2024 has been a historic year for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; from the 100th birthday of Church Prophet and President Russell M. Nelson to the dedication of the Church’s 200th temple, many milestones marked the year as significant.
In this 2024 year-in-review episode of the Church News podcast, Deseret News executive editor Doug Wilks and former Church News editor and current Deseret News editor Sarah Jane Weaver share their observations from the year in politics, peacemaking, missionary work and the strength of youth of the Church.
Listen to this episode of the Church News podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Spotify, bookshelf PLUS, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.
Transcript:
Doug Wilks: This was a remarkable year for Latter-day Saints in a lot of ways. Again, it speaks to the hinge point President Nelson talked about, when he says, “Take your vitamins. There’s more work to be done.” You had mentioned President Oaks, and he talked about that we each need to have our political and moral agency. And then President Holland talked about that we don’t check our faith at the door when we move forward, whether that’s at work or whatever we’re doing. So there’s a lot of responsibility that we have as Latter-day Saints, as individuals, as disciples of Jesus Christ, to not only move the work forward but to be good citizens in whatever country we’re in, to do the best we can to lift others. The doctrine of Jesus Christ is extremely simple in principle, but I’m really taken by the strength of the prophetic words that are coming from the leadership of the Church to help us navigate these tumultuous times.
1:06
Jon Ryan Jensen: This is Jon Ryan Jensen, editor of the Church News. Welcome to the Church News podcast. Today, we are taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The year 2024 will go down as one of the most pivotal in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From the 100th birthday of President Russell M. Nelson to the dedication of the Church’s 200th temple, many milestones marked the year’s path.
In this special year-in-review episode of the Church News podcast, we welcome back Deseret News executive editor Doug Wilks and former Church News editor and current Deseret News editor Sarah Jane Weaver to share their observations from the year in politics, peacemaking, missionary work and the youth of the Church.
Doug, Sarah, thanks for joining us today on the Church News podcast.
Sarah Jane Weaver: It’s great to be back on the podcast, Ryan.
Doug Wilks: It’s good to see you, Ryan. Absolutely.
1:59
Jon Ryan Jensen: This was a monumental year for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a number of ways, and I would love to get your perspective on some of the biggest stories that we saw in 2024.
For the Church, we hit 200 temples dedicated, and to have that many houses of the Lord available to members of the Church around the world is obviously a first. But what is the significance of that? And having a Prophet, a President of the Church, who’s 100 years old.
Those two stories, those two big numbers, are really important for members of the Church. And I’m interested to know what you saw as you covered this news this year.
2:34
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2024 was a continuing hastening of the work. You mentioned this climax with 200 temples at the Deseret Peak [Utah] Temple dedication just last month. And to have a Prophet leading this great effort that’s 100 years old and a global Church celebrating that landmark, I think, is really significant. We all love President Nelson. We’re so grateful for his leadership, and I think his leadership has played a crucial part in this year, when we’ve also experienced political tensions and political polarizations. And it’s interesting to note that he prepared us for this time by asking us all to be peacemakers.
3:17
Doug Wilks: We’ve had since, really, the past decade — the past eight years, certainly — this division in the country, and people focus on that division, and people try to join a team, whatever that team is. Sometimes it’s political; a Republican, a Democrat or something else. Sometimes it’s some other affiliation. But President Nelson taught us that, “Look, your identity as a child of God, your identity as a disciple of Jesus Christ.” And everything emanates from there.
With President Nelson turning 100 years old, I hearken back to when he was in Rome, and Sarah was there — I don’t remember if you were there, Ryan, but Sarah was certainly there — when he talked about it being a hinge point, the dedication of the Rome [Italy] Temple being a hinge point for the Church. And then from that point on, to see the number of temples dedicated, to see the political landscape and to see the requirement that we each have to focus our attention in the place it should be focused — which is not on hating our neighbor. It’s the exact opposite. It’s Christ’s message of loving our neighbor.
