Church News

In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord declares: “For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads” (Doctrine and Covenants 25:12). Ryan Eggett, a music manager for the Church’s Priesthood and Family Department — and the former director of the Provo Missionary Training Center choir and the choir at the Utah Valley Institute of Religion — joins this episode of the Church News podcast. He speaks about the power of music, the role of music in general conference and sacrament meetings, and the ability of music to testify of Jesus Christ.  The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

For over eight decades, the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Arizona Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has entertained and uplifted generations of people as it boldly declares the reality of the resurrected Christ. Performed the two weeks before Easter each year, the annual pageant draws more than 100,000 people to celebrate the life and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This episode of the Church News podcast explores the roots and branches of this beloved community event with Jill Bishop Adair, who serves as communications director for Mesa Temple Events, has written a book about the pageant and whose love for the pageant began in 1979, when, as a high schooler, she was cast into the production. The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

The Church Historian’s Press was created in 2008 with the goal to publish works of Latter-day Saint history that meet high standards of scholarship. Over the years it has helped scholars, as well as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have direct access to primary documents and contextual histories. In February of this year, the Church Historian’s Press published the “Prison Journal of Belle Harris”. Just in time for Women's History Month, this episode of the Church News podcast explores Belle Harris’ story of persecution, courage and hard-practiced faith. Ken Adkins, the lead historian specialist who spearheaded the project, offers highlights of Belle Harris’ experience and speaks to why her story of incarceration was included among the Church’s other scholastic works.  The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

RootsTech 2023 will be held in person for the first time since 2020. While the COVID-19 pandemic moved the annual three-day family history event online, attendance spiked from 50,000 people in 2020 to several million participants worldwide in 2022. This year, RootsTech encompasses the best of both platforms with the theme “Uniting.” This episode of the Church News podcast features Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Family History Department for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Hamilton is joined by Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International, to talk about the importance and global reach of family history.  The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

Deseret News, the media company that publishes the Church News, is Utah's oldest continuously operating business. Founded in 1850 by pioneer members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the publications began with the motto of "Truth and Liberty." In January of 2023, Burke Olsen was named publisher of the Deseret News. He joins this episode of the Church News podcast to explain why the Church owns a newspaper and to talk about the history of the publication and the Deseret News mission to be a voice “of light and truth.” The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

What does it mean to be “all in” the gospel of Jesus Christ? That's the question Morgan Jones Pearson asks those she interviews each week on her popular Latter-day Saint Living podcast, “All In.” She joins this episode of the Church News podcast to share why she is an ‘all in’ member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, her atypical journey into marriage, and what she has learned as an interviewer, podcast host and Deseret Book author.  The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

Davis and Asialene Smith, founders of Cotopaxi — an outdoor gear company that commits a percentage of its profits to help communities experiencing poverty — join the Church News podcast to talk about their decision to serve as mission leaders for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Leaving Cotopaxi and other interests behind, the Smiths will lead the Brazil Recife North Mission, beginning July 1, 2023. They share how their calling was extended, what consecration means to them, what they are doing to prepare for full-time missionary work, and how the Lord has shaped and directed their lives. The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

During the October 2022 general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles announced a new “For the Strength of Youth” guide, reminding the rising generation that Jesus Christ is their strength. This episode of the Church News podcast features the Church’s Young Women general presidency, President Bonnie H. Cordon, Sister Michelle D. Craig and Sister Rebecca L. Craven. They talk about the strength of Latter-day Saint youth, the recent worldwide devotional with Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the 2023 youth theme “I Can Do All Things Through Christ” and the lessons learned during their nearly five years of service in the Young Women general presidency.  The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

In Doctrine and Covenants 21:1, the Lord commanded the Prophet Joseph Smith that the Church's records and history should be kept "continually." While the prospect of recording and preserving those records can seem daunting, the Lord has promised that the keeping of records would be "for the good of the Church, and for the rising generations." Matt Heiss is the manager for the Global Support and Training Division of the Church History Library in the Church's seven areas in Europe and Africa. He is the guest on this episode of the Church News podcast. Since 1987, Heiss has worked with the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to acquire, manage and train others on collecting Church history. He discusses the importance of Church history, the potential of recording-keeping and what he knows now after decades of working for the Church. The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

The Church News recently launched a new Inside Church Headquarters series focusing on the work of the Presiding Bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Under the direction of the First Presidency, the Presiding Bishopric manages the temporal affairs of the Church, including — among many responsibilities — the building and maintenance of meetinghouses and temples, the distribution of humanitarian aid, and the production and distribution of gospel resources such as scriptures and hymnbooks. This episode of the Church News podcast includes excerpts from recent interviews with members of the Presiding Bishopric. As part of those interviews, Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé, and his counselors — Bishop W. Christopher Waddell and Bishop L. Todd Budge — answer the critical question, “What does the Presiding Bishopric do?” as they support the temporal, and thus spiritual, affairs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.