President Nelson invites church members to increase their capacity for charity and virtue
'As we go to our Heavenly Father with increasing confidence, we will be filled with more joy and our faith in Jesus Christ will increase,' he said. 'We will begin to experience spiritual power that exceeds our greatest hopes.'
The church's 100-year-old prophet-leader was the last of 32 speakers at the two-day conference, which drew 98,397 to the Conference Center and Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Millions more watched and listened to broadcasts and livestreams.
While he said the Church of Jesus Christ is experiencing great momentum, he also warned listeners against divisiveness.
'The present hostility in public dialogue and on social media is alarming. Hateful words are deadly weapons,' he said. 'Contention prevents the Holy Ghost from being our constant companion.'
He invited church members and others to take specific steps to shield themselves and help others. He said increasing charity and virtue can help them lead the way as peacemakers.
'The Savior is the Prince of Peace. We are to be his instruments for peace,' he said.
'In the Lord's own words, charity and virtue open the way to having confidence before God,' he added. 'Brothers and sisters, we can do this. Our confidence truly can wax strong in the presence of God, right now!'
President Nelson attended the Sunday session after viewing the four earlier sessions from home. His message was pre-recorded as a concession to age. 'My eyes continue to get older,' he said.
As he prepared to announce 15 new temple locations at the end of his talk, he said regular worship in temples increases capacity for charity and virtue.
'Time in the temple increases our confidence before the Lord,' he said. 'Increased time in the temple will help us prepare for the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We do not know the day or the hour of his coming. But I do know that the Lord is prompting me to urge us to get ready for that 'great and dreadful day.''
Sunday's temple announcement brings the total number of Latter-day Saint temples to 382 — including 202 that are dedicated. The others are in various stages of planning or construction.
With the 15 new locations, President Nelson now has announced 200 temples since becoming church president in January 2018. (The full list of new temples is at the bottom of this story.)
Sunday's other speakers described Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as 'perfectly loving, kind, patient, understanding and perfectly glorious,' in the words of Elder John A. McCune, a General Authority Seventy.
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, said the Father designed his plan of happiness with divine, saving help in mind.
First, God planned to send his Son, Jesus Christ, to provide a 'glorious erasing' of repented sins, said President Oaks, who also listed four other helps that God provided his children:
The light or spirit of Christ to help each person know good from evil.
The cluster of directions available in scripture known as commandments, ordinances and covenants.
The manifestations of the Holy Ghost that witness of truth.
The gift of the Holy Ghost as a daily companion from the Godhead.
'Our part in this Divine Plan,' President Oaks said, 'is to trust in God and seek and use these divine helps, most notably the Atonement of his Beloved Son, our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ.'
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles noted that Sunday's conference marked the exact 195th anniversary of the 1830 worship service that served as the formal organization of the church. He called it 'a singular event in the history of the world' and some of the most important glorious 'good news' any person can receive.
'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's New Testament church restored,' Elder Bednar said. 'This church is anchored in the perfect life of its chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ, and in his infinite Atonement and literal Resurrection. Jesus Christ has once again called apostles and has given them priesthood authority.'
That first meeting on April 6, 1830, he added, was 'the culmination of a sequence of miraculous experiences.'
The second in a 'sequence of miraculous experiences' that led to the church's organization was the publication of the Book of Mormon, followed by the restoration of the keys of the priesthood authority bestowed by ancient prophets and apostles upon Joseph Smith,' Elder Bednar said.
Every person is a child of God who should seek connection with deity and push back against feelings of shame, speakers said.
The truth that each is a child of God is breathtaking and literal, said Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
'This is not just a nice song we sing,' he said. 'Will you please accept, open and receive this gift of knowledge and understanding from him? Will you hold it close as the precious treasure it is? Re-receive this gift, or perhaps truly receive it for the very first time, and let it transform every aspect of your life.'
God and Christ love every person, said Sister Tamara W. Runia, first counselor in the Young Women General Presidency.
'Listen for that voice that says good things about you — the voice of the Savior, your finest friend, and your Father in Heaven, who is really there,' she said. 'Remember, their love and your worth are always great, no matter what.'
Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve said Easter, which falls on April 20 this year, helps connect God's children to him.
'Easter in Jesus Christ helps us mend, reconcile, make right our relationships, on both sides of the veil,' he said. 'Jesus can heal grief; he can enable forgiveness. He can free us and others from things we or they have said or done that otherwise bind us captive.'
Father in Heaven loves each of his children perfectly, so much so that he provides them compensating blessings for things beyond their control, Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé said.
'My dear friends,' Bishop Caussé said, 'if you ever feel limited or disadvantaged by the circumstances of your life, I want you to know this: The Lord loves you personally. He knows your circumstances, and the door to his blessings remains wide open to you no matter the challenges you face.'