And so in the world of news, which is where Sarah and I live, you get frustrated with, “Why are people focusing on the wrong things?” There are solutions. There is peace to be had. There’s calmness. And one thing that’s lost in the news business is nuance, right? The things that make an impression are really the sharp edges, but the Deseret News and the things we’re trying to do is to focus on the nuance and the true storytelling to get further at the truth.
4:47
Sarah Jane Weaver: And I’m so glad that you mentioned temples as part of this year, because temples are where we find peace, where we find truth. President Nelson has given us a promise that the thing that will help us make good decisions in times of chaos and trouble is spending more time in the temple. I think those promises are profound and beautiful and that his invitation is such a simple one: If you want more light in your life, spend more time in the temple. And this is a great time of temple building in the Church. Just last week, the Church released five architectural renderings of the exteriors of five new temples, and that is amazing. The Church now has 202 operating temples and another 104 underway, either through active construction or that have renderings or site locations announced.
5:42
Jon Ryan Jensen: I thought that notably of those five, where sometimes individuals will say the Church is growing outside the U.S. more than inside, and those five temples, four of them are in the United States, and one, I believe, in Mexico. So the Church is growing and receiving more of those temples close to home as well.
5:57
Sarah Jane Weaver: Yeah. And isn’t that an amazing thing, that at a time when President Nelson is inviting members to spend more time in the temple, he’s also making sure that temples are accessible to the membership of the Church?
6:10
Jon Ryan Jensen: Yeah. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Neil L. Andersen, also of the Quorum of the Twelve, they’ve all talked about that this year, that when a temple is constructed, that’s not sufficient. That’s not an end. The end is the work that gets done inside those temples.
6:26
Doug Wilks: And I think that’s really important. We do focus on numbers sometimes, right? The numbers of members of the Church or the numbers of missionaries, and of course we also need to remember coming off of COVID from 2020, and we’re finally seeing people trying to get a normalcy. What does it look like? And so that means a greater level of service for the membership to serve in those temples. It’s interesting that where more is given, more is expected, and we marvel at the temples, we marvel at people paying their tithes and offerings.
But really, the real story of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in my opinion, in every aspect, is the volunteer work they give to the Church and to society, because they’re focused on Jesus Christ. And that’s what we get back in media circles and from others that go, “What’s different about members of the Church?” Well, they’re willing to step up and serve and give. Sometimes they get paid for that, sometimes they don’t, but they’re willing to stand up and give. And I think that’s been a really interesting thing to observe.
7:36
Jon Ryan Jensen: And that happens in so many different ways. Recently, in December, we saw Light the World Giving Machines opened in more than 100 locations around the world. That’s a way for individuals to donate to different causes and to support people who have different needs around the world.
But we also see individuals and congregations who are helping in different places around the world as well, as we recover from different disasters. Recently, we’ve had fires in California. We’ve had earthquakes in Vanuatu. And so we see members of the Church going out and actively participating. Hurricanes across the southeastern United States and further north than we’ve ever seen here. And yet, everyone seems to be ready at all times to pitch in and help out.
8:18
Sarah Jane Weaver: I think there is something really interesting about how our Church leaders have asked Latter-day Saints to respond to both natural disasters and political tensions. And it’s a little different than, “Give your money.” It’s become something. It’s part of becoming, a part of being. And President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, in general conference in October, talked about some of the political tensions, talked about different types of disasters that were occurring right within families, where contention was destroying families, where they didn’t know whether they could sit down for Thanksgiving dinner together because of political disagreements.
And he addressed that right on. He said, “This is a time of many harsh and hurtful words in public communications and sometimes even in our [own] families. Sharp differences on issues of public policy often result in actions of hostility — even hatred — in public and personal relationships.” And then he said, “Look, the Savior taught us a different way, and we need to —” echoing President Nelson’s invitations as well, but President Oaks said we need to avoid contention and be peacemakers.
And I think that type of elevating individuals is a different way to strengthen nations. Sure, after disasters, our people go in and they’re there and they support and they give, and that is amazing. And I’m so grateful to belong to a Church that responds to disasters. I’m also grateful that this year, when political disasters were brewing, that Church leaders gave us a way forward to deal with those as well.
