Mormonism in Pictures: Mormon Helping Hands Aid Fire Victims in Chile

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are providing ongoing cleanup efforts following a devastating wildfire that destroyed hundreds of homes in Valparaiso, Chile last month. Thousands of people were left homeless and 15 people died in the port city, located northwest of Santiago in central Chile. The fire began on 14 April 2014 and burned for days.

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Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are providing ongoing cleanup efforts following a devastating wildfire that destroyed hundreds of homes in Valparaiso, Chile, last month. © 2014 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thousands of Mormon Helping Hands volunteers from various Latter-day Saint congregations and missionaries organized immediately after the fire to help those affected. Assisting in cleanup and debris removal was the main task for workers right after the fire. Here a group of volunteers prepares for a day of service in the hills of Valparaiso.

Latter-day Saint volunteers also deliver comfort to residents who lost their homes in the fire.

Missionaries from the Viña del Mar Mission put on volunteer vests to serve those impacted by one of the largest fires ever known in Chile.

Sisters of the Relief Society of the Church receive and sort clothing and other donations for the victims.

The youth of the Church also help the fire victims.

Online Collections of Civil War Records Updated for Memorial Day

If you have an ancestor who served in the American Civil War, it may now be easier to find information about that relative online. In conjunction with Memorial Day, FamilySearch.org is announcing significant updates to its Civil War historic records collections available online.

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President Abraham Lincoln meets with soldiers during the Civil War.© All rights reserved.

A new landing page provides a quick overview of the vast array of historic records and resources from federal and local sources for those researching casualties and veterans of the Civil War, also known as the War Between the States, which took place from 1861 to 1865. More than 600,000 soldiers were killed in what remains the bloodiest conflict in the history of the United States.
The Civil War collections include: Union and Confederate pension records, service records, prisoner of war records, pictures and information about key figures from the Civil War, including President Abraham Lincoln; Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the Union armies; and Robert E. Lee, general of the Confederate Army.
The searchable records are available by state from sources such as widow’s pension records and headstones of deceased Union soldiers. United States census records from 1850 and 1860 help locate those who lived at the time of the Civil War. Locating African American Civil War ancestors is possible through Freedmen’s Bank and Bureau records, including correspondence and marriage documents. 
“Each soldier family has a story, and these stories are handed down from generation to generation,” said Ken Nelson, collection manager for FamilySearch, a nonprofit volunteer-driven group sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “When you want to get the particulars of what that service was, you start going to these government records that document this service.”
Nelson said the census data gives people a “glimpse of what the towns looked like prior to the war.” He explained the state information is useful because “a majority of the men were in volunteer regiments raised out of counties and towns. These regiments represented their homes.”
Women also contributed to the war effort by serving as nurses and working in soldier aid societies that sent supplies to the front. Nelson said many of their stories are preserved in letters and diaries.
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is an outgrowth of the Civil War. Union veterans of the Civil War formed the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1866, which was instrumental in organizing an annual event honoring the war dead from the Northern states by placing flowers on their graves. The first official observance of Decoration Day was held on 30 May 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, which is commemorating its 150th anniversary.
Southern states didn’t honor Decoration Day until the end of the First World War in 1918, when the holiday began honoring the American dead from all wars. Decoration Day was officially established as Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the law in 1971.
“If you think about it, veterans themselves perpetuated Memorial Day,” said Nelson. “A lot came out of the Civil War. We saw the beginnings of national cemeteries.”
Today, the observance has also evolved to include family and friends. Flags are also placed on graves at Arlington and in many cemeteries across the country to honor veterans. This year, Memorial Day will be held in the United States on Monday, 26 May.
“I’ve enjoyed working with these records because they tell a story and these lives are relived through these records,” added Nelson, who said that additional military records will be added to FamilySearch’s database as more indexing work is completed.
Those who have photos, stories and correspondence of family members who served in the armed forces may also share those memories with future generations at FamilySearch.org.
“There are deeds that must not pass away and memories that must not wither,” reads a Civil War monument in the Mt. Olivet cemetery in Salt Lake City, Utah, dedicated on 30 May 1894. Some Civil War veterans are buried at Mt. Olivet and other cemeteries in the state.
Nearly 2 million veterans settled across the country when the Civil War ended in 1865.  Census information from 1890 counted 800 Union veterans in Utah.

