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In case you missed it: President Nelson shares a new video, Elder Uchtdorf dedicates the Pittsburgh temple, Elder Cook ministers in Korea and Japan, plus 6 more stories

Here are 9 stories from the Church News the week of Sept. 15-21

During the week of Sept. 15-21, President Russell M. Nelson shared a video on social media featuring clips of his April 2023 conference talk “Peacemakers Needed,” inviting all to choose peacemaking rather than contention. This week’s Church News podcast featured how family, friends and fellow leaders celebrated President Nelson during his 100th birthday.

On Sunday, Sept. 15, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf dedicated the new Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple and the Church News reported on the 10-day ministry of Elder Quentin L. Cook in South Korea and Japan. Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke to BYU students during the weekly devotional on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

In temple news, almost two years after President Nelson announced the building of a temple in Tacoma, Washington, the building site for the temple was announced on Monday, Sept. 16, and an update on the Salt Lake Temple interior renovation was published on Saturday, Sept. 21.

The Young Women and Young Men general presidencies announced the 2025 youth theme. Young Men General President Steven J. Lund ministered in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in northeastern Mexico, and BYU–Idaho President Alvin F. Meredith III and Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch addressed their students at the beginning of the new school year. Also, leaders at 10 missionary training centers around the world were announced.

Read summaries and find links to these articles below.

1. President Nelson invites all to be peacemakers in new video

President Russell M. Nelson speaks in a video shared to social media on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. The video features selections from his April 2023 general conference talk “Peacemakers Needed.”
President Russell M. Nelson speaks in a video shared to social media on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. The video features selections from his April 2023 general conference talk “Peacemakers Needed.” | Screenshot from Facebook

In a video shared on social media on Sept. 19, President Nelson revisited themes from his April 2023 general conference talk “Peacemakers Needed.” He emphasizes that both contention and peacemaking are choices, stating,” Contention is a choice. Peacemaking is a choice.” He notes that true disciples of Jesus Christ build, lift, encourage and inspire others, as he believes that the pure love of Christ can change the world one interaction at a time.

Also this week, the Church News podcast included highlights from the broadcast of President Nelson’s 100th birthday celebration earlier this month. Hear excerpts from President Nelson’s birthday celebration as noted by a daughter, great-granddaughter, fellow Church leaders and others who have served and worked with the Prophet over the last 10 decades.

Read more about this story here and watch President Nelson’s video on Facebook here.
Listen to this week’s Church News podcast.

2. Elder Uchtdorf dedicates Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple: ‘This temple will be a blessing to you’

Ariana Gifford greets Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles outside the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple with her brother Greyson Gifford and father, Terrence Gifford, looking on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024.
Ariana Gifford greets Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles outside the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple with her brother Greyson Gifford and father, Terrence Gifford, looking on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

On Sept. 15, the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple was dedicated, marking nearly 200 years since the first Latter-day Saints arrived in the area. Elder Uchtdorf was joined by his wife, Sister Harriet Uchtdorf, and other Church leaders on this historic day. Elder Uchtdorf described the temple as a bridge connecting earth to heaven and praised local members for their faith and resilience in growing the Church to three stakes in Pittsburgh. He promised that “this temple will be a blessing to you. It will enrich your lives, inspire you to create in your homes and families a spirit of hope and peace and endow you with blessings from on high.”

In his dedicatory prayer, Elder Uchtdorf emphasized the temple as a beacon of everlasting truth and an invitation to come unto the Lord.

Read more about this story here.
Read Elder Uchtdorf’s dedicatory prayer here.

3. Elder Cook visits the Saints in South Korea and Japan

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles chats with pioneer Church members in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024.
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles chats with pioneer Church members in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

During his 10-day ministry to South Korea and Japan, Elder Cook and his wife, Sister Mary Cook, met with South Korea Supreme Court Justice Youngjoon Kwon and his wife, Yeonshin Lee. Youngjoon Kwon, who had served as an Area Seventy for three years before being confirmed as a Supreme Court justice, shared, “I’m learning new things, and I’m trying to serve my country better. As I endeavor to do that, the gospel of Jesus Christ has helped me significantly.”

In Japan, Elder Cook met some of Japan’s earliest Church members. He shared, “You have done the thing the Lord would want you to do in becoming members of His Church. It’s my prayer that the generations that are following you will follow your path.”

Read more about this story here.
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4. Elder and Sister Kearon share messages of kindness and faith in recent devotional

Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Jennifer Kearon, greet students following a BYU devotional held in the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, on Sept. 17, 2024.
Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Jennifer Kearon, greet students following a BYU devotional held in the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, on Sept. 17, 2024. | Joey Garrison, BYU

One Tuesday, Sept. 17, Elder Kearon, feeling as new to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as a freshman to BYU, expressed his admiration for the BYU campus and its extraordinary students. He invited students to embody kindness and love in their daily lives, emphasizing the impact of simple, outward acts of kindness in his invitation to “look outward and upward.” He concluded by reminding the students that they “still are extraordinary” and as they hold onto the joy found in their faith and service, they will be able to endure life’s challenges with patience.

