The week of May 8-14, President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, dedicated a monument honoring Joseph Smith’s ancestors in Topsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday, May 14. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught missionaries at the Provo Missionary Training Center on Tuesday, May 10.
Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Rio de Janiero Brazil Temple on Sunday, May 8. Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Stevenson lead a video tour of the Washington D.C. Temple.
Primary General President Camille N. Johnson spoke at the 100th anniversary celebration of Primary Children’s Hospital on Wednesday, May 11. The Church's 2021 annual report released Friday, May 13, includes more than 3,900 humanitarian projects in 188 countries.
The weekly Church News podcast features the “Reverse Open House” series that is building interfaith relationships in Washington, D.C. The Temple Square renovation project now includes the Main Street Plaza. A senior missionary couple shared how they served through challenges.
Find out more about these nine stories below.
1. President Ballard dedicates monument honoring the Smith family
President Ballard visited Topsfield on Saturday, May 14, to celebrate the life and sacrifices of the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. — and the five generations who came before him — and to dedicate the monument. It memorializes Joseph Smith’s ancestors who lived, worked and worshipped here.
Learn more about Joseph Smith’s family roots in the area and about the monument, plus watch a video from Topsfield
2. How Elder Holland equates Greenwich Mean Time and 59-plus years to mission service
Elder Holland briefly explained at the weekly Provo Missionary Training Center devotional Tuesday evening, May 10, how Greenwich is longitude 0 degrees and how Greenwich Mean Time serves as the international standard of civil time, with both making Greenwich the starting point of time zones across the globe. He called his missionary listeners to make their mission service the Greenwich of their lives.
“If you do this right, if you do this the way God intends you to do it, your life forever will be marked — from before your mission and after your mission. It will be that Greenwich mark in your soul.”
Read more about Elder Holland's invitation to missionaries
3. Elder Stevenson dedicates Rio de Janeiro temple — the Church’s 8th temple in Brazil
Elder Stevenson dedicated the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple on Sunday, May 8 — the eighth temple in the South American nation of nearly 1.5 million members of the Church. He said the temple helps individuals fulfill their divine potential as children of God. By participating in work in the temple and being worthy to be there, individuals fulfill God’s vision for them.
Find out more about the dedication, the youth devotional and the dedicatory prayer
4. Watch 2 Apostles lead a ‘virtual tour’ of the iconic Washington D.C. Temple
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released a special virtual tour of the Washington D.C. Temple — featuring an introductory message and invitation from President Russell M. Nelson — taking viewers on a guided visit of the temple’s interior rooms. The online journey is led by Elder Stevenson and his wife, Sister Lesa Stevenson, and Elder Renlund and his wife, Sister Ruth Renlund.
Watch the video tour
5. Born out of compassion and love, Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City turns 100 years old
Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital celebrated its 100th birthday on Wednesday, May 11, marking a century of pediatric care and service to children throughout the Intermountain West. Founded by and named for the Primary organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1922, Primary Children’s Hospital has been driven by this promise: “The child first and always.”
“Caring for children includes providing for their physical needs, which this hospital and its dedicated professionals and volunteers have done so beautifully for the last 100 years,” President Johnson said to the large crowd gathered there for a special program. She also recalled how she donated pennies to the hospital as a child.
Discover more about the 100th anniversary celebration and the hospital’s history
6. Church 2021 annual report includes more than 3,900 humanitarian projects in 188 countries
From helping refugees to clean-water projects, self-reliance courses and disaster relief, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members took part in 3,909 humanitarian projects in 188 countries in 2021, an increase from the previous year. This outreach included $906 million from the Church and 6.8 million hours of volunteer work by everyday Latter-day Saints, according to the 2021 annual report of caring released on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Explore how the Church and its members served in 2021
7. Episode 82: How a unique ‘Reverse Open House’ is helping build interfaith relationships in the Washington, D.C., area
For months prior to the open house of the Washington D.C. Temple, Diana Brown led a unique group of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and friends on a different kind of open house tour. The group visited sacred sites of other faiths in an effort to learn and foster interreligious relationships. She joins the Church News podcast to talk about this “Reverse Open House” and how Latter-day Saints can strengthen relationships with friends, neighbors and community members through interfaith interactions.
Listen to the Church News podcast
8. A look at the latest on the Temple Square renovation project in 10 photos
Work continues on the Salt Lake Temple, Church Office Building plaza and surrounding areas, as the Temple Square renovation project now includes the Main Street Plaza. The latest update on the project was published Thursday, May 12, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
See the photos of the renovation projects, plus the groundbreaking announcement for the Ephraim Utah Temple and Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple, and the temple reopening status tracker
9. What one senior missionary couple wants others to know about serving through challenges
When John and Sandy England started to get promptings about serving a full-time mission, they hesitated — Sandy is blind, and they worried about the challenges. But the Utah couple, currently living in the West Jordan Utah Bingham Creek Stake, knew they had to put their trust in the Lord.
