Spencer W. Kimball

The first open house for the DC Temple in 1974 was an enormous challenge filled with unexpected problems, but also unexpected blessings.

Nearly 50 years ago, President Kimball encouraged Latter-day Saints to plant a garden. What does the Church say about that now?

Any discussion of Latter-day Saint connections in Star Wars has to begin with the old legend that Yoda was modeled after Latter-day Saint prophet Spencer W. Kimball, who was passably similar in appearance and mannerism.

Some may remember a story of President Spencer W. Kimball helping a stranded pregnant woman in the airport who was pushing along her young toddler.1 President Kimball comforted the woman, whom he had never met and knew nothing about, gave the little girl a piece of gum, and got the young, pregnant, exhausted mother and her wet and hungry 2-year-old daughter on the next flight out of the Chicago O’Hare airport.

Some years ago there was a rather serious tragedy in our ward. A great woman, the wife of our former bishop and a woman beloved and respected in our ward family, contracted cancer of the worst kind. This was a vivacious, effervescent woman who lifted and inspired everyone she met. As the disease became worse, I gave her blessings. Other General Authorities gave her blessings. One of the blessings I gave was in the presence of her seventeen-year-old son. Another blessing was given to her when her son was eighteen. Our Heavenly Father, though, had something else in mind for her, and she was taken home to Him.

Read the touching responses of black members of the LDS Church when they learned about the 1978 priesthood revelation by following the link below.

June 8, 1978, is emblazoned into our collective memory as Latter-day Saints. Many of us identify with the sentiments of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who said, "I can remember exactly where I was. For us, that's the 'where we [were] when Kennedy was shot' [moment], this deep, deep, spiritual, emotional moment in the history of the Church."

Do Latter-day saints believe in soul mates?

President J. Reuben Clark

Only three months after the Church was officially organized, the Lord instructed Emma to make a selection of hymns to be used by the Saints:

In 1971, the then-president of the Quorum of the Twelve, Spencer W. Kimball, shared with President Russell M. Nelson that he was experiencing chest pain. After performing a selective coronary arteriogram on October 9, 1971, President Nelson found President Kimball was suffering from severe aortic valve disease. President Nelson then met with President Kimball, explaining that because of the nature of the disease, surgery was a very risky option but would correct President Kimball's heart. The following is an excerpt from Russell M. Nelson: Father, Surgeon, Apostle and details the miracle that followed.

The following is an excerpt from President Kimball Speaks Out.

The following is adapted from Receiving Personal Revelation: Using a Journal to Improve Your Communication with Godby Larry Tippetts.

On June 29 through July 1, 2017, Mormon artists, musicians, and scholars will gather from all over the world to participate in the first-ever Mormon Arts Center Festival. The festival will take place in New York City at the recently established Mormon Arts Center and is co-directed by Richard Bushman, the Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University, and Glen Nelson, the founder/director of the Mormon Artists Group.

When Thomas S. Monson was called to the Quorum of the Twelve in October of 1963, one of the first assignments he was given was to supervise the work of the gospel in the Polynesian area. He came to know and love the members in Polynesia, even giving his October 1966 conference talk on "God's Gifts to Polynesia's People."

Elder Ronald A. Rasband recently shared a post on Facebook, sharing how his parents helped teach him a strong work ethic as a young boy—something that has helped him find success later on in life.

Are you scared to bear your testimony because you feel like you have nothing new to say? Do you feel like testimony meetings often get awkward or boring? Well, here is some classic advice from President Spencer W. Kimball that was recently published in the Ensign.

I often look back at my journey from being a “jungle boy” in rural India to being where I am today and know that my life and faith are truly miracles. The Lord’s embroidery of my life is more beautiful than I ever expected.

Did you know that all the way back in 1977, President Kimball outlined a "never-failing formula" for every couple to build a successful, satisfying, and eternal marriage? Read it for yourself!

When there is a vacancy in The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the President of the Church is the one who ultimately issues the calling to a new apostle. The process of receiving that inspiration includes earnest prayer and discussion with all of the current apostles. President Gordon B. Hinckley shared this after filling a vacancy left by the passing of Elder Marvin J. Ashton in 1994:

This experience comes from the April 1985 General Conference when Elder Marvin J. Ashton talked about his experience learning from a prophet while visiting those in prison:

In 1972, Elder Kimball visited California to reorganize the Pasadena stake. He called Jack McEwan as the stake’s new patriarch.

It’s little wonder that the leaders of the Church have historically made happiness in family life a high priority. Here are the love stories of five latter-day prophets and their wives.