Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints

Watch Church’s Music Video "Good Day”

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 16:00:16 GMT

Have a good day by watching the music video “Good Day” from the Church’s first-ever virtual youth music festival.

Learn more about and watch the Church’s youth music festival.

Check out the Youth Music Festival playlist on YouTube with more music, interviews and messages from leaders.
Listen to the 2020 youth album on Spotify
Follow Strive to Be on Spotify
Listen to the new “Strong” album on Apple Music
Follow @StrivetoBe on Instagram
Visit the Children and Youth website
Subscribe to the StrivetoBe YouTube channel

Come, Follow Me Coloring Pages

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 12:00:20 GMT

LDS Bookstore is giving away free coloring pages that go along with the Come, Follow Me lessons.

Just add them to your cart (price free) and check out to download them.

Video: The True Power of Temple Work, Elder Renlund

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 12:00:26 GMT

In a new video from the Church, “The True Power of Temple Work, “Elder Dale G. Renlund shares a powerful message about the impact of the temple on our lives, even during the temporary closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Although our access to the temple right now is limited, it doesn’t change the impact that the temple can have on us in our lives. Through our covenants and ordinances, we have access to the power of Godliness in our lives—no matter our circumstances. That power of Godliness comes because we’ve entered into a covenant that’s been part of an ordinance. And as we keep that covenant, the power of Godliness can be in our lives.”

“Until our temples fully reopen, I pray that we can keep our covenants, and by doing so, access the power of Godliness in our everyday lives. When the day comes for us to attend the temple again, our hearts and our spirits will be hungry for the experiences of the temple. That desire, that hunger, will result in a powerful temple experience.”

Read more in the article “How We Can Access the Power of the Temple during COVID-19.”

Help Friends Discover Their Family History

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 12:00:32 GMT

Making connections with family past and present can bring joy, perspective, and inspiration. Show a friend how easy it is to discover, preserve, and share family memories.

The Church provides resources to help you learn how to help others. All you need is the FamilySearch Family Tree App and a meaningful conversation to help a friend begin to find their ancestors. And what will that do for them? In most cases it will bring joy and light into their life. It may even help them feel the Spirit. Watch the video below for an example of how to have such a conversation.

See the page “Help Friends Discover Their Family History” for more ideas and to watch more videos.

President Nelson’s Difficult Decision to Close Temples: "What Would I Say to the Prophet ...

Mon, 03 Aug 2020 12:00:44 GMT

In a new Church News video, President Russell M. Nelson describes the difficult decision to temporarily close the temples due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said, “Only in our temples do we receive the highest blessings that God has in store for His faithful children.”

President Nelson explained, “How difficult was it to make the decision to close the temples? That was painful; it was wracked with worry. “I found myself asking, ‘What would I say to the Prophet Joseph Smith? What would I say to Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, and the other presidents on up to President Thomas S. Monson? I’m going to meet them soon.’ To close the temples would deny all for which all those Brethren gave everything, but we really had no other alternative.”

President Nelson then says that fortunately the closures are only temporary. In the video, he and his wife describe some of the ways temple work has moved forward amid the pandemic.

July 2020 Updates to General Handbook

Sat, 01 Aug 2020 12:00:40 GMT

Additional chapters of the General Handbook have been revised. The chapters for the Elders Quorum, Relief Society, Sunday School, and Teaching the Gospel have been rewritten. Other chapters have been updated.

Several updates have been made to Chapter 38, “Church Policies and Guidelines” to provide more information about issues such as the following: unwed parents under age 18, policies on moral issues, birth control, donation of sperm or eggs, fertility treatments, the occult, sex education, suicide, surrogate motherhood, and medical marijuana.

The First Presidency released the new General Handbook on February 19, 2020. At that time, nine chapters were new or updated. Additional updates were published in March.

The new handbook is available in English in the Gospel Library app in the section Handbooks and Callings and online at handbook.ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Over time, it will be translated and published in an additional 51 languages.

Also see the Handbooks and Callings page to see the handbook, frequently asked questions, and other related resources.

Handbook Chapters Updated in July

Chapter 5: Stake Leadership updates have been made to these sections:

Chapter 8: Elders Quorum has been revised

The content is organized around the work of salvation and exaltation.
Information about working with the Relief Society to lead missionary work and temple and family history work in the ward has been added.
The options to call a service coordinator and an activity coordinator have been added.
Information about the stake high priests quorum has been replaced by cross-references to that information in the “Stake Leadership” and “Meetings in the Church” chapters.

Chapter 9: Relief Society has been revised.

The content is organized around the work of salvation and exaltation.
Information about working with the elders quorum to lead missionary work and temple and family history work in the ward has been added.
“Additional Relief Society meetings” have been renamed “Relief Society activities.”
The calling “compassionate service leader” has been renamed “service coordinator.” If a sister is called to help with activities, her calling is “activity coordinator.”

Chapter 12: Primary updates have been made to these sections:

Chapter 13: Sunday School has been revised

Bishops determine if there is a need to call counselors for the ward Sunday School president.
An option has been added to organize, as needed, a Sunday School class for new members, returning members, and those learning about the Church. Other classes may also be organized, as directed by the bishop. The curriculum for these classes is Come, Follow Me.
The meetinghouse library is now called a “resource center,” and the ward librarian is now the “ward resource center specialist.”

Chapter 15: Seminaries and Institutes updates have been made to this section:

15.1.2. Class Options

Chapter 17: Teaching the Gospel has been revised

To emphasize the importance of teaching and learning the gospel in the home, a new section, “Home-Centered Gospel Learning,” has been added.
Primary leaders have greater flexibility in determining how Primary teachers attend teacher council meetings.
An option has been added to hold teacher council meetings for parents to help them fulfill their responsibility to teach the gospel in the home.

Chapter 18: Ordinances and Blessings updates have been made to this section:

18.3. Participation in an Ordinance or Blessing

Chapter 24: Preparing and Recommending Missionaries updates have been made to these sections:

Chapter 26: Temple Recommends updates have been made to this section:

26.2.2. Branches in Districts

Chapter 29: Meetings in the Church updates have been made to this section:

29.11. Coordinating Council Meetings

Chapter 30: Callings in the Church updates have been made to this section:

30.7.1. Stake Callings

Chapter 32: Repentance and Church Membership Councils updates have been made to this section:

32.9.7. Participation in Unusual Circumstances

Chapter 35: Physical Facilities updates have been made to this section:

35.4.3. Dedicating Buildings

Chapter 38: Church Policies and Guidelines updates have been made to these sections:

Learn more in the article “Significant Updates Made to Five Chapters of the General Handbook.”

Watch Church’s First-Ever Virtual Youth Music Festival

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 12:00:21 GMT

Wednesday night, thousands of Latter-day Saint young men and women tuned in to the first-ever virtual Youth Music Festival, “Hear the Voice of the Lord,” to watch other youth share their talents and testimonies of Jesus Christ. If you missed this worldwide broadcast, you can watch it in the video below.

Youth who participated in the Youth Music Festival came from more than 20 locations, including Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, Tonga, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

If you didn’t see it Wednesday night, you can watch it below (or on YouTube).

Read more about it in the article “Latter-day Saint Youth Share Testimonies and Talent in Global Youth Music Festival 2020.”

Check out the Youth Music Festival playlist on YouTube with more music, interviews and messages from leaders.
Listen to the 2020 youth album on Spotify
Follow Strive to Be on Spotify
Listen to the new “Strong” album on Apple Music
Follow @StrivetoBe on Instagram
Visit the Children and Youth website
Subscribe to the StrivetoBe YouTube channel