Read more about Elder Kearon’s devotional here.

5. Temple news: First Presidency releases the Tacoma Washington Temple site and update on the interior renovation of the Salt Lake Temple

Site location map for the Tacoma Washington Temple.
Site location map for the Tacoma Washington Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

After the temple site for the Tacoma Washington Temple was released on Monday, Sept. 16, in Federal Way, Washington, members in Washington state now anticipate a total of six temples in the state, after the Vancouver Washington Temple was announced Oct. 1, 2023, with its site identified on Feb. 26, 2024, and an exterior rendering released earlier this month.

An update on the interior renovation of the Salt Lake Temple was released on Saturday, Sept. 21, including what has been preserved and changed in the interior, including those due to the seismic upgrades for the temple and increasing the capacity and accessibility in the house of the Lord. Interior renderings were also released. Also, nine questions and answers about the interior renovation were also released on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Read more about the Tacoma Washington Temple site here.
See the update on the Salt Lake Temple interior renovation here.

6. 2025 youth theme announced: ‘Look unto Christ’

An image of Jesus Christ.
The 2025 youth theme is "Look unto Christ." | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The 2025 youth theme was announced by the Young Women and Young Men general presidencies of the Church on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The theme, “Look unto Christ,” is based on Doctrine and Covenants 6:36: “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”

Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman shared the hope of this year’s youth theme is to “empower the youth — particularly in times of doubt or fear.” Young Men General President Steven J. Lund shared, “It is our hope that the youth of the Church will find peace by looking to Christ to know and keep His commandments.”

Read more about this story here.

7. ‘Jesus Christ wants more than anything for you to be happy’: President Steven J. Lund ministers in Mexico

Young Men General President Steven J. Lund shakes hands with a young man in Monterrey, Mexico, in Sept. 2024.
Young Men General President Steven J. Lund shakes hands with a young man in Monterrey, Mexico, in September 2024. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Young Men General President Steven J. Lund visited Monterrey, Nuevo León, in northeastern Mexico as part of a three-day ministry to the young men in the region. He shared President Nelson’s invitation to transform the world “through the light of the gospel.”

He pleaded with the youth to remember their divine identity and reminded them that they are “children of God and that He has a work for you, a purpose for your life.” He explained that the importance of using “key tools” such as the “For the Strength of Youth” guide in making good decisions through personal revelation, and he taught how to feel and recognize the Spirit, particularly through experiences in the For the Strength of Youth program. President Lund concluded by sharing his testimony of Jesus Christ and reminding the youth that “Jesus Christ wants more than anything for you to be happy.”

Read more about this story here.

8. Weekly devotionals from presidents of both BYU–Idaho and Ensign College

Left, BYU–Idaho President Alvin F. Meredith III and his wife, Sister Jennifer Meredith, speak at the college’s first devotional of the fall semester on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, at the I-Center in Rexburg, Idaho; Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch speaks at the school’s first devotional of fall semester in the Conference Center Theater in Salt Lake City on Sept. 17, 2024. | Lauren Bushman, BYU–Idaho; Screenshot from ChurchofJesusChrist.org

On Tuesday, Sept. 17, BYU–Idaho President Alvin F. Meredith III and Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch addressed their students at the beginning of the new school year.

President Meredith began his address by encouraging the students to “strive to become covenant-keeping disciple-leaders,” which is “a great description of what we hope you will become during your time here at BYU–Idaho.” He defined true discipleship as transcending actions to focus on becoming Christlike, which enhances leadership, as “disciples and leaders often need power and confidence to stand up and be courageous.”

President Kusch encouraged students to consider President Nelson’s counsel on living a righteous life, staying on the covenant path, letting God prevail and preparing to live with Him. Highlighting the importance of aligning decisions with an eternal perspective, he shared, “With all the energy of my soul I witness that following the Lord’s Prophet with exactness will protect us and will strengthen us on our journey to return to God’s presence.”

Read more about President Meredith’s devotional here.
Read more about President Kusch’s devotional here.

9. New MTC leaders announced

Aerial view of the England Missionary Training Center, right foreground; Preston England Stake Center, center; and Preston England Temple, far left; in Preston, England, on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. | Brian Nicholson, for the Deseret News

New leaders have been called in 10 missionary training centers around the world, from the Philippines to Brazil to South Africa to England. These leaders will begin their service in January 2025.

Read more about the new leaders here.
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