10:02
Jon Ryan Jensen: Speaking of peacemakers, we also saw President Camille N. Johnson in a unique role earlier this year. Sarah, I believe you were there with her.
Sarah Jane Weaver: Yes. President Johnson actually went to Belgium, where she spoke to the European Parliament. And she talked about Relief Society being a global sisterhood of peacemakers. She said in that address, “Imagine what could happen if we could unleash the full power of women to transform their personal inspiration into organized action.” Now that is what the Relief Society is. It’s this force of peace across the earth, and we had a woman standing in the European Parliament proclaiming it, and it was important. And it felt important.
10:48
Doug Wilks: There’s another aspect of this. It’s not just about doing good. We’ve seen in Ukraine, other parts of the world, where there’s been real strife and struggle, that people are mourning. And there is scripture that talks about “mourn with those [who] mourn” (Mosiah 18:9). So it’s not simply putting on a yellow vest and going and removing a tree that’s fallen down in a storm. It’s sitting on that log or that tree and talking to someone who’s just had their house crumbled or, again, I reference Ukraine or other war zones or areas of hostility, where people are really, really hurting. And there is great value in mourning with them, acknowledging the loss that’s there, but with confidence trying to build some kind of light into their life.
And we even see that in the political arena where those who came for one candidate, the losing candidate or the winning candidate, if you’re with a losing candidate, they’re literally mourning. So how do you get through that? What do you do? How do you become someone who can build and strengthen? And so December is an interesting time. The inauguration hasn’t happened yet. It’ll happen Jan. 20. People are either picking sides or trying to be optimistic, and there’s a calm kind of in the country right now where you see, “OK, let’s see what happens.” But it’s going to require a lot of us in the coming years to be peacemakers.
12:16
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, and Doug, President Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, gave us a great example of mourning back in January of 2024. A young woman from Castle Dale, Utah, in Emery County, had been in a sledding accident. And there were many, many young people from the high school who witnessed this accident, where she went up over a mound of snow, intended to stop a sled and ended up on some hard pavement and died instantly. And President Holland did not know this young woman. He did not know her family. He did not know any of the youth in her school. But he felt driven to go and mourn with them.
And so on a Saturday when his health probably wasn’t as strong as it could have been — he was just recovering from his own health challenges and pressing forward himself — he got in the car and drove to Emery County. And I’ll never forget what he said. He stood up, and he was speaking to these young people, and he encouraged them never to use the phrases “what if” or “would have” or “should have” or “could have.” And then he said this most powerful thing that has guided my year personally and, I think, is the clarion call for all of us. He said, “Faith always points forward.”
And so when we have challenges, when we have disappointments, when we’re coming out of war, when we’re trying to figure out or find meaning in a political season, we need to muster our faith and then look forward. Faith always points forward. President Holland said, “If anyone in this room thinks the righteous are going to be spared the same tribulations and the same tests that all of the rest of us will face, then we have not understood the plan of salvation. Sometimes the righteous are called upon to set an example for others,” and we’ve certainly seen that in the life of President Holland himself.
14:17
Jon Ryan Jensen: All of this is happening while he’s still mourning the passing of his own wife [Sister Patricia T. Holland] and the love of his life for more than three-fourths of the years that he’s been on earth. And you could feel that in what he was saying and what he was sharing: “I know a little bit about pain, and I want to share with you some of my learnings personally, having gone through a little bit of this in the recent years.”
14:38
Sarah Jane Weaver: Yeah. He said, “We share our tears and then move forward with confidence in the plan of salvation.” Now, I know that seems like simple advice, but coming from someone who was saying it from the perspective he was to a generation of young people who look up to him and adore him, it was really powerful.
14:59
Doug Wilks: I think there’s a lot of information coming out, too, about the strength of the Latter-day Saints today. Sometimes you’ll hear about someone leaving the Church, but the reality is people are clinging to their Church and their faith, and they’re looking for answers. And even people who haven’t really embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ, they’re taking another look at what it is and what separates.
