© supplied by way of Salt Lake Tribune (picture courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Patricia, seek advice from media at the groundbreaking of the purple Cliffs Utah Temple on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. The Mormon Land publication is a weekly highlight reel of tendencies in and in regards to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whether heralded in headlines, preached from the pulpit or buzzed about on the lower back benches. need this free e-newsletter to your inbox? Subscribe right here.
Holland's 'miracle'
© supplied through Salt Lake Tribune (photo courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks on the First Presidency Christmas Devotional on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020. Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland celebrated his 80th birthday ultimate week. And, regardless of the pandemic, he did have reason to rejoice.
in spite of everything, again in June, he found himself in a health center undergoing checks and coverings for ailments unrelated to COVID-19.
Now, the typical speaker is returned on the job and at the pulpit, supplying sermons in regional meetings, usual conference and, most recently, the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.
All of this turned into made possible, Holland says, thanks to a "impressive" healing.
"abruptly ... I had a few health concerns, but I'm doing satisfactory," Holland told Church information Editor Sarah Jane Weaver in a fresh podcast reported at LDS residing. "And (for) some of those, the restoration has been in fact wonderful. I don't use that observe lightly. I don't use it lightly in any respect. however that's the most effective observe I could use for the healing I've had from some of these considerations."
The apostle said one of the docs advised him of a healing of one concern that "medically and scientifically, there became no explanation for the somewhat dramatic outcomes."
The health professional noted, "It doesn't harm to have a couple of million americans praying for you."
"That become gentle for me then, and it's delicate for me now," Holland talked about in the podcast. "i do know individuals pray for the Brethren. i'm hoping they will all know that that's favored and reciprocated, that we pray for the church."
second apostle gets COVID-19
© supplied with the aid of Salt Lake Tribune (image courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Apostle Dale G. Renlund and his spouse, Ruth Lybbert Renlund. Dale G. Renlund, a former cardiologist, has develop into the 2d Latter-day Saint apostle to be clinically determined with the coronavirus.
Renlund and his wife, Ruth L. Renlund, "have validated tremendous for COVID-19," church spokesman Eric Hawkins announced Saturday in a information unlock, "regardless of cautiously following suggested public fitness practices."
Hawkins talked about Renlund, an apostle on account that 2015 who turned sixty eight final month, has "gentle indicators" at this time and that his spouse is asymptomatic.
"different church leaders are being verified," he brought, "and taking precautions because of this advantage exposure."
In early October, apostle Gerrit W. Gong and his spouse, Susan L. Gong, contracted COVID-19. They, too, skilled light signs and later had been cleared. The couple oversaw the groundbreaking for Utah's Taylorsville Temple on Halloween.
After Gong's affliction, the three individuals of the governing First Presidency, together with 96-year-old President Russell M. Nelson, and the other apostles have been proven. those outcomes came back negative.
Now, precise church leaders could be tested again.
an extra mask attraction
What would Jesus do all over the pandemic?
smartly, his healing powers, recorded in the Bible, spring to mind.
short of that, notwithstanding, apostle Dale G. Renlund pointed out people can reveal "Christlike love" through placing on masks and placing off big gatherings.
earlier than his COVID-19 analysis, Renlund recorded a three-minute video through which he made a amazing attraction for masks and social distancing.
"I communicate to you no longer as a former doctor. I talk to you as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ," Renlund mentioned in the YouTube video, setting the stage for the church to start allowing contributors to renew vicarious temple ordinances for his or her dead ancestors. "...The Savior taught that the 2nd remarkable commandment, after loving God, was 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' as it pertains to this pandemic, above all in temples, that skill social distancing, wearing a masks and never gathering in massive businesses. These steps reveal our love for others and provide us a measure of coverage. wearing a face overlaying is a sign of Christlike love for our brothers and sisters."
The apostle lamented that "responses to the pandemic have develop into politicized and contentious," and advised fellow Latter-day Saints that "ours need not be."
On Tuesday, an extra apostle — Dallin H. all right, first counselor within the First Presidency and subsequent in line to steer the church — chimed in on the should preserve towards the coronavirus.
