Recent

There is concerning news out of Nigeria. Mubarak Bala was sentenced to serve twenty-four years in prison for the crime of being an atheist. Bala whose been in prison for several years awaiting conviction has been forced to worship as a Muslim. Today the United States Commission on Religious Freedom issued a statement condemning the prosecution. While Nigeria’s constitution protects the freedom of religion, in practice religious freedom is concerning in Nigeria. This sad incident intersects with US politics because of Biden administration’s treatment of Nigeria. Last November, the State Department, controversially, removed Nigeria from the list of countries of particular concern on religious freedom. This incident was one of the major factors in the poor score I gave in my one-year report card on President Biden’s work on religious freedom. This incident with Bala suggests that religious freedom is now functionally non-existent in Nigeria.

A study out today find that most Americans can’t name all four of their grandparents! Despite this 2/3rds of respondents said they wanted to know more about their ancestors. This gap may provide a natural opportunity for connecting others with the gospel due to the Church’s world-class genealogical facilities. For those who want to better connect with their own family, a new Kickstarter may be of interest. FamilyBinds Storybooks hopes to offer personalized storybooks that you can read to your children about their ancestors. Since more than half of the respondents to the survey said they wanted to learn more about their ancestors’ stories in particular they may be meeting an important need! Founder, Meeshell Hélas, tells LDS Daily that the project was born out of a desire for her children to learn about their great-grandmother, even though they wouldn’t have the same chance to connect with her.  

Amid frequent claims that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in decline, a partial database of the Church’s landholdings released today shows impressive strength. The database would make the Church the fifth largest private property holder in the United States. The holdings show that the Church’s land connects well with its mission. The holdings include land for temples and meetinghouses, land for agricultural projects to support the Church’s welfare, land to help sustain city areas around temples, and land used as part of the Church’s stewardship of tithing funds. The news should be welcome for Latter-day Saints knowing their faith’s long-term is secure.

The good folks at Book of Mormon Central explain the evidence for the existence of Mulek, the son of Zedekiah, an important figure in Book of Mormon history—one that was unknown at the time the Book of Mormon was translated into English. At the time The Book of Mormon came to light, some found it odd there would be a son of the king Zedekiah that had not been mentioned in the Bible. New evidence, however, supports his existence. Enjoy their brief video.  

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: http://www.thisweekinmormons.com/2022/03/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.

As mentioned in this weekend’s General Conference, the Church is focusing on helping with the refugee crisis in Europe. The Church Newsroom has a great article detailing some of the current efforts and how you can help. As we work on putting the principles of Christian living into practice, this represents a useful opportunity.