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Central European tour
Four Central European countries with a combined population of 83 million and a Latter-day Saint membership short of 37,000 are receiving visits from two of the faith’s top female leaders.
President Camille Johnson, head of the worldwide women’s Relief Society, and Tracy Browning, second counselor in the children’s Primary, are visiting Milan, Italy, and, for the first time, Prague, Czech Republic; Budapest, Hungary; and Zagreb, Croatia.
“I look forward to wrapping my arms around those good sisters and the Saints as we visit each of those locations,” Johnson said in a news release, “hopefully bringing the love of our Savior Jesus Christ to them one by one.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Tracy Y. Browning, second counselor in the worldwide Primary presidency, embraces a woman after a leadership meeting in Milan, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024.
In Milan, the two dignitaries met with regional church leaders, missionaries and members. They also huddled with authorities from Progetto Arca, a nonprofit the Utah-based faith has been partnering with to provide housing and food assistance to those in need.
“I was impressed that the principles that they’re employing successfully here are the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Johnson explained. “...And they’re addressing the needs of the one.”
The general Relief Society president felt especially grateful to be in the famed Italian city, a fashion capital and home to Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.”
“There’s a piece of my heart that’s been in Milan since 2016,” Johnson said, “when my son served as a missionary here.”
The 7 million-strong Latter-day Saint women’s organization she leads is steering a global initiative to improve the health and well-being of women and young children.
The latest ‘Mormon Land’ podcast: Chaplain in charge
(Karly Leavitt) Jenna Carson, in front of the Idaho Falls Temple, is first active-duty female military chaplain endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
When she is on duty at an Air Force base, she leads the congregation. In her Latter-day Saint ward, however, Jenna Carson sits in the pews. See how her trailblazing stint as a military chaplain has given Carson a new perspective on priesthood power and spiritual authority.
Listen to the podcast.
Apostle in South Korea
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Apostle Quentin L. Cook and his wife, Mary, meet South Korean Supreme Court Justice Youngjoon Kwon and his wife, Yeonshin Lee, in Seoul on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024.
During a four-day visit in Seoul, apostle Quentin Cook met with a South Korean Supreme Court justice (who happens to be a Latter-day Saint), a journalist with Asia Today and a renowned religion professor.
“What I have learned in this gospel is greatly benefiting what I do as a Supreme Court justice,” Youngjoon Kwon said in a news release. “I’m learning new things, and I’m trying to serve my country better. As I endeavor to do that, the gospel of Jesus Christ has helped me significantly.”
For his part, Cook called Kwon “exceptionally competent” and a “remarkable leader. … We’re so pleased that he’s doing what he’s doing now for his country and for the church.”
Tab Choir sings in the Southeast
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Members of The Tabernacle Choir take a selfie with members of the Spelman College Glee Club after their performance together in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024.
The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square wrapped up a Southeastern tour that included a special 9/11 show in Atlanta; a joint engagement with glee clubs from Morehouse and Spelman colleges; a concert in Sunrise, Florida; and surprise performances by Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth of “Wicked” fame and Adassa, voice of Dolores in Disney’s “Encanto.”
Art exhibit set to open
The “largest and most comprehensive” exhibition of Latter-day Saint art from around the world goes on display starting Sept. 25 at the Church History Museum in downtown Salt Lake City. Titled “Work and Wonder: 200 Years of Latter-day Saint Art,” the show was organized by the museum and the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts.
Remembering the first female Black missionary
• Forty-six years ago, Mary Frances Sturlaugson became the faith’s first female African American full-time missionary on Sept. 23, 1978.
“Sturlaugson really wanted to serve in Africa, and so she was disappointed when she found out that she was going to San Antonio, Texas, instead,” according to a story on The Juvenile Instructor website. “However, Sturlaugson wanted to extend the same kind of love to others that she received from the missionaries that taught her, and she found ways to do that as a missionary in Texas.”
Sturlaugson went on to write several books, including “A Soul So Rebellious” in 1980.
Doctor accused of abuse
Dozens of Oregon women, CNN reports, have accused a family doctor, who is a Latter-day Saint, of sexually abusing them during medical exams.
From The Tribune
• “We can do a lot to blur the lines of patriarchy” in the church, a feminist author says in these excerpts from last week’s “Mormon Land” podcast.
• Salt Lake City’s Veterans Affairs hospital is under scrutiny after ending Latter-day Saint and other religious services.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024.
• The latest songs released for the church’s new hymnbook include an “amazing” addition.
• Former President Donald Trump’s bid for a return to the White House is dividing Arizona’s Latter-day Saints, a phenomenon that could turn the Grand Canyon State blue in the fall election.
• Even Latter-day Saint apostles can and should apologize, argues Tribune columnist Gordon Monson.