He posted a photo of him and his wife, Kristen very well, sharing a Thanksgiving meal. Their most effective different members of the family on the table have been represented in a picture that rested between the couple.
"As we seem to be forward to viable Christmas gatherings of our families, we need to remember the cautions we have been given to reduce the exposure to COVID-19," he wrote on facebook. "The very well household takes those cautions very critically. for example, here is how Kristen and that i had Thanksgiving dinner 'with our family unit.'"
As we seem forward to possible Christmas gatherings of our households, we should be aware the cautions we have been given...
Posted by way of Dallin H. okay on Tuesday, December 8, 2020These had been rarely the best times desirable church leaders have referred to as for social distancing and mask-donning. well-nigh from day probably the most coronavirus, they have urged contributors to be "first rate citizens" and heed public health guidelines, together with the donning of face coverings.
In July, for instance, enviornment leaders in Utah amped up their aid for masks. individuals also wore masks and socially distanced during October's normal convention and Sunday's First Presidency Christmas Devotional.
This week's podcast: Are anti-maskers bucking the prophet?
© provided through Salt Lake Tribune (picture courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) proper Latter-day Saint leaders, including church President Russell M. Nelson, seated within the core on the entrance row, anticipate for widely wide-spread convention to beginning Oct. three, 2020, from the conference center theater in downtown Salt Lake metropolis. Apostle Dale G. Renlund's video triggered a strong debate between Latter-day Saints who support masks-donning and those that don't.
A key query: Are so-known as anti-maskers guilty of no longer following their prophet?
The brief reply is yes, in line with Latter-day Saint author Emily Jensen, the internet editor for dialogue: A Journal of Mormon idea. She discusses that question and the broader implications for the church on this week's podcast.
listen here.
gray's day
© Trent Nelson (Trent Nelson | Tribune file photograph)This June 5, 2013, photo suggests Darius gray, who will turn 75 on Dec. 12, 2020. an additional widespread Latter-day Saint will rejoice a birthday this week.
writer Darius gray, co-founding father of the Genesis neighborhood and a leading voice amongst Black Latter-day Saints, will turn 75 on Saturday.
He joined the church in 1964, when the priesthood-temple ban was in place, and right away grew to become a pioneering force within the religion's evolution on racial members of the family and issues.
When he became ordained after the 1978 conclusion to the ban, grey has noted, it made him "whole." now not total with the heavens — "I had always been total in my relationship with God," he advised The Salt Lake Tribune in 2018 — however with fellow Latter-day Saints.
"i was born Black and ... i used to be privileged to become a Latter-day Saint," he referred to. "When the time comes, i will die as a Latter-day Saint."
a new 'manifesto'
The 1890 Manifesto ushering within the beginning of the end of the church's observe of polygamy spurred divisions in the religion. Now, a new manifesto has emerged, and it, too, is drawing its share of defenders and detractors.
In attempting to stake out a middle ground in Mormon intellectualism, "Radical Orthodoxy: A Manifesto" is exposing a chasm that exists between the correct and the left.
"Radical orthodox" believers need to be defined "by way of what we're for, no longer what we're towards," Nathaniel Givens, one of the crucial manifesto's authors, advised The Tribune. "We see ourselves as form of 'third-manner centrists' — faithful to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whereas attracted to theological exploration."
but by common Consent blogger J. Daniel Crawford stated the doc amounts to little greater than "question something you desire, as long as you agree with the Brethren in the end."
examine The Tribune story. View extra responses at by means of common Consent, Exponent II and Wheat & Tares.
the primary Presidency's Noel
© provided by way of Salt Lake Tribune (photo courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) members all put on masks for the first Presidency Christmas Devotional broadcast on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, held within the conference middle Theater on Temple square. The annual event changed into held nearly on account of COVID-19. The sermons took listeners from the relaxed comforts of home to the lonely battlefronts of warfare and the dusty streets of Bethlehem, however all of them established around one person: Jesus Christ.
"right through this extraordinary yr, when pretty much each adult on earth has suffered the effects of a global pandemic, there's nothing extra crucial we will do that Christmas than to rivet our center of attention on the Savior and on the present of what his existence truly capacity to each and every of us," President Russell M. Nelson spoke of Sunday right through the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. "Our loving Heavenly Father 'so loved the area, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him may still not perish, however have eternal existence.'"
Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland, who celebrated his eightieth birthday on Dec. 3, observed another birthday, that of Jesus' Nativity at night — "that period when muscular tissues chill out and fatigue is laid to leisure, when prayers are spoke of, revelation anticipated, and divine beings absolutely to be near."
"yearly, nighttime is when children can scarcely shut their eyes for the delight it really is bubbling within them, understanding day after today it will be Christmas," Holland referred to. "yes, despite the fact elaborate our day has been, the candy dreams of the evening can make every little thing appropriate."
Becky Craven, 2d counselor in the younger ladies common presidency, talked a couple of nurse giving her daughter a warm blanket while her husband underwent surgery and saying "'I suppose such as you want a heavenly hug.'"
"In our moments of need, [Christ] regularly sends earthly angels, like the compassionate nurse to our daughter, to wrap and encircle us in the fingers of his love," Craven said. "...In an international so an awful lot in need of peace, our gentle words, our acts of compassion and kindness can also be the means of wrapping one more in a warm, swaddling blanket."
Brent H. Nielson, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, harked to a dreary Christmas his father spent in the Pacific throughout World warfare II, with out a gifts and much from household.
"My hope all through this Christmas season is that no rely our cases, no count where we are, and no count how we could be separated from family or friends, we can bear in mind that he, the Savior Jesus Christ, is the gift," Nielson referred to. "[And] that as we come unto him, he'll make our burdens easy and that we could discover him."
New magazines are coming
A reminder that next month, church magazines will go global, entering a brand new period without the brand new period and the Ensign.
The Liahona will cater to adults; For the energy of youth might be for youths; and the chum will goal babies ages three to 11. All three will go to participants in about 150 international locations.
© supplied via Salt Lake Tribune (photograph courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) A mom and her son in Ghana study the Liahona. beginning in January 2021, there can be three world magazines: the Liahona for adults, For the electricity of youth for kids and the pal for children. • The Liahona, with the tag line "Pointing us all to Jesus Christ," will characteristic 32 to forty eight pages of teachings from church leaders, in accordance with a news unlock, along with parenting suggestions, uplifting reports about making use of gospel ideas, and articles that tackle contemporary-day topics akin to incarceration, disabilities and mental fitness. Most subscribers additionally will get an insert with information geared to the nation where they live.
"The tips from our prophets and leaders is so important in these challenging times," Sharon Eubank, first counselor within the aid Society general presidency, observed within the unencumber. "i am comfortable every member of the church has the probability to get hold of prophetic perception and tips, which the Liahona journal will provide."
© provided by using Salt Lake Tribune (image courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Two teenage girls study within the New era, a journal to be able to get replaced with the aid of a worldwide young adult magazine, For the power of early life, starting in January 2021. (word: This image became taken earlier than social distancing measures had been established.) • For the energy of youth will elevate the tag line "finding joy in Christ."
"devil does a beautiful first rate job of painting religion as a drudgery of some type when, in fact, our religion is the most fulfilling reveal on this planet," young men universal President Steven J. Lund said in a separate information liberate. "...The promise of this magazine is that it could be in a position to display that there's a promised connection between the pleasure and happiness of our lives and our faithfulness to the gospel."
The magazine will include articles via and about church leaders together with reports by means of and in regards to the meant audience: teenagers.
"early life can be capable of see teenagers, identical to them, actively attractive with the gospel," the release brought up, "and discovering resolutions to their complications with the teachings of Jesus Christ."
© offered by using Salt Lake Tribune (image courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) A mom and her daughter read a piece of writing within the friend collectively at home. The chum is going international and now toddlers worldwide should be in a position to examine messages exceptionally meant for them. • The pal has been simply that, a friend, to Latter-day Saint toddlers for five decades.
In 2021, its fiftieth year, more youngsters than ever could be capable of friend up to it. The variations, with the tag line "Following Jesus collectively," should be translated into 48 languages.