The new temples are:
Reynosa, Mexico
Chorrillos, Peru
Rivera, Uruguay
Campo Grande, Brazil
Porto, Portugal
Uyo, Nigeria
San Jose del Monte, Philippines
Nouméa, New Caledonia
Liverpool, Australia
Caldwell, Idaho
Flagstaff, Arizona
Rapid City, South Dakota
Greenville, South Carolina
Norfolk, Virginia
Spanish Fork, Utah
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USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Untitled Art's non-alcoholic beers are sometimes boring, sometimes magic
I like non-alcoholic beer. Well, I like the *idea* of non-alcoholic beer. Being able to recreate the relaxing ritual of cracking a beer without the concern of a minor hangover or the massive calorie load of a boozy IPA is a wonderful hypothesis. But for too long, non-alcoholic beer all tasted the same -- crisply carbonated but undeniably loaded down with cereal grains that made you feel you were sipping a bowl of Grape-Nuts, not a lager. That tide has turned in recent years. Breweries, grasping for market share when America is drinking less alcohol than it has since prohibition, have turned to the NA sector for new streams of income. That's meant a rising tide of THC drinks and booze-free beers. Untitled Art has been kicking around in my fridge since back when it was 3rd Sign -- makers of a pretty good porter but shuttered due to distribution issues. In the years since they've experimented wildly across the spectrum of beers and NA beverages and eventually got bought out by Asahi. Those beers are often hit-or-miss, but they're never boring. Big, sweet dessert stouts and bold IPAs were standouts across the backdrop of contract brewing that's helped Octopi expand to a staple in package stores across the country. How does that apply to their non-alcoholic beers? Let's see what we've got. Mango dragonfruit sour: A I'm drinking this one the way God intended. After thoroughly exhausting myself inflating a raft at my daughter's pool. An extremely Dad scenario deserves an extremely Dad beer, and an NA fruited sour? That'll do. Cracking the can unleashes a wave of fruity slightly tangy aromas backed by just a little bit of lactic acid. The first sip is dense complex and rewarding. The dragon fruit is tangy; slightly sour but sweet enough to remain balanced. The hint of bile that you get from some of the worst sours out there is nowhere to be found, relieving me of my greatest fear. That bit of lactic acid in the slightly denser texture makes us feel more like a milkshake beer than many milkshake IPAs. What you get is a dense, surprisingly low calorie beer. Well, not a beer but, you know, something close to it. It clocks in at 90 calories, which is about 60 percent of a soda or a regular beer. At that value. You're getting a lot of flavor at a light beer's toll on your gut. That's a solid trade. The downside is it's not quite a hoppy refresher in the way a hop water or a light beer are. It's dense. It's more of a sipper and it's probably not the first thing I should have grabbed after modestly strenuous activity. That said, I am enjoying the hell out of it. All in all, it's not what I expected in a good way. It's not quite a sour and not quite a traditional NA beer. Instead, it is its own thing. And that's great. West Coast IPA: B+ The smell off the top is hoppy, with just enough of a stale malt lingering in the background to remind you this is a non-alcoholic beer. The first sip is sharp and refreshing. The bitterness of those hops is up front, but not overwhelming. You get a little of that malt and a crisp, dry finish that leaves you wanting more. That helps cover that traditional NA taste. It's still there, but it's minimal thanks to that beefy, but not tongue-scorching, hop cover. It's still undeniably a booze-free beer, but it's packing a lot of flavor beyond that. It's satisfying in a way similar beers are not. The downside is it's not as special as the dragonfruit sour. It's great for a non-alcoholic beer, but it's still operating within those parameters while the sour felt like something new entirely. The result is refreshing and capable of fulfilling the ritual of a full strength beer. Juicy IPA: B- Here's an interesting combination. Will the fruit of a juicy IPA be able to cover up the NA scent and taste so familiar with the genre? It worked wonders with the dragonfruit sour and I have some high hopes here. Cracking the can, however, unleashes a wave of non-alcoholic beer smells. There aren't a lot of fruit or hops involved spilling out of the aluminum. It's malt all the way. The first sip is crisper and more refreshing than I expected. It's not especially fruity or hoppy. It feels a little bit more like a lager than a pale ale. However, it's crisp. The carbonation is on point and that NA taste that you'd