Does anti-elite media sharpen or shatter judgment? Extremist talking heads destabilize reality and easing moral inversion.
What made 2025’s best family movies stand out? Under-the-radar gems balance laughs, courage, and moral clarity.
Dallin H. Oaks pairs law with love, showing humility, outreach, and a call to hold truth with tenderness.
Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: Under Pressure to Act White House Says It Will Address Formula Shortage Annie Karnie—New York Times Last week I highlighted a distressing news story about a baby formula shortage. The Biden administration has recently spoken about the issue and has promised to find ways to address the concern. Factsheet: Overview of Refugees Fleeing Religious Persecution Globally United States Commission on International Religious Freedom USCIRF has released a report on what it calls an “unprecedented” global refugee crisis. Latter-day Saints who have been asked to help support in this area can benefit from the report’s bird-eye view of the situation. ‘If someone asked you why the priesthood restoration was so significant, what would you say?’ Joseph Smith Papers historian answers Morgan Jones—LDS Living Spencer McBride, historian for the Church focusing on Joseph Smith, sits down with Morgan Jones to discuss the restoration. His insights help put us in the mind of Joseph Smith and better understand his life and ministry. Deconstructing? There’s a coach for that. Ericka Andersen—Religion News Services A trend to keep an eye on, Religion News Services reports on an increasingly likely decision of believers to not merely leave their faith but to use the help of life coaches to try and deconstruct their beliefs so they can find a way to still identify with their faith tradition while rejecting its beliefs.
Does competitive rivalry discount unity? BYU’s actions toward Kansas State reveal competition can foster respect and connection.
Lots of coverage of General Conference for you to take a look at. The Associated Press had two articles: The first highlighted many positives of the event but mentioned the reduced attendance numbers while leaving out that the Church limited attendance because of parking concerns. But perhaps more problematically it mentioned Elder Neil Andersen’s remarks about being peacemakers, and talked about a Salt Lake Tribune op-ed he mentioned as a “dart,” but failed to mention that he only mentioned this in the context of the peacemaking efforts of Amos Brown in responding to that. And while the piece links to the first critical op-ed, it doesn’t mention or link to Reverend Brown’s response. The second AP article follows the most popular pattern of conference coverage, focusing singularly on LGBT+ or other issues that can be politicized in their piece titled, “Mormon Leader Reaffirms Faith’s Stance on Same-Sex Marriage.” On the news front, you can find the list of the newly called leaders including the new Primary and Relief Society General Presidencies at the Church Newsroom. The blog LDS Church Growth has a great conversation about the list of 17 newly announced temples. If you want some great quotes to remember and share, Meridian has you covered: General Conference Memes to Share with Your Friends There are a number of great recaps to check out. Ours here at Public Square Magazine has our writers and editors identifying what themes stuck out to them. The Millennial Star talks about how President Nelson’s remarks touched them. While Junior Ganymede looks at stories of people not being where they were supposed to be and having it all work out anyway. If you’re more interested in the light side, This Week in Mormons has a fun and informative look at the ties worn during conference: April 2022 General Conference Tie Tracker On the detractor side Jana Riess questions, “It’s General Conference time. Remind me why we do this?” She largely complains that the Church hasn’t been as aggressive in making changes in line with what she’s published in the past. But to answer her question. We do this because me and millions like me believe that the Church is led by prophets, and that the words they choose to emphasize our of urgent importance and can help us better access and understand the divine.
Part II in a rejoinder to “All Things New” by Terryl and Fiona Givens.
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