April 2021 World Report

this is the world report of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints april 2021 coming up the church's partnership with black 14 philanthropy heals wounds from the past and brings hope to the present in the face of fires hurricanes and other disasters the church's helping hands rebuild communities in need but first physical emotional and spiritual the church's covet 19 response continues to bring peace and healing to the world [Music] as the world continues to grapple with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints has remained dedicated to fortifying the physical emotional and spiritual needs of the world in november global faith leader russell m nelson shared a message about the power gratitude has in the lives of those who are struggling no matter our situation showing gratitude for our privileges is a fast-acting and long-lasting spiritual prescription in his message president nelson invited the world to turn their social media into personal gratitude journals and he called upon people to pray amid personal and civil unrest latter-day saint charities the humanitarian arm of the church announced its single largest donation to an organization to support unicef's efforts to protect children during the pandemic we are pleased to offer a 20 million dollar donation to unicef to support the global kovacs project which seeks to provide 2 billion covet 19 vaccine doses to vulnerable populations and health care workers in over 90 developing countries days following a joint news release presiding bishop gerald cosey provided unicef with a thank you video explaining the critical value of the need and partnership as members of a global community we hold hope in our hearts not only of overcoming the pandemic but of seeing a brighter future for all children their parents and their families this future becomes a reality as we follow the example of jesus christ in loving our neighbor and seeking out those in need destination is in addition to more than one thousand other kofi 19 relief projects the church and its members have supported in 152 countries and it represents a small part of ongoing and future efforts to relieve suffering worldwide bishop jose also thanked church members and unicef we are grateful to the members of our church and friends who have made this donation possible through their generous contributions to the humanitarian fund of the church we also express gratitude to unicef's team and organization you have done so much to care for children and their families and help them meet their basic needs and fulfill their potential under the guidelines issued by local health officials and as a part of their ongoing support of immunizations and vaccinations the church's first presidency along with some members of the quorum of the twelve apostles and their spouse received covet 19 vaccinations in january in an online statement the first presidency urged church members to help quell the pandemic by safeguarding themselves and others through immunization the first presidency further stated that individuals are responsible for making their own decisions about vaccination the call to feed the hungry has always been a commission of jesus christ and his church but since the covet 19 pandemic the number of people in need of food has risen dramatically during a visit to new york city in february of 2020 just prior to the pandemic elder d todd christopherson of the quorum of the twelve apostles announced that the church would donate food to 200 local pantries in more than 50 cities throughout the state marking the 200th anniversary of the first time god the father and his son jesus christ appeared to joseph smith an event known as the first vision we've been blessed by the lord we've been blessed by the generosity of the members of the church and been able to in this way help in a great humanitarian cause in a crucial year and in situations that none of us anticipated as part of the year-long commemoration more than 35 truckloads of food and commodities were shipped to new york from the bishop central storehouse in salt lake city utah we've got about 135 contributions to food pantries in the new york city area because of the great need and because of all that is occurring at this time during a pandemic it's as if the lord knew in advance that there would be a need and provided an opportunity to provide for that need throughout the pandemic the emeryville citizens assistance program or ecap in oakland california has been helping people in dire circumstances on a daily basis we were already servicing a lot of people as covet continues the lines grow longer and just recently miller says he received a special invitation from the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints to join latter-day saint volunteers members of other faiths and community-based organizations in the parking lot of the oakland california temple to help offload transport and distribute 80 000 pounds of food donated from the u.s department of agriculture's farmers to families food box program thank you to some of oakland and san francisco's hardest hit residents we gathered here on temple hill in oakland invited many local churches food pantries other places that serve the homeless and others to come here and pick up the food and we've coordinated the logistics to make all that happen this is an example of blessed are they that do not those that preach about only what needs to be done but they know how to do it and they practice what they preach we don't consider ourselves ecap and lds we consider ourselves a big family here together all working together to try to do something to help the people who really need it the most from the navajo nation in the american southwest to the shoshone bannock tribes on the fort hall reservation in southeastern idaho dozens of