This was a remarkable year for Latter-day Saints in a lot of ways. Sen. Mitt Romney, of course, is leaving the Senate and ending his political career. He’s a Latter-day Saint. You have a congressional delegation from Utah that are Latter-day Saints. In the sports world, you have people like Kenneth Rooks, who gets a silver medal in the Olympics. He, of course, fell in a competition and got up and won it. And just step by step by step, you watch him go. Brigham Young University football team do really, really well, but then on the other hand, in a crucial game, they didn’t prevail. And so you have these highs and these lows that you see in the sports world, and these highs and lows that you see in the political world.
And then you get to the end of the year, like we’re in right now, and you kind of assess and say, “OK, that was interesting. I learned something. What do I want to do in the new year?” That’s renewing faith, it’s renewing hope. In the language of religion, it’s certainly faith. In a secular world, it’s, “Can I do a little better today than I did yesterday?” And it’s fun to watch that as a journalist. It’s fun to be a part of that at the Deseret News.
16:29
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, and I’m glad you mentioned sports in the Olympics, because also in 2024, Salt Lake City won the bid to host the 2034 Winter Games, which means the world will again visit this state that houses the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Doug Wilks: And the Church came out with a statement about that, of support. Ryan, do you have that?
Jon Ryan Jensen: I do. It was straight from the First Presidency, Doug, and it said, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints extends its heartfelt congratulations to Salt Lake City on securing the bid to host the 2034 Winter Olympics. We celebrate this news, recalling the feelings of unity, peace and friendship that characterized the event when it was last hosted in Utah in 2002. We stand ready to support the 2034 Olympic Games in welcoming athletes, volunteers and visitors from around the world. The Church is committed to efforts that make Salt Lake a host city that embodies values of service, cooperation and mutual respect. As the home of the international headquarters of the Church, we will work with organizers at both local and international levels to welcome the world as 2034 draws near.”
17:37
Doug Wilks: So if you look at that, what a remarkable thing. It’s been, I think, the Church is completing its fourth year of working on Temple Square and strengthening the Salt Lake Temple. So they’ll have another year of construction, and then in the year after that, they’ll start to look to welcoming the world and then to the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple. And then, of course, the world will come again for the Olympics.
It was interesting; there was a conference talk, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, I believe, who wrote about the coming years. So even as we look back here in December, his talk is really worth referencing in terms of all the things that are happening. Do you remember what he was looking at in that talk?
18:17
Jon Ryan Jensen: Yeah, Elder Gary E. Stevenson was talking about the next decade of landmark dates that are going to be coming. And actually, I think it’s important for us to note, too, that if you went backwards a little bit, it starts with President Nelson and his Bicentennial proclamation to the world. And that came, of course, as we were, as you mentioned, in the middle of the COVID pandemic. But that was the beginning of 10-15 years of important dates for the Church coming up.
18:45
Doug Wilks: Well, again, it speaks to the hinge point President Nelson talked about. It speaks to His ministry as the Prophet, when he says, “Take your vitamins. There’s more work to be done.” And now that he’s crossed the 100-year threshold, it’s just amazing to think about the future.
I’d love to go back to talk about just the political year, because this was a real reference point where Latter-day Saints are being called upon to be real decision-makers. You had mentioned President Oaks already, Sarah, and he talked about that we each need to have our political and moral agency. And then President Holland talked about that we don’t check our faith at the door when we move forward, whether that’s at work or whatever we’re doing.
So there’s a lot of responsibility that we have as Latter-day Saints, as individuals, as disciples of Jesus Christ, to not only move the work forward but to be good citizens in whatever country we’re in, to do the best we can to lift others, to lift our enemies. The doctrine of Jesus Christ is extremely simple in principle; maybe a little more difficult in implementation because we’re flawed human beings. But I’m really taken by the strength of the prophetic words that are coming from the leadership of the Church to help us navigate these tumultuous times.
20:04
Jon Ryan Jensen: Again, Doug, if you go back to President Nelson, he’s the one who said it’s easier to build a temple than it is to build a people worthy of the temple. And I think that that ties in too. It’s easy for us sometimes to talk about those principles but tougher for us to actually live those, wherever we are around the world.
