To read more from Larry Richman, read LDS365. 

This article first appeared The Church is looking for exceptional volunteers who want to help guests feel welcomed, supported, and inspired throughout the celebration. Volunteers will support guest experiences, wayfinding, accessibility, and activities.

How can I get involved as a volunteer during the celebration?

The Church is looking for exceptional volunteers who want to help guests feel welcomed, supported, and inspired throughout the celebration. Volunteers will support guest experiences, wayfinding, accessibility, activities, and more. Volunteer applications will be available in June 2026. Once the application window opens, the links and details will be available at TempleSquare.org and in the Temple Square app.

What are the requirements to volunteer?

Each volunteer must be able to commit to the following:

• Welcome all people regardless of individual circumstances.
• Provide joyful interactions with guests.
• Follow the Spirit to determine individual needs for all

Kids from many different levels of schools are graduating. Some move on from kindergarten, some from middle school, and some from college. The books listed below have life lessons that all ages can benefit from. All books are picture books unless otherwise indicated.

When You Dream Big!, by Peter H. Reynolds, is another uplifting book by this celebrated and visionary author. The question posed by a teacher is: What do you want to be when you grow up? Some students know exactly what they desire to become, while others have no idea. The strong message conveyed is to become a better person, one who is kind and good.

The Astronaut’s Guide to Leaving the Planet, by Terry Virts, is the perfect book for kids ages seven through adult who aspire to space travel. This 167-page book, written by a former NASA astronaut, explains in simple terms how …

Photography by Philippe and Regula Kradolfer

Another day. Another emotional scene on set.

Aliza awakens suddenly from a terrifying dream.

What she sees is more than a nightmare. It is a warning—a premonition of things yet to come.

But no spoilers here.

You’ll have to watch the movie.

Like most production days, the scenes were filmed completely out of order. Today’s schedule included Scenes 29, 20, 25, 46, and 31. Some deepen the mystery. Others quietly raise the emotional stakes. One scene in particular became an unexpected tear-jerker despite all our careful planning.

I sometimes think God smiles when filmmakers make schedules.

As the story unfolds, Aliza increasingly feels the weight of her responsibility. She has been entrusted by the King’s senior servant with gathering nine other young women to help light the way for the coming Bridegroom.

And then there is the matter of oil.

Oil is one of …

…

Healing the Wounded Heart: Forgiving One Another Through the Enabling Power of Jesus Christ releases July 1 CLICK HERE to preorder.

There are certain gospel doctrines we naturally embrace because they comfort us, inspire us, or fill us with hope. Then there are doctrines that stop us in our tracks because they ask something difficult of us. Few teachings of Jesus Christ fall more squarely into that second category than His command to forgive others.

The Lord did not present forgiveness as a noble suggestion reserved for spiritually advanced disciples. He presented it as a requirement. In modern revelation He declared: “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:10). That phrase—required to forgive all men—is among the most searching and demanding statements in all of scripture.

The challenge of this doctrine becomes immediately …

As the work of the Lord continues to accelerate across the earth, this week’s Hastening Now report highlights remarkable developments in apostolic ministry, temple expansion, humanitarian outreach, and missionary preparation. From Elder David A. Bednar’s meeting with the President of Chile to the Church’s landmark $25 million contribution to combat child malnutrition worldwide, the influence of the Church continues to reach both world leaders and the most vulnerable.

ONE

Elder Bednar Meets With the President of Chile

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Apostolic Ministry

Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held an official meeting with the President of the Republic of Chile, José Antonio Kast, at La Moneda Presidential Palace. The meeting focused on topics such as strengthening families, supporting youth, promoting religious freedom and serving communities. READ STORY HERE.

TWO

Church Contributes $25 …

Hey there.

Hnnnh. Huff. Khhh…

Give me a second to catch my breath.

Just crested the hill above Ecola Lookout.

Hfff.

Oh wow… there it is.

Indian Beach, way down below me—dark rocks, white surf, driftwood scattered everywhere like a wrecked fleet of pirate ships. I can hear the waves crashing from up here. The water looks beautiful and mysterious. Deep blues that feel capable of hiding something enormous.

The climb up through these enormous old-growth Sitka spruce has been unreal. Some were standing when George Washington was still riding around on his white horse.

Everything feels alive today.

Wrens and warblers singing overhead.

Ferns glowing neon green in the filtered light.

The whole forest smells rich and ancient.

Oh—there goes a bald eagle.

Nice.

Does this sound like an Old Spice commercial?

“MAN IN FOREST. DISCOVERS MASCULINITY. ALSO MOSS.”

Settle down, Mike.

This week I migrated from Paria Canyon …

Rain hammered the set all morning.

Not a gentle drizzle, but a cold, relentless downpour soaking the desert outside Ouarzazate—gateway to the Sahara.

At breakfast, dozens of cast and crew members crowded beneath a massive tent erected by our production partner, OZZ Films. Conversations turned tense. If the storm continued, we would be forced to abandon the outdoor set at Fint Village and make a massive company move to the interior scenes at Oasis Studios.

That meant trucks. Equipment. Lighting. Wardrobe. Animals. Catering. Transportation. Rescheduling actors. And then, inevitably, moving everything back again the following day to finish this very scene.

Time-consuming.

Expensive.

Exhausting.

Quiet prayers were offered around the tent.

Then, ten minutes before “Picture up” was scheduled, the rain stopped.

The clouds slowly parted. Sunlight broke through the gray sky. Crew members rushed into motion. Within minutes, cameras rolled.

Moments like that make us feel this film …

The last chapter of the last book of the Pentateuch, the “Five Books” of Moses, tells of the departure of that titanic Old Testament figure from the midst of the wandering Camp of Israel that, under God, he had both created and led. (Of course, the account of his death raises the question of his authorship of the chapter. But that isn’t the topic of this current column.) Deuteronomy 34 begins as follows:

“And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.  And the Lord 

Supplying food to Utah families who need it.

That was the one thing on the mind of more than 3,000 people at the Salt Palace who volunteered with Slopes Serves Meals at the annual Silicon Slopes Summit.

By the time the final box slid onto the last of 450 pallets, three days’ collective work yielded nearly 900,000 meals for Utah families in need.

Together they packed 25,214 boxes, each filled with three meals a day for three days for a family of four, enough food to fill 19 semitrailers bound for food pantries (and eventually kitchen pantries) across the state.

Their goal? Offer relief to families in a state where 1 in 6 children face food insecurity and hundreds of thousands of Utahns do not always know where their next meal will come from.

This year’s effort marked the sixth year of collaboration among Silicon Slopes, The Church of …