trucks from the u.s department of agriculture have delivered more than 3.5 million pounds of fresh food to locations where latter-day saint volunteers are handing out food boxes to native american families in need we have about 6 000 tribal members on the fort hall reservation and i have seen a majority of families coming and taking advantage of the food distribution boxes as a member of the church and also as a member of the shoshone bannock tribe to see these two communities come together to serve each other and and to be able to bless lives has been close to my heart hey you guys are full thanks have a great day thank you coming up i had the biggest picket sign walking in front sunday services healing wounds from the past and providing hope in the present after 50 years the church and black 14 philanthropy unite to these serve labels represent a collaborative effort between the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints do it like this and the black 14 philanthropy 50 years in the making born out of redemption forgiveness and healing so all of this and then to see miraculously how this has all come together has been one of the most amazing things i've ever been part of nine trucks loaded with 350 000 pounds of non-perishable food delivered to cities across the united states just days before thanksgiving the country's holiday to reflect on gratitude appropriately it ended where the idea began wilmington north carolina the hometown of mel hamilton a member of the black 14 mel says he was inspired by a plea on the radio to help those suffering from lack of food god got his hands in all of this and so he took me and told me to do this and here we are today mel reached out to the church and history was made he reaches out to me and he said will you help and i said what do you need and the basic message was we really care about you let us help let us mend the fences let us put the past in the past and just look to the future about what we're trying to accomplish but the collaboration between the church and black 14 philanthropy has its roots in a contentious incident back in 1969 14 black players on the university of wyoming football team wanted to wear black armbands for their matchup against brigham young university to protest a church policy at the time that didn't allow black men to hold the priesthood the black 14's desire to protest resulted in their dismissal from the team the decision caused a rift between students and university administrators division in the laramie community and hard feelings toward byu that lasted decades but an experience in 2005 at the church's institute of religion on campus changed mel's perspective and began the mending of wounded hearts we invited mel to come and speak at the at the institute he said i can't believe it i picketed this building the year i was kicked off the football team i had the biggest picket sign you can imagine walking in front sunny services during that visit mel witnessed the association of black student leaders and latter-day saints students joined in making and handing out armbands a tradition to remember the black 14 whenever the cowboys and cougars play i just broke down and cried and uh i i did not believe that would ever happen i i had to at that point let people know that uh the lds uh were my friends and and never were my enemies from there mel and his family were invited to visit church headquarters and its humanitarian food production and distribution operations it was very impressive the organization and i had no idea that they did all the things that uh you do especially in way of of feeding people they also attended general conference and were introduced to church leaders such as fellow gridiron athlete and former byu all-american quarterback and nfl quarterback gifford nielsen now a general authority in the church things clicked so when i first met mel we had this instant connection because i'm a quarterback and he's an offensive lineman god knows what he's doing and he put us together and it was instant that newly found friendship moved mountains mountains of food to grateful communities straining under current conditions 86 000 pounds of food made its way to the cathedral home the university of wyoming and the wind river indian reservation home of the northern arapaho and eastern shoshone tribes it means a great deal to have the food delivered the kids who live here at cathedral home are with us for 9 to 12 months so that's three meals a day for a year we normally distribute about 200 to 300 pounds of food per week so if you do the math 20 000 pounds of food is going to sustain us for a very long time we are about a 70 unemployment rate here on the reservation and and there is unfortunately a lot of poverty and low-income families that really will benefit from this the food donations set in motion a positive synergy between the church and black 14 philanthropy that's already paying dividends the partnership is already producing black 14 t-shirts like this that will include the byu logo and possibly the uw logo as well proceeds will help young people with education and hunger god work in mysterious ways i've met some fine people i've got a new direction late in life to do something further to help people there are going to be so many more stories coming out of this this is only the beginning really of a miraculous coming together when we come back they were able to take that tragedy and turn it into a miracle of love from oregon to louisiana from salt lake city to the navajo nation in the aftermath of disaster helping hands provide food shelter and love in early september heavy damage caused by a severe canyon windstorm in northern utah is providing assistance to a community in great need some 300 miles away yeah this is just incredible i can't i can't say thinking about time to crush the near 100 mile