During the week of March 3-9, the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the purchase of the Kirtland temple and other historic artifacts from the Community of Christ church. President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, joined the Primary general presidency for the Friend to Friend broadcast. Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles ministered across six European countries over 12 days.
At the Arizona State University Family Education Night on Feb. 29, Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles answered questions of high school students. Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explains the necessity of covenants with God in a BYU devotional on March 5. “Imagine what would happen if we ... could unleash the full power of women to transform their personal inspiration into organized action,” said Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson during European Union Parliament on March 4.
This Church News podcast episode featured the Relief Society general presidency to discuss the mission and purpose of the Relief Society and upcoming March 17 worldwide devotional. During 10-day ministry in February, general women leaders Primary General President Susan H. Porter and Sister Kristin M. Yee, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, shared messages of love, unity with Latter-day Saints in the Church’s Caribbean Area. Young Men General President Steven J. Lund taught missionaries about the growth of testimonies at the Provo Missionary Training Center on March 5.
1. Church purchases Kirtland Temple, other historic buildings and artifacts from Community of Christ
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has purchased the Kirtland Temple — the first temple built in this dispensation — from the Community of Christ church, leaders of both faiths announced Tuesday, March 5, in a joint statement.
The landmark agreement also includes the purchase of several significant buildings in Nauvoo, Illinois, and important manuscripts and artifacts.
“Together, we share an interest in and reverence for these historic sites and items and are committed to preserving them for future generations,” wrote the leaders in the statement, dated March 5.
Read the full article here.
2. Children learn how to follow Jesus Christ during Friend to Friend with President Oaks, Primary general presidency
Using stories, songs, pictures and puppets, the March 2024 Friend to Friend broadcast taught children in the Church about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
During the Saturday, March 9, Friend to Friend episode, President Oaks and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, spoke with seven of their great-grandchildren who are of Primary age.
“Disciples of Jesus Christ listen to Jesus Christ,” President Oaks said. “Sometimes, He gives us a feeling, sometimes a thought, sometimes we hear His voice. President Nelson has asked us to listen to our Savior and hear Him.”
Read the full article here.
3. Elder Christofferson’s ministry in Europe: 6 countries, 12 days
In a 12-day ministry through six European countries, Elder Christofferson met with government leaders, full-time missionaries, local Latter-day Saints and leaders and employees of the Church’s Europe Central Area.
In Zagreb, Croatia, Elder Christofferson met with Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Croatia’s minister of culture and media, who was joined by representatives of the government’s Committee for Relations With Religious Communities and its Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.
Elder Christofferson discussed how the Church and its members can contribute to the betterment of society and emphasized humanitarian efforts there since the Church’s 1985 recognition in Croatia, including nearly 200 projects and initiatives over the past 25 years alone that reached an estimated 2 million beneficiaries.
Read more about his ministry here.
4. Don’t lean away from education, Elder Andersen tells high school students in Arizona
Lean toward education, not away from it, Elder Andersen told high school students and their parents gathered at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.
Joining ASU President Michael M. Crow for the university’s Family Education Night at the ASU Gammage auditorium on Feb. 29, Elder Andersen and his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen, encouraged youth to take advantage of educational opportunities and be lifelong learners.
One of the greatest gifts God gives His children, Elder Andersen said, “is to be able to expand our mind and learn something.”
Read the full article here.
5. Why is it necessary to make multiple covenants with God? Elder Renlund explains
In order to be reconciled to God, individuals must progress along the covenant path — a series of non-negotiable covenants based on eternal, unchanging law.
These covenants “transform, save and exalt us,” Elder Renlund explained. “… A covenant is a pledge that we should prepare for, clearly understand and absolutely honor.”
In speaking to students, faculty and staff gathered in the Marriott Center on the Brigham Young University campus in Provo, Utah, on Tuesday, March 5, Elder Renlund answered a simple yet important question: “Why are multiple covenants needed?”
Read more about his address here.
6. ‘A global sisterhood of peacemakers’: President Johnson emphasizes religious liberty for women during address at the European Union Parliament
Addressing the European Union Parliament in anticipation of International Women’s Day, President Johnson invited leaders to “envision a world in which women cultivate, use and expand their natural gifts.”
Reaching across faith boundaries builds peace, she said on Monday, March 4, at the parliament building in Brussels, Belgium. “Friends, we can achieve what no government can: a sisterhood — a global sisterhood of peacemakers.”
During keynote remarks titled “Empowering Women’s Freedom of Religion and Belief,” President Johnson quoted Church President Russell M. Nelson saying women “have been blessed with a unique moral compass” and possess “special spiritual gifts and propensities” to sense human needs and to comfort, teach and strengthen.
Read the full article here.
7. Episode 178: Relief Society general presidency celebrates the 182nd anniversary of the organization
This month is the 182nd anniversary of the organization of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When the Relief Society was organized on March 17, 1842, Emma Smith said, “We are going to do something extraordinary. … We expect extraordinary occasions and pressing calls.”
A worldwide Relief Society devotional on Sunday, March 17 will commemorate the purpose and founding of the Relief Society. Local ward and stake Relief Societies will gather to hear a message from President Nelson and the Relief Society general presidency.
The presidency — President Johnson, Sister J. Anette Dennis and Sister Yee — joins this episode of the Church News podcast to talk more about the upcoming devotional and the mandate of the Relief Society, with Church News reporter Mary Richards as guest host.
Listen to the Church News podcast here.
8. General women leaders minister to members in the Caribbean
Speaking at a devotional for Latter-day Saint women in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in February, President Porter of the Primary general presidency taught, “When we come to the Savior, there are angels who will come and help us.”
Sister Yee, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, added in the same devotional: “When sisters come together, something wonderful happens; we need each other and we are united in Jesus Christ, and every time we gather in His name, blessings come.”
These gospel messages of love and unity were given as President Porter and Sister Yee, joined by other leaders of the Church, ministered in the Church’s Caribbean Area from Feb. 9-19.
Read the full article here.
9. ‘Testimonies are cumulative,’ President Lund teaches missionaries at MTC devotional
An advertising executive recently told President Lund that a good brand needs three things — to be short, memorable and singable.
President Lund’s friend then wondered for years why the Lord’s Church had such a long name — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Then one day, it occurred to me,” the man told President Lund. “That name isn’t a brand at all. It’s a testimony.”
“Knowledge of such things comes in degrees, layers, flashes of light, experience and inspiration that comes. It’s cumulative in nature,” President Lund said during a devotional at the Provo Missionary Training Center on March 5, 2024. “The more experience we have, the more we learn, the more like that we can be. Testimonies like that don’t come all at once; they accumulate.”
