During the week of March 17-23, Church President Russell M. Nelson and the Relief Society general presidency addressed women in a worldwide Relief Society gathering. At an institute devotional in Salt Lake City, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught how to act on a desire to believe. Six Apostles shared testimonies of Jesus Christ as part of a video series leading up to Easter.
Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson invited missionaries to “expect miracles and joy” in an MTC devotional. Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman and Sister J. Anette Dennis, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, met with Latter-day Saints in Eurasia. The 2023 annual summary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donations outlined $1.36 billion given to care for those in need.
The week’s episode of the Church News podcast featured BYU-Hawaii President John S.K. Kauwe III talking about the vision and future of BYU-Hawaii and of his service as the university’s president. The Church published journals of two of the first young women to serve as full-time sister missionaries. Interfaith collaborations in the New York metro area blessed tens of thousands of children.
Read summaries and find links to these 9 stories below.
1. Power of covenant-keeping women celebrated during Relief Society anniversary worldwide gathering

On the 182nd anniversary of the organization of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, women all over the world gathered to hear messages from President Nelson and the Relief Society general presidency, and to bear testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Relief Society — one of the world’s oldest and largest service organizations — was organized on March 17, 1842, during construction of the Nauvoo Temple and in anticipation of the ordinances and covenants to be offered there, explained President Johnson.
Read the full article here.
2. ‘Choose to believe,’ invites Elder Uchtdorf, offering 3 ways to act on a desire to believe
Elder Uchtdorf has heard people say that had they lived in earlier times — of Jeremiah in the Old Testament, Lehi of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith in the latter days or even Jesus Christ Himself — they would have found it easier to believe.
“But if we had, I am not completely certain it would have been so easy to believe,” he said, speaking in a Sunday evening, March 17, devotional at the Salt Lake City Utah University Institute of Religion.
“No matter the era, there have been reasons to dismiss the prophets,” he said. “Always there have been those who insisted it was all ‘fake news’ and that the prophets deceived, misled and defrauded the people.”
Read more about his address here.
3. First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve testify of the Savior in Easter video series

A series of 15 videos featuring each member of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will testify of the many ways the Savior blesses the lives of Heavenly Father’s children.
The first two videos, published on Monday, March 18, were followed by daily videos which will continue until Easter Sunday on March 31.
Watch the daily videos here.
4. ‘Expect miracles and joy’ by focusing on Christ, says President Johnson at MTC
Speaking to training missionaries in a Tuesday, March 19, devotional, President Johnson said, “Sisters and elders, do you see with your spiritual eyes and hear with your spiritual ears the difference a focus on the Savior can make in your life and the lives of your friends?”
In the evening devotional at the Provo Missionary Training Center, President Johnson testified that joy comes by focusing on and choosing Jesus Christ.
Read the full article here.
5. President Freeman, Sister Dennis see future leaders of the Church in Eurasia

For 10 days, March 8-17, President Freeman and Sister Dennis participated in meetings as they visited and ministered in Armenia, Georgia and Kazakhstan — all part of the Church’s Eurasia Area.
President Freeman said she felt like she was a witness to the gathering of Israel as she saw the Church in its early stages of growth in the region.
“We walked into one Church building, and lying on the table is the Book of Mormon in all the languages that they spoke over there,” she said. “To see them spread out on a table, that was my first inclination that the gathering is happening there.”
Read more about their ministry here.
6. Church gives $1.36 billion to care for those in need during 2023, annual summary outlines

With a desire to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and live the two great commandments, the Church engaged in 4,119 humanitarian projects in 191 countries and territories in 2023 — with 6.2 million hours of volunteer work and $1.36 billion in expenditures. The Church’s Caring for Those in Need 2023 Summary was released Thursday, March 21, on Caring.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
An introduction from the First Presidency said Church leaders are humbled to share the summary of the Church’s efforts to continue the sacred work of caring for those in need.
“As we seek to show our love for God, our hearts naturally turn toward the well-being of others,” wrote President Nelson and his counselors in the First Presidency, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring. “Christ Himself set the example of loving our neighbor as He healed the sick, fed the hungry, clothed the naked and cared for the vulnerable.”
Read the full article here.
7. Podcast episode 180: BYU–Hawaii President John S.K. Kauwe III on the spiritual and intellectual mission of the university

In 1921, Church President David O. McKay met with Church members in an old chapel in Laie, Hawaii — where he witnessed many cultures worshipping together as one.
There on the north shore of Oahu, President McKay saw how people can be united by the gospel of Jesus Christ. In a campus devotional at BYU–Hawaii almost one year ago, BYU–Hawaii President John S.K. Kauwe III spoke of President McKay’s experience and of BYU–Hawaii today. The Church’s university in Laie continues to resemble that diverse group President McKay encountered more than a century ago, said President Kauwe. He joins an episode of the Church News podcast — taped on the BYU–Hawaii campus — to talk about the vision and future of BYU–Hawaii and of his service as the university’s president. This episode is the first of a two-part series.
Listen to the Church News podcast here.
8. Church publishes journals of two of the first young women to serve as full-time sister missionaries

Entries recorded by sister missionaries Eliza Chipman and Josephine Booth — two of the first young women to serve as full-time missionaries for the Church, as well as images and other materials, have been published online, the Church Historian’s Press announced at a media event on Tuesday, March 19.
The journals, accessible for free at churchhistorianspress.org, feature the day-to-day missionary experiences of Booth and Chipman, who served in the United Kingdom from 1898 to 1901, and as companions in Scotland from 1899 to 1900. Along with the journals, the website features images, biographical information for many of the people mentioned in the journals, maps that show where they served and traveled, and other related sources.
Read the full article here.
9. Light in dark times: How tens of thousands of children were blessed as faith leaders came together in the New York metro area

As part of the 2023 Light the World initiative, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worked with the interfaith community in the New York metro area to bring together diverse organizations to collaborate on projects to bless children in need and their families during the Christmas season.
They identified 66 meaningful projects involving 65 organizations and faiths — Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal, Adventist, Lutheran, Episcopal, United Church of Christ, and others.