per hour winds damaged homes and property triggered widespread power outages and caused at least one death but this one that we had a couple weeks ago knocked a lot of trees over power lines down we went around the neighborhood we cut up trees and that to get them off people's lawns so you know if we can come here and put this wood to good use then then i'm all for it in the aftermath thousands of volunteers many of them latter-day saints as well as others throughout the area answered the first call to help neighbors and strangers alike with a massive cleanup including the countless destroyed or heavily damaged trees with news of the windstorm making headlines southeastern utah navajo nation residents and community leaders including pete sands issued a second call for help you know when i first started it was just me going out and collecting firewood on my own people's heard what i was doing and they want to help so with covid19 most of the people on the navajo reservation haven't been able to gather wood and that may not sound like that big a deal to us but for them that's the only heat and generally the only way that they can cook food this solved what could have been just a horrible disaster for them and it will bless lives in ways that we can't even begin to imagine in just over three weeks and with the help of various partners including the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints the state of utah salt lake county government and utah navajo health system among others 80 truck drivers carrying more than 3 million pounds of wood and counting are making their way to native americans across utah as part of the project everyone who's involved has been willing to freely donate their time their trucks the fuel it just shows the generosity of this community it's a tragedy to see those trees go down but they were able to take that tragedy and turn it into a miracle of love a feeling of warmth that is not just in the wood that will burn but in the hearts that will swell with love it'll give for a long time 2020 is the worst fire season on record along the u.s west coast and in the aftermath latter-day saints are helping rebuild lives in early september fast-moving fires destroyed more than 2300 homes in the rogue valley near medford oregon my family lost their home my mom lost her whole entire house you know you see so much devastation here and it can it can really kind of get you down you know you just you drive through talent in phoenix and just see block after block after block of burned homes the gonzalez family lost their home in the fire taylor and ann cropper a latter-day saint family with five children invited the family to stay with them after learning they had nowhere to go and so this is a really nice way to feel like to kind of remove some of that that pain that you see you know you get to know that you're actually making a difference in someone's life missionaries from the oregon eugene mission of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints volunteered at the expo where a shelter was set up for fire evacuees local church leaders in oregon quickly jumped into action to serve their congregations and neighbors even though many of them were evacuated from their homes this has given me a bird's eye view of like the best of people we've had cars donated we've had money donated we've had housing situations donated people are so very good i thought i had a clue of what i would be seeing and then when i came through here was far worse than i expected fire devastated the town of otis near the oregon coast food boxes were assembled and given away to any in need in the two-person box they would have some cold cereal pancake mix we determined that what we really needed to do was to bring food and water into the areas where people were coming back we knew those were things they couldn't need i've delivered three sets to three different widows that lost everything and all three of them broke into tears crying thankful because they didn't know how they were going to eat dinner that night we talk about and we read about being firm and steadfast and i'm so grateful that i have my testimony to rely upon that i have church members that can buoy me up when i'm feeling weak like clockwork each week missionaries change from dress shirts and ties into jeans and t-shirts to give much-needed service to a community suffering from the fallout of covet-caused lockdowns during the first few weeks of the pandemic more than 250 missionaries in the california san jose mission were locked down we were stuck inside our apartments had nothing to do the thing that really was the saving grace was them doing humanitarian service projects so we went to work immediately with partners and enormously grateful that great partners like second harvest food bank and the latter day saints stepped up immediately we had this opportunity to come out when we came here and we just started putting produce and boxes it has helped a tremendously for their spirits their mental health and well-being to be able to get out and serve we're called a food bank but really when you look at our warehouses and our fleet of trucks it's really important to recognize the huge scale we have second harvest distributes about 12 million pounds of food each month that's fresh and non-perishable sustenance to about a half million people now you know that each box that you put out it's a family it's someone that you're feeding you're serving god's children over the past 10 months missionaries have exceeded 13 000 volunteer hours at second harvest more than any other organization i can't even put into words the gratitude we have there is no way we would have been able to ramp up like this without that consistent support each week dozens of trucks leave second harvest loaded with food that includes boxes packed by missionary