Why Religion Matters: The Ground We Walk On

What does it mean to take something for granted? Every day we walk on ground we seldom notice. It’s just there, underneath us, supporting our feet as we go about our days learning, working and worshiping. Though often unseen, the ground of our lives is full of religious meaning. Many of life’s compelling questions tend to be spiritual. How do we achieve our deepest longings? What makes something right or wrong? Whom should we love? How do we overcome suffering? The answers we receive shape our reality. But religion is always contested. Some even imagine a world without faith. What, then, do we stand to lose?
 
The rigors of science and technology open us to many wonders and truths, but they cannot, as one writer explained, “connect with purpose, intimacy, emotion—the stuff that matters most in people’s everyday lives.”[2] The highest in human accomplishment often traces to religious inspiration. Much of the world’s finest art, architecture, music and literature are clothed in the beauty of spiritual longing. Sacred writings provide ethical frameworks that spark deeds of self-sacrifice, integrity and love. Religion gives societies a shared moral aspiration, instils social commitment without legal compulsion, encourages voluntary compliance of the law and reminds us of our inherent dignity. Belief in deity motivates people to overcome the despair of death and turn suffering into good.
The values of society have roots in the ground of religion. Our modern aspirations toward human rights, altruism and humanitarian aid, for example, have religious pedigrees. Behind efforts to feed the poor, house the homeless and treat the sick, a church ministry is likely to be found.[3] Trust in our civic foundation depends on the spiritual disciplines of honesty, empathy and reciprocity. Everyone benefits when we live up to these ideals. Secular journalist Will Saletan wrote: “Religion is the vehicle through which most folks learn and practice morality. In the long run, it’s our friend.”[4]
And then come all the precious, indefinable things. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that human beings are born with a “taste for the infinite” and a “love for what is immortal.”[5] Individuals across time and culture have pondered and sought these intangibles. Identity, understanding, salvation, belonging — the things of the soul — never stray far from our hearts. Agnostic writer Julian Barnes tapped into something profound when he said, “I don’t believe in God, but I miss him.”[6] A world without religion looks flatter, emptier and simpler, yet still craves the God it once knew.
Today people across the globe find refuge in God and their faith communities. Eighty four percent of the world’s population identifies with a religious group.[7] The world is not sinking into disbelief, but that belief is becoming more rich, pluralistic and complex. We are all stewards of society, and our choices determine who we become. The ground of religion needs constant cultivating and nourishing. A garden cannot take care of itself.

 

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[1] Theo Hobson, “The Return of God: Atheism’s Crisis of Faith,” The Spectator, Apr. 19, 2014.

[2] Alasdair Craig, “God Is Dead — What Next?” Prospect, May 1, 2014.

[3] See Robert A. Putnam and David E. Campbell, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us (2010).

[4] Will Saletan, “When Churches Do the Right Thing,” Slate, May 8, 2014.

[5] Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (2000), 510.

[6] Julian Barnes, Nothing to Be Frightened Of (2009), 1.

[7] Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project, “The Global Religious Landscape,” Dec. 18, 2012.

After 25 years on the job, steelworker Lec Holmes is an expert in his field

After 25 years on the job, steelworker Lec Holmes is an expert in his field. But as he helps construct The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ second temple in Provo, Utah, he admits it’s “not like a typical [construction] job.” Not typical because of its steep pitched roofs (he’s used to square buildings with flat roofs). Not typical because of the unity among the various parties involved in construction (he says “everybody gets along”). Not typical because Mormon temples are built to the highest standards (he notes that workers at the Provo site are “more conscious on the quality of work that's done here”).
Indeed, for those who live near them, the Church’s completed temples are “beautiful” structures, meant to last hundreds of years thanks to their high-quality materials and rigorous building standards.

