As a missionary serving in the Spanish speaking programme of the Florida Tampa Mission, Rachel Tui Smith developed a love for languages. Like most foreign speaking missionaries she also taught English classes as a service to the community, to build missionary contacts, and create a presence in the areas she served. She realised that while missionaries had good hearts and were motivated to serve and teach the English language to the local community, they didn't always have high quality materials or lesson plans that were relevant, and some missionaries didn't know how to teach English as a second language.

With this in mind, after graduating from BYU-Hawaii with a BA in TESOL and Linguistics, Rachel presented a project plan designed to help missionaries who teach English, to the Graduate Board of BYU-Provo as part of her application for the Master's Programme of TESOL and Linguistics, an...

In February 2012, the sisters of the Titahi Bay Ward, in Porirua, enthusiastically turned out to enrol for "Celestial University". Receiving a t-shirt upon registration, they signed up to earn a "Bachelor Degree" with the option to major in Religious Education, Business Management, Applied Art and Design, Health Education, Social Work, Food Technology or Textile and Design.

Each area of focus has around 20 assignments. To earn a Bachelor Degree, sisters must complete 8 goals in their chosen major, 5 in the College of Religious Education, and 1 from every other discipline. A major course requirement will be for the sister to present a project, or lead an activity based on what they have learned , to share with the other sisters in a Relief Society Meeting.

One of the organisers, Hayley Galo shared some memories. "I can still recall the spirit of unity, diligence, perseverance and an ...

Being young, fit, and healthy with an active lifestyle, it came as a shock to David Rich, a member of Albany Ward in Harbour Stake, to be told last year that he needed a heart transplant.

Brother Rich, his wife Julie and their five children moved to New Zealand from America six years ago and greatly enjoyed the outdoor lifestyle that they found here. Despite having a pacemaker implanted before he left the USA, David's health was good, and he regularly played tennis, golf, and went camping and tramping with family and friends. As a life-long member of the Church he adhered to the Word of Wisdom and had never smoked, drank alcohol, or used drugs. David said "When we moved to New Zealand I wanted to focus more of my time with my family and get a better church/ work / family balance in my life. I've loved the opportunities here to spend more time with my children, play sports, travel, and get...

APIA, Samoa — "I know first-hand about the diversity in this region because I have visited much of it," Latter-day Saint leader Elder James J. Hamula told delegates at the first 'Managing Religious and Cultural Diversity in the Pacific' conference at the National University of Samoa in Apia this week.

Eder Hamula, who is the Pacific Area President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continued: "We have congregations in 22 different countries or territories in the region, and operate in 14 different language groups. Of the nearly 35,000,000 people in the region, 500,000 are Mormons (as others call us) or Latter-day Saints (as we call ourselves). In this region, this fact makes us a minority relative to the total population, although the degree of our minority status varies from place to place. In Tonga and Samoa, for instance, our percentage is 45% and 30% of the total po...

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - May editions of magazines published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focus on the Church's April 2012 general conference.

Transcripts of addresses from leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at last month's worldwide conference can be found in the Ensign and Liahona.

The New Era issue includes exerpts from talks that are more relevant to youth.

There are audio, text and PDF versions of The Ensign, Liahona and New Era.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released a new video that explains the Church's belief in modern-day apostles, prophets and revelation.

Watch the video here

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints functions in large measure because of the unpaid volunteer ministry of its members. In fact, this lay ministry is one of the Church's most defining characteristics. In thousands of local congregations or "wards" around the world, members voluntarily participate in "callings" or assignments that provide meaningful opportunities to serve one another. It is common for Church members to spend 5-10 hours a week serving in their callings.

The Bible Videos website added a new video to its collection of vignettes about the life of Jesus Christ. In Jesus Heals a Possessed Man, the Savior demonstrates His divine power by healing a possessed man in Capernaum. New Bible Videos will continue to be released on a consistent basis throughout the year.

The Church released its Google+ page a few months ago and has continued to grow in that channel. Similar to the Church's main Facebook page, the Google+ page will have inspirational messages, words from living prophets and apostles, videos, news and more, all available in English. By adding this page to your Google+ circles, you will begin receiving updates on your stream.

A new feature-packed version of LDS Maps is now available. The new maps tool makes searching for people, meetinghouses and other Church locations much easier. Some of the new features include the following:

- Household verifications
- Unit boundary maps
- "Locate me" feature
- Improved print options