hands the portuguese community center in san jose is one of those locations where missionary packed boxes of groceries are distributed and prepared meals are delivered to the homebound and latter-day saint missionaries are there to help we are giving out food but also just taking the time to really talk with them trying to just brighten up their day spread some positivity when they need it because it's hard out there those accepting these offerings and perhaps a kind word say it's indeed a blessing when trying to make ends meet in such difficult times we don't need to worry there's food in the house i have a little son he's two years old it helps a lot about 30 miles southeast of san jose elders and sisters serving in morgan hill have filled another important need good job everything's folded if it's not good enough for my own grandchildren nobody gets it cecilia with the help of her husband gary has worked hard to serve those in need in her community by offering a food pantry clothing and more necessity born out of the coveted crisis inspired another service para los ninos for the children it's free tutoring uh because these families do not have internet to make it work skilled volunteers were needed missionaries have been coming to us for six years so they jumped right in and they all speak spanish that is the beauty of it amigos their native language is basically english that's where we come in we help the parents understand more english and help the kids understand their homework okay yeah diana says she's grateful for the help with her children's homework morgan hill mayor rich constantine says it warms his heart to see the outpouring of support for those in his city hi joy rich constantine let me give you the elbow there as a small city we don't have the resources so we have to really rely on our community and especially the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints helping out cecilia and other organizations if we didn't have those organization this city would not be thriving the way it is now all combined elders and sisters of the san jose mission have volunteered more than 25 000 hours in 10 months that's more than 3 100 working days these hours that they're putting in are not just exclusively for they as a missionary but they're truly finding themselves to be a fellow citizen in christ these acts of kindness are not unique to this mission they're happening in communities all over the world right now dedicated missionaries performing countless hours of service wherever they're [Music] god needed crew i believe in god and i know it's a god and this crew here taking other trees that's down in the yard and god knows i appreciate that in a period of six weeks three hurricanes struck the gulf coast from southeast texas to the florida panhandle with each disaster the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints organizes before and after to provide a helping hand and here's how once we see something brewing in the atlantic or in the gulf we'll try to determine where command center should be set up as a command center staff we start showing up at least friday by noon you guys are making calls right we coordinate with the bishop storehouse for the truck to arrive so that the supplies can be unloaded and staged properly we've learned that the full-time missionaries is a great resource this disaster has allowed them to get into the community but also feel like they can give service thank you so much for this opportunity to help you teams start arriving at night and checking in come over here and we can check in some of these workers have driven six seven hours you know to be there are you camping here yes i'm right here team captain is the one coming in and grabbing the work orders and we're assigning that work they're geographically together that's what the command center's job is is to prioritize those work orders to identify where to send all of these volunteers that are coming in this is going to be mostly done so i'm thinking maybe like right start here okay so that we make the greatest impact in the community it's amazing to see the unification that happens when a steak or a ward donates volunteers number 97 97 okay okay so mostly trees some tarps they become unified in the gospel all age race color all those divisions are wiped away when they're out just helping someone be here because we love to serve and we show love and kindness to others like the savior did it's just a godsend a coalition of jesus's followers i'm catholic and i have mormons and baptists helping me clean my yard you know the lord commands us to let our light so shine and i think that's why we pick the color yellow is so that we shine and to provide light for those that are maybe sitting in darkness after a disaster this tree right here is the one that fell on my house and i was in the bedroom when it fell and i called for help and they came and held me today [Music] which was such a blessing after one of these storms come through it makes you feel like your whole life is upside down to be able to see the emotions and the people that we're helping and you know just a really very spiritual emotional day on sunday morning when the workers wake up they're able to gather together in their own team at their campsite and have the sacrament and they're able to start the sabbath day off right we gather today so we can serve and be able to go out and work a few work orders but it gives them that spiritual protection reminding them that when you're in the service of your fellow men you're in the service of our god up next in a world of unrest the first presidency and the quorum of the twelve apostles bring their witness of christ to the world and later latter-day saint charities and a greek orthodox nun partner in a unique way to feed the hungry [Music] apostle neil anderson and his wife