 

This document explains the process of building a Mormon temple from start to finish. It shows that the creation of these sacred structures is much like the construction of any other building (leaders identify a need and select a site, and architects design and contractors build), but it is also unique in many ways because of the significant role temples play in Latter-day Saint theology.
Funding, Identifying a Need and Selecting a Site
First, it’s important to note that Mormon temples are built using Church funds set aside for that purpose and that the Church pays for the costs without a mortgage or other financing. “We’ve had a long-standing practice in the Church for well over 100 years that we don’t take loans or put mortgages on properties to build temples,” says Elder William R. Walker, executive director of the Church’s Temple Department. “So we would not build a temple unless we could pay for the temple as the temple was built.”
The Church seeks to provide opportunities for Mormons across the globe to access its temples. Eighty-five percent of members live within 200 miles (320 km) of a temple, and temple sites are generally located in areas with enough members (there’s no required number) to warrant construction, or where great distances exist between temples. Public announcements for new temples are usually made by the president of the Church at a general conference. 

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A worker applies gold leaf to the exterior of the Church's Kansas City Missouri Temple. The temple was completed in May 2012.© 2014 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Once the decision is made to build a temple in a certain area, the First Presidency then prayerfully chooses the precise spot on which to build — a pattern that has been in place since the Church’s beginnings. For example, soon after entering the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847, Brigham Young identified the block of land on which to build the Salt Lake Temple. And more recently, after the Church announced in 2008 that it would build a temple in Kansas City, Missouri, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency (at Church President Thomas S. Monson’s request) spent several days visiting many possible sites in the area. President Uchtdorf returned to Salt Lake City and recommended to President Monson the spot where the temple was eventually built.
Bill Williams, who has been a Church architect since 2003, says the Church looks for sites “that would have prominence, be in an attractive neighborhood, a neighborhood that would withstand the test of time.”
Design Phase and the Importance of “Sustainable Design”
After the temple site is selected and the Church determines how large the building should be (based on the number of members in the area), a team of Church architects creates potential exterior and interior designs.
While the purpose of each of the Church’s 140 temples is the same, many aspects of each structure’s inner and outer look and feel are unique, tailored to the local people and area. Williams says good architects "want to create something unique, something that has its own personality, and [Church leaders] allow us to do that” with temples. He adds that much can be done to make a temple unique, including “the decorative motifs, the kind of furniture, the interior accouterments, how articulate it is. It could be anything from the modern look that you see in the Washington D.C. Temple to something like the gothic, neoclassical look that you find in the Salt Lake Temple.”
To create a look and feel that is just right for a specific temple, architects solicit a number of sources. For example, as the Church has designed its future temple in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Williams says his team met with locals to “understand the nature of the people, the country that they live in, the Mormons that are there and how we can better fit the temple” to them.
A critical aspect of the planning process is “sustainable design,” a concept that Williams says seeks to reduce a temple’s long-term operational cost. “Whatever we can do to make the environmental systems, the mechanical systems energy efficient, to make the interior materials have longevity so that they don't wear out straightaway, anything we can do to conserve water, it's great for us as the owner because it makes that long-term cost less. That's what it means to be sustainable.”
And with a temple’s complex systems, sustainability is no easy feat. “We’ve got thousands of systems and components that all have to work in harmony,” says Jared Doxey, the director of architecture, engineering and construction in the Church’s Physical Facilities Department. “And getting everything the way it was designed at the highest quality, it's a very complex maze of issues that have to just be 100 percent right.”
In selecting building materials, the Church settles for nothing but the best. The pattern for this, Elder Walker says, is found in the description of Solomon’s Temple in 1 Kings 7 in the Bible. “They used the finest materials and the finest workmen to build the temple. And that’s the pattern we follow,” Elder Walker says. “Not to be ostentatious, but to be beautiful in a wonderful tribute to God.”
And the role of inspiration is most important to temple design, Williams says. “These are His houses, and we would like to make sure that everybody feels that responsibility, so that when we begin design meetings, we start with a word of prayer.”
The design process can take up to two years, and Elder Walker notes that all along the way — “from architectural detail clear down to colors and carpet swatches” — the First Presidency is involved and provides final approvals.

