Locals With Giving Hearts Share Their Gifts of Service Throughout the Year
By Jayna Smith During the months of November and December, serving our fellowmen comes to the forefront of headlines, angel trees, and to-do lists. But the needs in Utah County also persist from January to October. Meet two people who are Santa’s helpers all year long. Brent Crane, Executive Director of the Food & Care Coalition […]
Young Living Digs into Earth Day with New Corporate Holiday
Young Living Essential Oils, the world leader in essential oils with headquarters in Lehi, recently announced Employee Service Day, a new paid holiday for their U.S. employees. The corporate holiday coincides with Earth Day and provides Young Living employees the opportunity to spend a day beautifying local communities. For its inaugural Employee Service Day, the […]
LDS Church shares final results of #LIGHTtheWORLD campaign
The Spanish versions of the Christmas campaign for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints led the way with the most views, 39 million views, according to official results on the #LIGHTtheWORLD campaign by the LDS Church. The English versions of the videos followed with 25 million views. Portuguese was third with 18.5 million views. […]
LDS Church’s #LIGHTtheWORLD videos surpass 69 million views
The videos for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ “Light the World” initiative have reached more than 69 million views, the Church announced Tuesday. During the month of December, the LDS Church has encouraged its members and anyone who wants to participate to follow a 25-day advent calendar that invites people to engage in Christlike […]
12 variations for your 12 days of Christmas countdown
Believe it or not, Christmas is precisely 12 days away. That means that even if your Christmas advent calendar isn’t off to a great start, today is the day to start again — or you can celebrate with 12 special gifts. Welcome to the 12 days of Christmas! Here are a dozen ideas for making these […]
Sandbagging on Sunday: How canceling church taught one young man about service
The bishop stood before the throng of men and boys in my ward and announced that we would not be holding priesthood meeting on that particular Sunday afternoon. There were some audible cheers and spontaneous clapping from some of the Aaronic Priesthood holders, who were hoping to go home and relax. I was one of […]
5 organizations you can work with to aid refugees — in Utah and beyond
They come to Utah after being forced to flee from Iraq, Burma, Somalia and Syria. Mostly women and children, they’ve been persecuted for their religion, race or nationality. In our state alone, there are 60,000 refugees from more than 20 countries. And according to top LDS Church leaders, they need our help. “These individuals have […]
The year President Monson gave Christmas to immigrants
With Christmas just around the corner, busy families have more than enough to worry about. For most people, Christmas means concerts to attend, gifts to wrap, parties to attend and food to eat. But the most meaningful and memorable Christmases are usually those when we forget about ourselves and reach out to those most in […]
How to be an extraordinary Young Women leader
No matter how you measure it, the calling to be a young women leader is one of the most demanding callings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The youth of the Church have great potential and are of great interest to Church leaders. Serving them is an important responsibility. But keeping busy […]
Healing in Haiti: Family crisis leads mother of two to help orphaned children by Haiti earthquake
Lizzie Badger’s 1-year-old daughter, London, had been on the liver transplant list for four months when they finally got the call in January 2010 that the hospital found a donor match. London was born with a rare genetic disease that shut down her liver and kidneys, confining her to a hospital for the first months […]
7 ways to make the ‘lesser priesthood’ great
Never in the history of the Church have leaders paid more attention to — or expected more of — the youth of the Church. Young men and women today are expected to understand gospel doctrine younger, to perform better in Seminary classes, to lead in their classes and quorums and to be prepared sooner than […]
5 great local volunteer opportunities for teens
(Photo courtesy LDS.org Media Library) Teenagers are walking paradoxes — they can simultaneously be the most difficult children to get along with and the family members most capable of good. They can be angsty and moody or hardworking and kind. And in any case, they’re our hope for a better tomorrow. So there’s no better […]
‘The Last Straw’ spins story of service, family and forgiveness
Can acts of kindness bring in much-needed Christmas cheer, even when you feel like you’re down to your last straw? That’s the question asked in “The Last Straw,” a heartwarming holiday film starring Corbin Bernsen, Adam Johnson and Britani Bateman. It opens in local theaters Friday, Nov. 7. In the film, which is based on a […]
5 simple steps to powerful home and visiting teaching
For the most part, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints know that home teaching and visiting teaching are important. These programs make possible the care of every single person in the Church. Home and visiting teachers serve those they teach and report the needs and well-being of members to Church leadership. But motivation […]
‘Days for Girls’ keeps Africans in class during periods
Ann Lewis is no small-town girl. She has lived in Africa and traveled internationally on her own and with her husband, John Lewis (Associate Advancement VP at BYU). So last year when this Provo mother became aware of Days for Girls (an international organization that creates feminine hygiene supplies), Ann already knew the incredible value […]
(Infographic) A sacrificial people: How LDS spend their time
While it’s true every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gives of their time differently, what’s certain is that few Christians give of their time like us Mormons. Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, taught in Lectures on Faith that “a religion that does not […]
The career I never wanted helped me find the life I always did
My career is the greatest thing I never wanted. Graduating from BYU single was heartbreaking. All I’d ever wanted to do was to be a wife and a mother. My life’s priorities and goals are inseparable from my LDS faith, which places marriage and motherhood at the center of a woman’s mortal mission. My closest […]
5 meaningful gifts among the holiday mayhem
Christmas shopping has become more hectic than ever. Retailers encourage us to hit Black Friday sales before we’re even finished with our last bites of Thanksgiving turkey. New technology is at the top of Christmas wishlists for billions of adults and children. Simple, inexpensive gifts seem to be the exception. The National Retail Federation (NRF) […]
3 organizations needing help this holiday season
December is known as the season for giving. Here are just three of the many ways to serve this holiday season. For more ideas, visit the United Way of Utah County’s website at unitedwayuc.org. 1. Sub for Santa The United Way’s Sub for Santa program provides gifts for children between 18 months and 14 years […]
Top 10 busiest ward callings
Working a full-time job will keep you busy. Having a family will keep you busier. And if you also volunteer — or, more specifically, serve in a demanding church calling — at the end of the day, there isn’t enough time in the day. All callings are important, but they aren’t the same when it […]