visitors, is being dismantled as work began on April 4. 

Learn what will be in its place