Mormon Helping Hands Volunteers Participate in Arkansas Tornado Cleanup

Jason Rowland owns a tree service in central Arkansas and was among other Mormon volunteers who showed up in western Pulaski County over the weekend to clean up debris from a devastating tornado that hit the region on 27 April 2014. In fact, Rowland has spent the past two Saturdays and two Wednesday evenings helping out his neighbors.

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Volunteers clean up downed trees in central Arkansas, which was hard hit by a recent tornado, Saturday, 10 May 2014.© All rights reserved.

Volunteers gathered on 10 May in the Ferndale and Pinnacle Mountain areas where the tornado first touched down with chainsaws, tractors and tree service equipment.  Much of the damage in the rural area was from downed trees. Rowland is known for volunteering his services during disasters, including storms such as Hurricane Katrina and service projects. Local leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints say cleanup efforts will be ongoing. 
UPDATE (6 May 2014):
Hundreds of Mormon Helping Hands volunteers gathered in central Arkansas on Saturday, 3 May 2014, to help clean up debris in communities devastated by recent tornadoes. Storms tore through the area on 27 April, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses in the communities of Vilonia, Mayflower and surrounding towns. Local Church leaders estimate it will take weeks to clear all of the tornado debris in Arkansas
Fifteen people were killed and more than 150 people were injured when the deadly tornadoes hit the southeastern United States, including a 31-year-old Latter-day Saint father who died when he was struck by some wood while shielding his daughter. His wife and two daughters survived. The twister was a category EF4, with winds of at least 180 mph.  
About 1,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their neighbors who were wearing yellow Mormon Helping Hands shirts joined the American Red Cross and Team Rubicon, a national organization that coordinated the volunteer efforts, to sort through debris. “We were unprepared for the type of recovery we were going to face,” explained George Wing, a spokesman for the Church’s North Little Rock Stake (similar to a Catholic diocese), who said the tornado hit with such a velocity that there were no walls standing and the structures were reduced to “bits and pieces that needed to be sorted.” Wing said not a single piece of wood was salvageable. “We didn’t see a single 2-by-4 worth saving. This was not your typical chainsaw operation.”
Some of the personal items recovered by volunteers include a girls’ soccer picture, a Mormon missionary badge, a Primary child’s Faith in God award and some food storage cans and buckets. One man was overjoyed to find his wife’s purse and remarked that everything was going to be all right now.
Renee Carr of the new Searcy Stake in central Arkansas said the tornado hit one day after members of the congregation participated in its first “Day of Service” to clean hiking trails around Heber Springs, an annual event organized by the Church worldwide in which local congregations gather to render service in their communities.
Carr said members from local congregations in the Searcy Stake, including women and children, gathered to tie more than 50 quilts and put together office kits for the tornado victims. “Our first Relief Society stake activity got converted into a relief effort at the building, tying quilts and assembling kits,” added Carr, who lost her home to a tornado in 2008. The women were originally planning to collect food for local food pantries and recipes for families for their already scheduled Saturday meeting, but they switched their activity to relief efforts. The office kits contain paper, stamps, envelopes, scissors and other items and can be helpful when families are working with insurance companies and rebuilding their lives.
Some regular Church activities, such as an upcoming father and son campout, have been canceled while local congregations focus on helping their neighbors recover from the disaster.

The Church’s 143rd temple and Florida’s second was dedicated on Sunday, 4 May 2014

Salt Lake City — 
The Church’s 143rd temple and Florida’s second was dedicated on Sunday, 4 May 2014. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, presided over the dedicatory services.



The Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple was dedicated in three sessions, and broadcast to Church meetinghouses throughout the state and a few congregations in Georgia. Choirs composed of Latter-day Saints from within the temple district (a geographical area around the temple) provided the inspirational music for the cornerstone ceremony and dedication.

