Each Tuesday, Church News publishes a podcast in various channels for listeners to learn about events, news, announcements and personal stories of Church members and friends of the Church. The podcast’s weekly introduction refers to this as a “journey of connection.”
In 2024, topics included President Russell M. Nelson’s 100 years, the acquisition of the Kirtland Temple, the Relief Society’s global initiative and the impact of temple attendance on mental health.
Below is a list of episodes from the past year that were among the most listened to Church News podcasts in 2024.
President Russell M. Nelson turns 100
Church News produced three special episodes in 2024 to commemorate the 100th birthday of the Prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson.
In August, historian Richard E. Turley Jr. shared his observations of President Nelson from both historical and personal perspectives. The week of President Nelson’s birthday, some of his family members and other associates shared their feelings about his love, work and service. And following his birthday celebration, the podcast included excerpts from the Church’s global broadcast — including President Nelson’s own testimony from that event.
“The length of your life is not as important as the kind of life that you live,” President Nelson said. “Even for a 100-year-old man, life passes quickly. My prayer is that you will let God prevail in your life. Make covenants with Him. Stay on the covenant path. Prepare to return to live with Him again. A mortal birthday is not an end point; it is a step in our eternal progression.”
A global initiative for women and children
The First Presidency asked the Relief Society organization to take the lead in a global initiative for women and children. This initiative seeks to provide the Savior’s relief through maternal and newborn care, child nutrition efforts, immunizations and education.
Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson and her counselors, Sister J. Anette Dennis and Sister Kristin M. Yee, joined guest host Mary Richards, a Church News reporter, to talk about how Relief Society sisters around the world are part of this global initiative.
Temple and other important updates
Guests on the podcast also discussed news and updates relevant to Church members. In 2024, this included an update on the ongoing Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square renovations. Former Church News editor Sarah Jane Weaver interviewed Brent Roberts, managing director of the Church’s Special Projects Department, and Andy Kirby, director of historic temple renovations, about the work to restore and refresh the temple.
“You talk about the Salt Lake Temple, how it took 40 years to construct,” Roberts said. “But 40 years was generations for them. They were evolving, going through issues, strengthening their testimonies, and the temple was there when they needed it. And I look at those pioneers, especially the sacrifice — literally everything they had, in many respects — because they knew that they needed to have the power that comes with a covenant that they could only get in the temples of the Most High.”
Elder Kyle S. McKay, a General Authority Seventy and the Church’s historian and recorder, spoke on the Church News podcast following the Church’s acquisition of the Kirtland Temple in March 2024. He was joined by historian Matt Grow.
“We are not celebrating an isolated experience, but the blessings of heaven called down upon the Saints then by the Prophet Joseph are accessible to us now, through the ordinances,” Elder McKay said of the significance of the Church having stewardship over that temple again.
Learning through service
Brigham Young University professor of religious education Justin Dyer discussed research that shows the benefits of temple attendance on mental health in an October episode of the podcast.
“Certainly as part of a process in your life, that can be the pathway that I’m taking on that healing journey as I’m serving others, uniting families, gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, right? It’s going to facilitate our connecting with the Savior,” Dyer said.
Latter-day Saint Joseph Grenny came on the podcast to talk about some of the ways he has seen the Atonement of Jesus Christ bless the lives of himself, his family members and many other people he has met at The Other Side Academy in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“When the tree that you care most about isn’t having it, when the person in your life that you wish you could minister to or fix right now isn’t letting you fix them, go to the nethermost part of the vineyard, because there are other trees there, and your life has uniquely suited you to serve that kind of tree, trees with exactly that kind of problem. All of us have been uniquely prepared to be able to reach out,” Grenny said, speaking about Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon.