20:20
Doug Wilks: It’s interesting; Sarah and I talk with a lot of reporters and work with reporters, and sometimes they’re struggling with how to approach a story. Sometimes we sit in a chair, and we go, “We’ll just start.” “What do you mean?” “Well, who do you want to talk to?” “Well, I could talk to this person.” “OK, go call and then come back.” “Well, I’m not sure where to start my story.” “Well, just start. Just take a leap. Move into it, and then you can always refine it. You can do a little better. You can make another decision. But you’ve got to start.”
And I think that’s the message of the Restoration. It’s ongoing. It started at a certain date, whether that’s the First Vision with Joseph Smith in 1820 or the organization of the Church in 1830, but it’s ongoing, and every aspect of our lives are contributing to it, either positively or negatively.
21:09
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, and Ryan, as we think about the Restoration, that was something that happened because a group of young people got together and worked together to build something and to together turn their hearts to the Savior’s restored Church. When I think of 2024, I think of young people.
I know we celebrated our Prophet’s 100th birthday, but really this is a year when young people said, “You know what? Lots of people in society are saying that young people are leaving faith, and we did not see that in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” The Church actually had to create 36 new missions to accommodate what is now 80,000 missionaries serving. These are people between the age of 18 to their early 20s who serve at their own expense in a place they don’t choose, and they’re doing it because of their faith.
We also saw records on college campuses this year. BYU–Idaho had a larger enrollment than they’ve ever had before, BYU–Pathway continues to grow, and the seminary and institute programs are attracting more students than ever before. So what we’re seeing is not a less engaged group of young people in the Church, but we’re seeing a much more engaged group.
22:28
Jon Ryan Jensen: And the Church itself is more fully engaged in how to help educate those who want to participate in those opportunities. BYU–Pathway, like you said, is growing. The locations physically are expanding around the globe, and abilities online are becoming more expansive. We also saw this year BYU make a big decision on its own expansion with the announcement of a new medical school.
22:48
Sarah Jane Weaver: And I loved Doug actually mentioned Kenneth Rooks. But what does he do after he has this great Olympic run? He has an interview where he talks about the Book of Mormon. These are strong, valiant, amazing young people.
23:03
Doug Wilks: Well, and you have Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, who represented the United States in the Olympics in the marathon, and you have a host of others. You just had the BYU cross-country teams, both the men and the women both win NCAA championships.
Now, these are achievements, and this is sport, and that’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it’s proving the strength of these young adults who are living an ethic. They’re living a life with a strength through taking care of their bodies and reaping a strong reward for it. And that shines a good light on the Church, because people want to know, “Well, how are they able to do that? What are they able to do?”
Not to mention, it gives us a great amount of joy to watch these people succeed, because they’re not doing it at the expense of others. Sometimes people will become CEOs by walking across the backs of others, but no, the CEOs we champion are the ones that really strengthen those around them.
23:59
Jon Ryan Jensen: I love that story too, because one of the important parts about we can take it down to a program level and say the Children and Youth program of the Church, mentorship. We let the youth learn for themselves by taking advantage of opportunities to lead within their classes, within their quorums. You see within those teams of the cross-country, you’ve got some who are going to serve missions, some who have served missions. And whatever their stage in life, they’re helping each other take those next step forwards that you’re talking about.
Recently, I was in the Dominican Republic with President Jeffrey R. Holland and Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve, and one of the most impactful moments for me was when Elder Rasband saw that as a moment of his own personal learning when he said, “I know many of you in this audience are excited to hear from us as Apostles, but I never get to travel with my quorum president, and so I’m excited to take my own seat and write my own notes from what my quorum president has to say right now.” And I just love that pattern of mentorship that we have within the Church as well. I think that was evident this year, and it always is.
24:58
Doug Wilks: When you’re talking about that training, can I share a personal story? I shared this with Sarah this week. I got a message from my daughter, Sydney, who has a 12-year-old son, and he was in sacrament meeting and sitting on the deacons bench to pass the sacrament, and one of the bishopric members came down said, “Hey, would you be our youth speaker today?” They’d had a cancellation. And he maybe gulped, but he was certainly willing, and he had just had a patriarchal blessing, and he got up, and he talked. He gave a talk as a 12-year-old, and he talked about revelation. And he talked about when you feel peace, that peace comes from revelation. Now, he’s not an Apostle giving doctrine; he’s talking about a personal experience as a 12-year-old.