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Joining President Uchtdorf were Elders D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Ronald A. Rasband of the Presidency of the Seventy, and Kent F. Richards of the Seventy and Bishop Gary E. Stevenson, Presiding Bishop of the Church.
During the traditional cornerstone ceremony where the final block is cemented in place, President Uchtdorf remarked to those that gathered how the blue clear skies were a stark difference from the day before. “[The rain was] not only liquid sunshine which came down but might even be tears of joy which were shed from heaven because of this great event of the dedication of this Fort Lauderdale Temple.” To the young people, he remarked that the Church is looking forward to their participation in the temple. Sasha Capote, an 8-year-old girl from the Miami Lakes Stake, said thoughtfully, “When I’m older, I want to do temple work for my ancestors like my parents have talked to me about.”
To those who will walk around the temple grounds President Uchtdorf said, "Watch it [the temple] and enjoy the wonderful spirit the temple radiates at any time during the year.”
Approximately 1,200 local youth participated in a cultural celebration Saturday, 3 May 2014, the day before the temple dedication, at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida. Through narration, song and dance the performance focused on the rich cultural heritage and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in south Florida.
President Uchtdorf spoke during the program: "You will remember the days of this celebration of the dedication of the Fort Lauderdale Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout your life. Wherever you will go, you will look back and think about this day, this time, this place, and remember the feelings, which are the feelings of goodness and how the Spirit was pressing upon your heart and mind that this work is the Lord’s work and you are a significant part of that.”
The temple will serve approximately 25,000 Church members from congregations in south Florida. The Orlando Florida Temple is the other temple in operation in Florida. It was dedicated in 1994.
Prior to the temple dedication, tens of thousands of people attended the three-week open house in March and April to view the interior rooms of the building and learn the purpose of temples. Florida Governor Rick Scott was one of several dignataries who toured the temple.
Latter-day Saint temples differ from the meetinghouses or chapels, where members meet for Sunday worship services. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord” where Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through baptism and through other ordinances that unite families for eternity. In the temple, Church members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to follow Jesus Christ and serve their fellow-man.

News Story —  8 May 2014

#ItWasMom: New Church Video Honors Mothers

Salt Lake City — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched a Mother’s Day initiative Wednesday to celebrate the divine calling of mothers and women around the world. The initiative, sponsored by the Missionary Department of the Church, includes a YouTube video titled “It Was Mom,” which depicts all that a mother does in the lives of her children and emphasizes the crucial role mothers play in God’s plan.

 

Downloadable HD quality video - "It Was Mom"
“Because motherhood is the ‘highest, holiest service … given to mankind,’ we express deep gratitude and respect to mothers everywhere and reaffirm our belief that the role of mothers in nurturing and caring for their families is a divinely appointed and holy assignment,” said Elder David F. Evans, executive director of the Missionary Department.
Memes with short statements about the importance of mothers and women will be posted on several of the Church’s official social media sites each day from Thursday, 8 May, through Monday, 12 May 2014, with the accompanying hashtag #ItWasMom.
“No matter where you are in life, whether you are a woman looking forward to one day having a family, currently in the trenches of motherhood, or a seasoned grandmother, there is a mother to be found in each of us,” said Sister Linda K. Burton, the Church’s general Relief Society president. “A nurturing influence is not limited to those who bear children. The effect of righteous women is felt in communities throughout the world.”
A website for the initiative on mormon.org features the YouTube video and text that emphasizes the importance of motherhood as a divine calling.
From the beginning of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its leaders have affirmed the significant role of motherhood and the important influence righteous mothers have in instilling Christlike attributes in their children. The importance of family is at the core of Latter-day Saint doctrine.
“We have been instructed to honor mothers. ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee' (Exodus 20:12),” said Elder Evans. “We express gratitude to mothers everywhere who play a divinely appointed role in fostering love, hope, service and sacrifice with their children.”

The Family A Proclamation to the World

The Family

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A Proclamation to the World

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.
All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.
In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.
The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.
We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.
Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.
The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.
We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.
We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.