expect from the smell coming off the top doesn't overpower you. It's still very much a non-alcoholic beer, but it's not as egregious as some of the others in the category. Still, it feels like it's missing the mark as a pale ale. You get a hint of citrus toward the end of each sip, which is nice. But you don't really get any of the hops. There's nothing here to bring you back. It feels more like a Blue Moon or a Shock Top -- more forgettable than a big bold juicy IPA you would get from a local brewery. Italian Style Pils: B I'm a little bit hesitant with this one. Italian beers, at least the big ones you find out here, are fairly minimal when it comes to hops or other flavors that could wash over the signature taste of non-alcoholic brews. They're crisp and sharp and other adjectives that stand in for refreshing-but-not-quite-easy-drinking. This pours with a lovely, lacy head that dies down to a lingering quarter inch after a minute. The smell off the top is grain and just a bit of hops. That grain is half the Grape-Nut cereal malt that dominates NA beers and half something sunnier. There's a certain brightness involved that, if nothing else, does raise it higher than similar booze-less brews. That battle carries on in the first sip. It's undoubtedly an NA beer, but it's also sweet and crisp. That gives way to a pleasant aftertaste that lands in the middle. Malty, effervescent and with juuuuust a little citrus involved to make everything a bit more complex. These powers combine to make it refreshing and poundable. It's a great warm weather beer, though it holds up well enough regardless of climate. Chocolate Dark Brew: A First thing first: this smells incredible. Cracking the can unleashes a wave of rich chocolate like you just unwrapped one of those $6 bars of cacao. It smells like a fresh mug of hot chocolate. A really nice start. The first sip is thinner than expected. The carbonation is crisp, and while this is heavier than a lager it's about the same mouthfeel as, say, a big juicy IPA. You get that chocolate flavor, but also some roasted porter notes as well. You go from sweet up front to malty before a crisp, not-quite-dry-but-close finish. It's great. What's even better is the lack of NA cereal vibes coming from it. This tastes like a full-fledged chocolate porter. Maybe not a heavy, eight percent beer, but a lighter version. If you put this in a lineup of six similar, full ABV beers and asked me to pick out the impostor I might still land on it, but that's no guarantee. This sounds like faint praise, but almost anyone who's had a bunch of NA beers knows that distinct taste and how it stands out from your regular sip. Not this Dark Brew. It's sweet and crisp and a little complex. Untitled Art went for a dessert beer and wound up making something that would be just about perfect for a fireside fall night. Even without the alcohol. Oktoberfest: B Let's finish with my favorite beer style. Marzens, festbiers, anything that's a malt bomb is gonna be an easy win for me. Can Untitled Art balance those toasty, crisp and refreshing flavors with the inherent cereal-ness of a non-alcoholic beer? It pours with a fluffy white head. It smells mostly like the real thing, though a sweet, Grape-Nut tinge settles in toward the end. While the sweetness carries through on your tongue, that NA taste is minimal. The feeling you get here is Munich-adjacent malt. It's a bit thin and definitely too sugary, but it's not a typical non-alcoholic brew. That leaves it in a weird spot, but kind of a logical one. Untitled Art's best NA beers are sweet -- the sour and the chocolate dark. That sweetness again crops up to mitigate the feel you're drinking a beer with less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume. That doesn't jive with your typical marzen, it does sorta work here. While I miss the crisp finish of those beers, this is unique, interesting and refreshing. On the other hand, I can put down a liter of Lowenbrau without issue. This? This would be much more difficult. Still, it doesn't taste like NA beer. That's a win. Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's? This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I'm drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That's the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm's. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Untitled Art's non-alcoholic beers over a cold can of Hamm's? The sour and the chocolate dark are good enough to be sipped regardless of alcohol content. The others helpful recreate the ritual of cracking a beer. All in all, it's a solid lineup so, yes. This is part of FTW's Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Boston Globe
My husband was bitten by a rat. Here's why it made me grateful.