Later that day, he came home and said, “Boy, I really need to do a little more of that, because I’m going to be doing a lot of that on my mission, talking to others.” So here you have an impromptu moment where a 12-year-old finds himself in church with an opportunity, in a Church that gives a 12-year-old an opportunity to preach truth. And it was what he was feeling.
So I think about an Apostle going with his quorum president on a trip and preaching the doctrine of Christ, and I think about a 12-year-old in a city in anywhere, giving a — we used to call them two-and-a-half-minute talks many, many, many, many years ago — but really it’s a testimony. They’re testimonies of the membership saying, “Yeah, this is what I learned today.”
26:23
Sarah Jane Weaver: And some of the most impactful moments for me this year happened during the rededication of the Manti Utah Temple, which President Nelson was able to do, and the dedication of the Deseret Peak temple. In both those cases, you had a Prophet on site dedicating those temples with Apostles who stood and testified of President Nelson’s prophetic calling. And the strength and power of seeing an Apostle testify of our Prophet in each case was sacred and powerful and very special to me.
I remember pulling out of the Deseret Peak temple, and it was just dusk, and the sky lit up, and it was as if the Lord were putting his stamp of approval on the work of temples spreading across the globe.
Now, I think we haven’t talked about it yet, but there is also something significant this year with temples, and that’s that the Church was able to purchase the Kirtland Temple. This is the first temple built in this dispensation. It had been cared for in a really lovely manner by the Community of Christ for a number of years. And then earlier this year, probably after a lot of hard work and the Lord’s intervention, the Church is able to purchase that temple. And I think that is significant.
27:51
Jon Ryan Jensen: That acquisition seemingly came out of the blue for a lot of us and had a lot of ripples in news circles across the country, because people didn’t understand why this mattered so much to members of the Church.
So what is the significance of that, especially with it not being an active temple in use anymore? Why, Sarah, do you think that it mattered so much for members that the Church made that acquisition?
28:14
Sarah Jane Weaver: The Kirtland Temple is really a significant site not just in the history of the Church but for all believing Latter-day Saints. It is indeed the first temple built in this dispensation. It was dedicated almost two centuries ago, when Joseph Smith and other early Latter-day Saints lived in Kirtland. And the Doctrine and Covenants records that Jesus Christ Himself appeared in glory in the Kirtland Temple.
28:42
Jon Ryan Jensen: That right there is one of the most momentous happenings in history. And I’m glad that in this coming year that we’ll get a chance to talk about that as the Church, collectively and individually, studies Doctrine and Covenants and Joseph Smith—History, because it’s not just about the happenings there, but it is the book of Doctrine and Covenants. We learn the doctrine as Heavenly Father wanted it shared at the Restoration of His Church, and the covenants that are made both in those temples and outside those temples. And so that purchase, that acquisition, was significant for a lot of reasons.
29:15
Sarah Jane Weaver: And I don’t think we can underestimate what happened in Kirtland. The priesthood organization was restored in that Kirtland time period, the Church first ordained high priests and organized the Seventy, then established the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and created the First Presidency during that time, and Emma Smith actually completed the first LDS hymnal.
29:38
Jon Ryan Jensen: And finally this year, in 2024, we had the first of a new round of hymns for the Church released.
Sarah Jane Weaver: And I am the chorister in my ward. It’s a calling that gives me great anxiety, to have to stand up and lead the music each week. I spend hours practicing it in my car with one hand safely on the steering wheel at all times. But it has been so tender for me. These are hymns that have been cherished for a very long time. And then there’s “Come, Thou Fount [of Every Blessing].” And this is a cherished hymn that we’ve looked to for a long, long time, but there’s some very, very beautiful new hymns that we all get the opportunity to sing.
