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In the News
December 2012


“In the News,” Ensign, Dec. 2012, 78

In the News

Sixth Annual Day of Service across Africa

Saturday, August 18, 2012, saw thousands of Saints in more than half a dozen African countries gather in their communities to participate in the sixth annual All-Africa Mormon Helping Hands Day.

“The wards and branches generally went all out to render significant service,” public affairs missionary Elder C. Terry Warner wrote in an email. “They recruited partners; they chose projects that, though difficult, really mattered. They came out in large numbers anxious to help, and they truly made friends for the Church.”

Elder Adesina J. Olukanni, director of public affairs for the Africa West Area, said of the day of service, “It is the easiest way by which we can respond to the prophet’s call to be kind to our neighbors, to respond to their need, to give rather than to receive. It is the easiest way to preach the gospel—by example.”

Access to Classic.LDS.org Going Away

By the end of 2012, the stake and ward websites on classic.lds.org will be gone. Wards and stakes are strongly encouraged to begin using the new stake and ward tools on LDS.org, which include membership directory, calendar highlights, lesson schedule highlights, newsletter highlights, and LDS Maps highlights.

The new tools are simpler, allow for greater functionality, work together better, are more secure, and can be personalized. To access the new tools, go the top of the LDS.org website and click on the Sign In/Tools menu. Enter your name and password.

More information about migrating to the new tools can be found at tech.lds.org/blog/528-migration.

Members Rejoice at Tijuana Mexico Temple Groundbreaking

On August 18, 2012, some 2,000 Latter-day Saints gathered in east Tijuana, Mexico, to participate in the dedication of the site of a new temple.

“We’ve seen in other … cities where a temple has been built that there is a newfound peace in the city itself,” said Elder Benjamín De Hoyos, First Counselor in the Mexico Area Presidency. “We feel certain much the same thing will happen here.”

Church Breaks Ground for Indiana’s First Temple

Church and community leaders broke ground on Saturday, September 29, 2012, for the Indianapolis Indiana Temple, announced in 2010.

Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the Presidency of the Seventy, who conducted the ceremony, explained, “The holy temple helps us to know, in our lives, what to embrace and what to discard.” He challenged Church members to develop traditions of righteousness.

While participating in Mormon Helping Hands projects across Africa, members of the Church rendered valuable service, built interfaith relationships, raised awareness of the Church, and built their testimonies of charity.

Photograph by TJ Thomas