We both stared for a moment and then scampered home to tend his wounds. Advertisement Until recently, my husband and I lived in Brighton, where the rats are dumpster denizens with mangy fur, scars, and all the desperate energy of creatures that live on trash and the remnants of student pizza parties. The first time I saw a Roslindale rat, I did a double take: shiny fur, clean noses, little white paws. They're almost cute. They're basically pets, fed from the shaken-off bird seed beneath the feeders in almost every yard. I didn't fear them, not like I did the ones that swarmed on trash day in Cleveland Circle. Clearly, I should have. One of them bit my husband. Just like the woman in the Fenway, we went to the hospital. The staff were quick and professional, if trying their best not to show their horror or bemusement. Me too. They were also surprised to learn where we lived: on a residential block in Roslindale, with no dumpsters, only a mile from the hospital in which we sat. 'Here?' one of them said. Yes, here. Advertisement My husband was given the largest penicillin pills I've ever seen, which he took multiple times a day for the next few days to prevent In between visits from hospital personnel, my husband filed a 'Rodent Activity' report in the Boston 311 app on his phone while I asked permission to tell friends and family. Guess where we are? Guess why? Within an hour and a half, we were back home, my husband's ankle was bandaged, and his prescription was waiting at the pharmacy. The next morning, two city employees, both of them something like rat catchers, called to get the full story and detailed location, and to let my husband know they were coming by our neighborhood that day. One of them explained through a thick Boston accent that his crew sometimes got bitten by rats whose nests were being cleaned out, but that an unprovoked bite was 'supah weahd,' which it was. Advertisement But maybe not? Maybe not anymore? Everything about that night was supah weahd, but it made me grateful. Thank God for Boston, where the rats bite, but there's good health care. Thank God for Boston, where the 311 alerts are monitored and not one, but two city officials promptly took action. Actually, three city officials: A week later, my husband got a call from someone in the public health department to see if he was Rat Bite Feverish. He wasn't. He's fine. For that matter, thank God for Massachusetts, which runs the Health Connector through which I buy our health insurance. For years, my husband and I have been adjunct instructors, unbenefited for the benefit of the university's bottom line. So it is far from a perfect world. The rats are biting, unprovoked. But I consider myself lucky to live in a place where public services are still for the benefit of the public. And what became of my husband's adversary? After the hospital, we drove by the scene of the crime. It was maybe midnight. The rat, formerly lying motionless on its side, was gone.
The Onion
13-08-2025
- The Onion
Disgusted God Puts Giant Overturned Glass Atop Humanity
THE HEAVENS—Moments after spotting hordes of the minuscule creatures skittering across the face of the earth, the Lord, Our Holy Father, reportedly became disgusted Thursday and placed a giant overturned glass atop humanity. Heavenly sources confirmed the Almighty cursed in surprise when He first spotted the massive swarm of human beings crawling through Creation, but He soon scrambled to overturn a 70-million-foot-tall drinking vessel and contain the planet's infestation, trapping the enormous mass of 8.1 billion squirming pests inside. 'Gross, gross, gross, they're getting all over the place!' said the visibly nauseated deity, who after a short search around His Kingdom retrieved a 10,000-mile-wide paper plate He could slide beneath the glass to ensure the scampering throngs didn't escape. 'Ugh, I hate the twitchy way they move. And the tiny hairs all over their bodies. Plus, they're always kind of moist. Totally creeps me out.' 'Seriously, I might puke just looking at them,' the Lord continued. According to witnesses, God discovered the human colony late at night after turning over a cloud in heaven's sanctum sanctorum to find billions of the creatures writhing on the planet below. Several reports confirmed that after trapping humanity, the Almighty Creator exhibited a wide range of coping responses that included wincing in stunned silence as He gazed at the humans from afar, audibly gagging at the sight of saliva dripping from their jaws, and even shouting 'Get out! get out!' at the tiny noncomprehending beings for over a minute. Though he momentarily regained His composure by taking some deep breaths, the Lord is said to have fallen into a fit of dry-heaving after He spotted several humans in Central Europe expelling bodily fluids as they copulated. After recovering once more, He was seen rolling up an ancient scroll and approaching the glass with the papyrus brandished in His Divine Hand. 'If I let them out they'll infest all of Creation—they breed like crazy,' said He Who Divided the Heavens and Earth, tapping on the side of the glass as several million inhabitants of the North American continent scurried helplessly away inside the cup. 'I used to think the ethical thing was to release them, but they always seem to find their way back to me. Then they get into my shit and start eating through everything in sight. Plus, they stink up the place.' Official records confirmed this is far from the first time the Eternal One has struggled with a human incursion. Once, as a younger deity, the Lord reportedly placed a pair in His garden, gave them fruits and herbs, and even named them, only to grow bored after several months. When He remembered them several years later, Our Heavenly Father was frustrated to discover an out-of-control population scuttling all over the globe. Since then, God is believed to have grown far more impatient with humanity's tendency to decimate forests, contaminate food supplies, and spread disease. A small number is enough to send Him stomping on the fleeing beings, and sources said on one occasion He leapt onto His Heavenly Throne and refused to get down until the Holy Ghost exterminated them. 'You can smite a few of these fuckers, but there will always be more on their way,' said the Almighty, grimacing as the appearance of His Eternal Face outside the glass sent huge quantities of the miniscule beings scattering for cover in South America. 'You can set them on fire, crush them, even throw them out into space—they always bounce back and start breeding like nothing happened. Maybe I'll just put a bunch of water in there and see if they drown.' 'Although, that's never worked before,' the Creator of All Things added. At press time, God was seen spraying a massive bottle of Axe Body Spray over the entirety of Creation in a final attempt to wipe out the human infestation once and for all.