I love that the Church also released the guidelines as they select these hymns. Every time I lead one of these hymns, I have a moment where I think, “Wow, these hymns are available all over the world in languages where members are meeting in cities across the globe. They all testify of the Savior. They all turn our thoughts to a place that glorifies Jesus Christ or His Church or the work that He’s asked us all to take part in together.” And so I think the hymnbook is really significant.
31:03
Jon Ryan Jensen: I know in my ward, we’ve enjoyed singing a lot of these songs, and especially as we came through the Christmas season, it was the first time to sing a handful of them that are reserved specifically for Easter and Christmas worship. “What Child Is This?” “Star Bright.” And, of course, from the Church’s musical production “Savior of the World,” we have “Come, Lord Jesus.” And so I think it’s great to see some of those songs that people may have already been familiar with make their way into the repertoire musically of the Church.
31:29
Sarah Jane Weaver: And I love “It Is Well With My Soul.” This is a song that has great significance to me because President Nelson asked the choir in Paradise, California, to sing that after a fire had had destroyed 18,000 structures in 2018. And he ministered to them and then asked the choir to sing that hymn, and because of that significance and that connection and that message that we all have suffering, we all have hardships.
We talked extensively in this podcast about Kirtland, and I think we should mention that was also a time of great persecution and great hardships for the early Saints. And yet, the message of the gospel goes forward, and the message is sweet, and it’s that all is well, that it’s well with our soul, because we know the Savior.
32:20
Jon Ryan Jensen: Sarah, Doug, thank you for coming in and helping us have that hopeful and joyful recap of things that have happened this year. It’s exciting to think about what’s coming in 2025.
But before we get there, to end this episode of the Church News podcast, we would like to continue our tradition of giving our guests the last word. And so Sarah and then Doug, what do you know now at the end of 2024?
32:43
Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, I know something that I’ve always known, but I know it deeper than I think I’ve known it before, and that’s that this is the Savior’s true Church, and it’s led by a Prophet, President Nelson.
In 2024, I pledged that every week, I would make time to be in the temple, because President Nelson had extended that invitation, and he’d made beautiful promises to those who do that. And I have been amazed that as I have made that effort, that peace fills my heart and my soul, and I think I’m a different person. I think I’m a little less judgmental and a little slower to get upset than I might have been before I started trying to spend time in the temple each week and think of Him and turn off my phone.
And I’m really, really grateful for a Prophet who understands that covenants matter and that we can gain strength by being in temples. He’s building temples. We now have 202. But how significant; we mentioned that when we came out of the 200th temple dedication, the sky lit up in these beautiful colors. It’s hard to deny that the Lord is hastening His work, and that one thing that can help all of us is to accept this invitation from President Nelson, our 100-year-old Prophet, to spend more time in temples.
34:23
Doug Wilks: For me, it’s simple. I want to say this was a historic year for the Deseret News, because Sarah Weaver became the editor of the Deseret News and the first female editor. Now, it’s hard to emphasize first female editor, but it is significant. She’s the editor because she’s been prepared for this, both journalistically but also in knowledge and wisdom and spiritually. Here we’re willing to acknowledge that, and we’re willing to champion it.
Through any harshness and adversity, the simple scripture comes back to mind: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10), and that’s it. It’s peace. It’s, “Don’t worry.” President [Gordon B.] Hinckley used to say, “Well, don’t worry. It’ll all work out.” And the optimism of President Nelson and the entire First Presidency in the quorum, and Sister Camille Johnson and all the leaders who are there; they’re tremendous testimonies. So the overwhelming message for me is that faith will always overcome fear, so live by faith.
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Jon Ryan Jensen: Thank you for listening to the Church News podcast. I’m your host, Church News editor Jon Ryan Jensen. I hope you learned something today about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had your faith in the Savior increase by looking through the Church News window as a living record of the Restoration. Please subscribe, rate and review this podcast so it can be accessible to more people. And if you enjoyed the messages we shared today, please share the podcast with others. Thanks to our guests; to my producer, KellieAnn Halvorsen; and to others who make this podcast possible. Join us every week for a new episode. Find us on your favorite podcasting channels or with other news and updates about the Church on TheChurchNews.com or on the Church News app.