"Many infants right through the realm who haven't had usual entry to the chum will now be in a position to have fun with it in their personal language," simple normal President pleasure D. Jones spoke of in a information unlock. "What a blessing it may be for them to look and skim about different children from all over the world who share their same faith and values."
lots of the journal's favorite elements will continue to be along with new highlights, comparable to a new caricature through which Margo and Paolo, a dynamic Brazilian duo, will train enjoyable information about numerous countries.
Temple updates
© offered via Salt Lake Tribune (photograph courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The Apia Samoa Temple quickly will circulate into section three of the reopening plan all through the pandemic. • via 12 months's conclusion, participants will again be in the enterprise of performing vicarious ordinances for their useless ancestors.
four temples — in Nuku'alofa, Tonga; Apia, Samoa; Brisbane, Australia; and Taipei, Taiwan — may be the first to shift into part three of the church's reopening plan throughout the pandemic, a information unlock stated, permitting "all dwelling and restrained proxy ordinances" accessible by means of appointment.
Come Monday, 122 temples can be in phase 2, providing "all temple ordinances for living people." one other 26 should be in section 1, featuring handiest marriage "sealings." in the meantime, 11 temples have "paused" operations as a result of "native COVID-19 restrictions."
© offered by means of Salt Lake Tribune (image courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) President NithyaKumar Sunderraj, president of the Bengaluru India Stake (a gaggle of congregations), speaks Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020, on the groundbreaking for the Bengaluru Temple. • Latter-day Saints make up barely 0.001% of India's inhabitants, but that minuscule minority has cause to rejoice.
That's as a result of a ceremonial groundbreaking officially has begun development on their religion's first temple within the South Asian nation.
once the almost forty,000-square-foot Bengaluru Temple is completed, India's participants no longer will have to make long journeys to temples within the Philippines, Hong Kong or Taiwan.
"today marks history for the Saints in India," NithyaKumar Sunderraj, president of the religion's Bengaluru India Stake, pointed out in a news liberate. "... As we flip the soil these days and make instruction for the building, can also we all in team spirit turn our hearts against our Savior Jesus Christ and commit ourselves to put together individually and as families to present our service within the coming years."
India, the realm's greatest Hindu nation and 2nd most-populous nation with greater than 1.three billion individuals, is home to just about 15,000 Latter-day Saints in forty six congregations.
© provided by Salt Lake Tribune (photo courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Elder Takashi Wada, Asia North enviornment president, presided and provided the dedicatory prayer at the temple groundbreaking experience in Okinawa, Japan, on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020. • A socially distanced groundbreaking Saturday also moved Japan nearer to getting its fourth temple.
the two-story, 10,000-square-foot Okinawa Temple will join these in Fukuoka, Sapporo and Tokyo serving the Asian nation's greater than 130,000 Latter-day Saints.
"Please watch over the americans on this island; may additionally all be impressed by means of thy spirit and recognize the everlasting magnitude of this sacred task," widely wide-spread authority Seventy Takashi Wada prayed in dedicating the web page, according to a news unlock. "...can also the inspiring vista bless the complete group, together with those no longer of our faith, and turn into a cherished landmark for all who reside or visit right here."
• The Columbus Dispatch provided an replace on the renovation of the Ohio metropolis's Latter-day Saint temple, finished with photos of the eliminated Angel Moroni statue.
The revamp, project supervisor Craig Homer told the newspaper, will consist of upgraded heating and air con methods, along with stone and marble enhancements to the outside.
Work on the 12,000-rectangular-foot, 21-12 months-historic building is anticipated to wrap up in mid-2022.
Quote of the week
"If God stamps every person with a area of expertise that signals his love, then those who observe God have a responsibility, now not in simple terms to tolerate what makes americans exciting, but to glory in its divinity. This capacity outward shape, measurement and colour, but God's stamp goes deeper than that. It contains personality traits, beliefs, values, existence experiences, and, yes, even sexualities, gender experiences, and techniques of figuring out the gospel. … All of these things come sooner or later from God. ...we're all misfit toys — because that is what pleasing appears like to God."
Michael Austin in a with the aid of general Consent blog publish
Mormon Land is a weekly publication written with the aid of David Noyce and Peggy Fletcher Stack. Subscribe right here.
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