kathy brought a familiar message to french-speaking latter-day saints a message of hope and faith [Music] is held in february and march a series of six virtual area devotionals were held with six apostles reaching latter-day saints ages 18 to 30 on every continent and sisters here can you see us can you hear us you look good we love and admire you as you serve in these challenging times holding a virtual devotional for missionaries around the world elder dieter f uchtdorf of the quorum of the twelve apostles talked about the power of technology in modern missionary work using your smartphones you find teach and guide people toward baptism who are living thousands of miles away and sometimes might not even speak your language use your smartphones to make impressive video productions just because we're behind the screen doesn't mean we're providing entertainment we are helping people come closer to jesus christ and providing them with spiritual nourishment we and people we teach can come closer to our savior jesus christ each of you has specific gifts use them share them help each other to discover them and the lord will hasten the work the world is a fragile place at the fort worth summit for religious freedom in october elder yulesi suarez of the quorum of the twelve apostles talked about how to safely navigate the sharp differences of opinion and views that have arisen amid the recent pandemic and worldwide unrest societies flourish when both law and culture respect and protect the value of each person i'm grateful and honored to participate with you in this g20 interfaith forum speaking about the essential nature of religious freedom during the pandemic elder david a bednar of the quorum of the twelve apostles became the fourth church leader to speak at the g20 interfaith forum hosted virtually this past october by saudi arabia my call is for respect accommodation and cooperation for creative solutions that mitigate the threat of covet 19 while not cutting people off from an essential part of their lives only the gospel of jesus christ can unite and bring peace to people of all races and nationalities following an increase in societal and racial tensions in the united states in 2020 dallin h oaks of the church's first presidency spoke at a devotional on the campus of brigham young university where he addressed the topics of racism building bridges and healing by looking to the future we who believe in that gospel whatever our origins must unite in love of each other and of our savior jesus christ let us not open a quarrel between the past and the present lest we jeopardize our attempts to improve our future at the start of the new year elder garrett w gong of the quorum of the twelve apostles held a fireside broadcast for the church's 2.3 million single adults ages 18 to 30 where he invited them to receive the blessings of three special invitations be still and know that god is god let his goodness his creations stir your imagination calm and assure your heart change the future now nurture multi-generational relationships that will bless you and those around you for years to come and trust the lord of the harvest to help you become a better you i am pleased to announce plans for the construction of six new temples coming up new temples are announced ground is broken for a record number of temples and operating temples begin to reopen we'll take you there [Music] despite the global pandemic the rapid growth of temple building continues around the world now i am pleased to announce plans for the construction of six new temples in the october general conference president russell m nelson announced plans to construct new temples in tarawa kiribati port vila vanuatu linden utah greater guatemala city guatemala sao paulo east brazil and santa cruz bolivia since the october general conference ground has been broken for 13 previously announced temples in the united states ground was broken for temples in moses lake washington taylorsville and redcliffe's utah bentonville arkansas and mcallen texas in central and south america ground was broken for temples in salta and mendoza argentina koban guatemala and antofagosta chile in the pacific asia and the continent of africa ground was broken for temples in bengaluru india okinawa japan davao philippines and harare zimbabwe welcome to the phase 3 temple experience your time in the temple in this new phase of temple reopening will feel both familiar and different in may 2020 the church began reopening existing temples using a coveted cautious four-phase approach many temples have already moved through phases one and two and in december the first presidency of the church announced that select temples would begin phase three this allows for all temple ordinances to be performed but with a limited capacity temple visits need to be scheduled in advance and full covet 19 safety guidelines must be followed while in attendance a list of temples entering phase 3 as well as detailed safety and scheduling guidelines are available at newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org the temple square renovation project continues in salt lake city with a new phase repairing leaky concrete decking on the east plaza which sits atop an employee parking garage and creating new landscaping with a global feel we'll have a large circle of flags here from many nations of the world that will help celebrate the international nature of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints with the end result to direct more focus toward the temple the landscaping on this plaza and around the temple will open up access to the temple and make it more inviting for people to feel welcome here work also progresses at the temple site stones are being removed with the help of scaffolding and a crane interlocking pilings will shore up the soil around the foundation