The week of Oct. 11 to Oct. 17 included President Dallin H. Oaks’ one-year anniversary as Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church News compiled announcements and changes over the past year of his administration and shared Church leaders’ observations of President Oaks as Prophet. The day after the anniversary, President Oaks welcomed religious and civic leaders to the Tabernacle on Temple Square for the 2026 G20 Interfaith Forum.
Four members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated new temples, and two others spoke in large group settings. Elder Ronald A. Rasband and Elder Gerrit W. Gong dedicated temples in Ephraim, Utah, and Guatemala City, Guatemala, respectively. Elder Gary E. Stevenson gave a devotional address at the Provo Missionary Training Center, and Elder Ulisses Soares was the closing keynote speaker for the Forum on Faith in New York City.
Presiding Bishop W. Christopher Waddell gave an inside look on Church functions at a BYU-Hawaii devotional. The week’s podcast episode takes a deep dive on the Church’s “Dedicate” video series.
Milwaukee Brewers rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt shared his journey in faith and baseball with Church News after an orange soda celebration. Brigham Young University announced its highly anticipated medical school has officially received accreditation.
Read summaries and find links to these 10 articles below.
1. One year of President Oaks as the Prophet
In President Oaks’ first year as the Prophet for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he announced a change in announcing new temples, he called two new Apostles to the Quorum of the Twelve, the Church lowered the minimum age of missionary service for women and more. Senior Church leaders describe the Prophet as fearless, focused, humble, wise, sincere and genuinely loving while in alignment with the Savior.
Check out what happened during President Oaks’ first year as Prophet here.
See a list of announcements in the Church since President Oaks became Prophet here.
Read what other Church leaders wrote about President Oaks.
2. President Oaks welcomes world religious leaders to G20 Interfaith Forum
President Oaks welcomed religious and civic leaders, scholars and others to the Tabernacle on Temple Square on Thursday, Oct. 15, at the 2026 G20 Interfaith Forum.
Read about President Oaks at the G20 Interfaith Forum.
3. Elder Rasband dedicates the Ephraim Utah Temple
Elder Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Ephraim Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, Oct. 11. The house of the Lord in Ephraim is only 7 miles away from the historic Manti Utah Temple.
Read about the Ephraim Utah Temple dedication.
Read the dedicatory prayer here.
4. Elder Gong dedicates Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple
Elder Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple on Sunday, Oct. 11. This is the second temple of the Church of Jesus Christ in the city, fourth in the country and 224th dedicated temple in operation worldwide.
Read about the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple dedication.
Read the dedicatory prayer here.
5. Elder Stevenson on the ‘heavenly companionship’ between missionaries and the Book of Mormon
Elder Stevenson spoke about the “heavenly companionship” missionaries share with the Book of Mormon during a devotional at the Provo Missionary Training Center on Tuesday, Oct. 13, in Provo, Utah. His remarks, which were broadcast to missionary training centers around the world, emphasized the Book of Mormon’s vital role in cultivating personal testimonies.
Read more on Elder Stevenson’s MTC devotional.
6. Elder Soares invites people of different faiths to build bridges and serve together
Elder Soares delivered a message as the closing keynote speaker at the 2026 Forum on Faith at New York University in New York City on Wednesday, Oct. 14. He invited people of different faiths to build bridges and serve together, speaking on how to foster unity while honoring convictions and protecting religious freedom.
Find out more about Elder Soares’ message in New York City here.
7. Presiding bishop gives an inside look at the operations of the Church
During an address at the Cannon Activities Center on the BYU-Hawaii campus in Laie, Hawaii, Bishop Waddell gave an overview of the Presiding Bishopric. He then gave insights on how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fulfills its divinely appointed duty to care for those in need.
Read more about Bishop Waddell’s devotional address at BYU-Hawaii.
8. Church News podcast, Episode 316: ‘Dedicate’ series shows young adults building faith
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has begun releasing episodes in a six-part video series called “Dedicate.” In this series, seven young adults from different countries tour the Salt Lake Temple to see its renovations. They share how they have worked to build testimonies of the Savior, of temples and of temple covenants.
Listen to the podcast episode here.
9. Beyond the Fanta: Milwaukee shortstop Cooper Pratt’s faith and journey to the big leagues
Celebrating his team’s victory with a bottle of orange soda recently gave Milwaukee Brewers rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt an unexpected opportunity to talk about his Latter-day Saint faith.
Find out more about Pratt’s story here.
10. BYU medical school receives accreditation
Brigham Young University has announced that its new medical school has received accreditation and is now authorized to recruit an inaugural class of students and launch the Doctor of Medicine program beginning July 2027.
