2020′s ups and downs
(File photo courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Latter-day Saints in the Democratic Republic of Congo celebrate their temple in the capital of Kinshasa.
The plus side includes:
• The announcement of 14 new Latter-day Saint temples, including the first such edifices in the United Arab Emirates (also the first in the Middle East), mainland China, Kiribati and Vanuatu. Utah, meanwhile, will be gaining a 24th and 25th temple, in Syracuse and Lindon. Church President Russell M. Nelson has announced 49 temples since taking the faith’s helm in January 2018.
• Major advances in the translation of scriptures and other materials, including plans in 2021 to publish churchwide magazines for adults (the Liahona), teens (For the Strength of Youth) and younger children (the Friend) in scores of languages.
Three other missionaries injured, including two from the Beehive State.
(Courtesy photo)
Jake Smith, a 19-year-old Latter-day Saint missionary from Lehi was killed in an automobile accident in Arkansas on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2021.
| Jan. 8, 2021, 6:29 p.m.
A 19-year-old Utahn died Thursday after a car accident while serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arkansas.
Jake Smith, who had been in the Little Rock Mission since August 2019, was “a bright, happy, cheerful young man,” Bryan Atwood, the man’s LDS stake (regional) president in Lehi, said Friday. “He was the life of the party and a great storyteller.”