of the temple for the seismic base isolation system excavation nears completion for the new three-level edition as drilling begins on a tunnel that will connect to the conference center this was accomplished even during a tumultuous 2020. we've had pandemic we've had earthquake and major wind storms but the work for renewing the temple has continued in full force and renewed optimism for what lies ahead i find miracles in seeking answers to problems and solutions to this difficult work and i know that the lord is guiding us united across continence and time the young women organization turns 150. the virtual 2021 youth music festival shares testimony through song and the first friend to friend event connects primary children in 13 languages these stories and more in the news [Music] latter-day saints in communities across texas are serving their neighbors after a winter storm with record-breaking snow ice and cold hit the state leaving millions of people without power food and water 36 semi-truck loads of food water and other supplies from the bishop central storehouse were sent to communities throughout the affected area latter-day saints have been so fantastic to bless us with water that we can pass on and give to those neighbors in need in late february more than one million family history enthusiasts in over 235 countries participated in roots tech connect 2021 making this the largest gathering in the event's 10-year history that's what families are about when pushing participants heard from special keynote speakers including elder jeffrey r holland of the quorum of the 12 apostles and his wife patricia you are now and you will be then part of a family in november young women from around the world gathered to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the church's young women organization commemorated by a multilingual broadcast from the conference center in salt lake city our hopes are that young women watching this will feel part of something they'll feel like they belong to hundreds and thousands of young women across the globe who share their values and their commitment to jesus christ [Music] the strength of testimony shared through the power of music the virtual 2021 youth music festival was live streamed in march featuring personal testimonies and music by the youth of the church from around the world music is like the best way to spread the gospel and a message that you want other people to hear throughout the world [Music] light of the nations held a virtual performance in november and december broadcasting a virtual hispanic choir and video highlights from past performances the latino musical production showcased more than 1 thousand cast members dancers singers and performers sharing the culture and faith of latter-day saints throughout latin america hey everybody i'm payson and i'm brianna hosted by primary children and broadcast in 13 languages the first ever friend to friend event was held in march the activity-packed program invited children to participate in arts and crafts sing-alongs and messages to help them learn more about jesus christ the program is also available in shorter segments that children parents and church leaders can use in their at-home gospel study [Music] on the outside a shipping container on the inside a miracle we'll take you to the mobile automatic bakery that's feeding thousands of families it's a biblical anecdote to be able to share bread it's a spiritual experience if you look at some of the pictures of children holding pieces of bread and eating that bread warm bread you can only imagine what that means in northern syria is a camp that is home to about 70 000 people most are displaced due to conflict in the region i was ordained to go to syria and serve there and during this time we had the war and we experienced the distress of the syrian people we tried to help them in many ways they had difficulties in having bread when they are in hard-to-reach areas where all the infrastructure are inexistent but now thanks to a partnership between mother agnes a greek orthodox nun and latter-day saint charities the humanitarian arm of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints refugees in great need of food in syria are receiving bread in an unprecedented way with the help of a mobile automatic bakery an innovative concept born out of hard work and inspiration we took a couple of trips with mother agnes and visited various bakeries and seen how the process was and we saw this one bakery that was a small bakery which then gave us the ideas that hey we could do the same thing in a shipping container a shipping container that can be transported into remote areas by land air or sea the bread actually comes around and then back we sat down in mother agnes apartment that afternoon and drew out literally on just scraps of paper kind of a blueprint for what this would look like and a few months later there it was with some help from a lot of really good intelligent and innovative people with the capacity to produce up to 120 000 pieces of various arabic bread types in a 24-hour period the turnkey system now serves thousands of syrians two more mobile bakeries will soon be built in lebanon another country in desperate need due to food shortages if you look at some of the pictures of children holding pieces of bread and eating that bread warm bread you can only imagine what that means and it's a biblical anecdote to be able to share bread with others and it's a spiritual experience [Music] this has been the world report for the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints april 2021 to watch the world report online visit newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org you

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Length: 44min 35sec (2675 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 31 2021