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Mary Richards

Mary Richards is a reporter for the Church News. Before that, she was a morning reporter/anchor for KSL NewsRadio in Salt Lake City. She graduated from BYU with a degree in journalism, and she and her husband have five children. Email her at mrichards@deseretnews.com.

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Leaders & Ministry
‘Beloved fellow missionaries’: What Apostles and others have said in MTC devotionals over the last 6 months
Church leaders share love and counsel for missionaries who are training to fulfill their assignments around the world.
Following the Church's announcement of a new activity program for children and youth in January 2020
Living Faith
Youth encouraged to use JustServe as part of Global Youth Service Day
Youth who have JustServe in their area can register to use the platform in April and beyond. Others are encouraged to serve around their communities for Global Youth Service Day.
Sisters Michelle D. Craig, J. Anette Dennis and Amy A. Wright visit the Puebla Mexico Temple
Leaders & Ministry
Primary, Young Women and Relief Society leaders minister in Mexico
Sister Michelle D. Craig, Sister Amy A. Wright, and Sister J. Anette Dennis visited children, youth and women in Puebla.
A young man holds his head in his hands.
Living Faith
‘No need for confusion’ on pornography’s harms
Relationships are hurting because of pornography use, regardless of religiosity, gender, or type and frequency.
Leaders and young adults from the Praia Cape Verde Stake stand with directors of the Central Da Praia jail
Global
Youth and young adults in Cape Verde pack hygiene kits for inmates
Volunteers donated 1,300 kits, continuing the Praia Cape Verde Stake’s ministry to Central da Praia jail.
Students use new hand washing facilities at their school in Qubodiyon, Tajikistan, as part of a project between the Church and Caritas Tajikistan
Global
Church works to provide clean water in Tajikistan
The Church is helping fund a two-year project in rural Tajikistan, working with Catholic relief agency Caritas.
The Covher family is pictured outside a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in Natchitoches, Louisiana, in 2021. They joined the Church after learning from the Temporal Preparedness Guide.
Members
How the principle of preparedness helped one family find peace
Being prepared both temporally and spiritually helps people face different kinds of disasters.
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Living Faith
2022 report: Church expenditures total more than $1 billion for those in need
Members participated in 6.3 million hours of volunteer work and 3,692 humanitarian projects in 190 countries and territories.
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Living Faith
See how many donations were made at the 2022 Light the World Giving Machines
Almost a half-million people donated at Giving Machines locations around the world.
Sister Svetlana Samigullina, Latvian District Primary president, center, visits with Sister Tracy Y. Browning and Sister Rebecca L. Craven in Riga, Latvia, on March 7, 2023.
Leaders & Ministry
Sister Browning and Sister Craven finish Christ-focused outreach in 4 nations
While ministering in Cape Verde, Latvia, Lithuania and England, Sister Tracy Y. Browning and Sister Rebecca L. Craven invited all to come unto Christ.
Illinois Historic Sites missionaries reenact the March 1842 founding meeting of the Relief Society in Nauvoo, Illinois, in March 2023.
Living Faith
See photos of the Relief Society over 181 years
The Relief Society was organized March 17, 1842.
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Leaders & Ministry
On 181st birthday, Relief Society general presidency invites women to reflect
“In what ways has your life been blessed by being a part of this worldwide sisterhood?” asks President Johnson.
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Global
5 donations in Brazil help children, patients and flood survivors
Church members and leaders in Brazil helped make the donations in several cities.
Women exit the Marriott Center as they head to their classes for the 2019 BYU Women’s Conference on May 2, 2019.
Members
BYU Women’s Conference announces 2023 keynote presenters
The Relief Society general presidency, Sheri Dew and Irene Caso will be keynote speakers for the May event.
Sister Michelle D. Craig speaks to Ensign College students at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square, March 14, 2023. Behind her is a video of Tabernacle Choir organist Richard Elliott’s intricate footwork while playing, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” on the organ.
Leaders & Ministry
Trust in Jesus Christ to ‘win the wait’
Sister Craig told Ensign College students that waiting is a time to grow faith.
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Members
Friend to Friend teaches ‘We Are God’s Children’
The first Friend to Friend event of 2023 featured videos, music and messages about divine identity.
Church leaders and government leaders in different countries in Africa at official donation events in January, February and March 2023.
Global
5 recent donations from the Church to hospitals, schools in Africa
Wheelchairs, medical equipment, school furniture and other donations were made in Ghana, Uganda, Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Leaders & Ministry
Today is President Bonnie H. Cordon’s birthday. Here are 9 of her quotes from the past year
Born March 11, 1964, President Cordon has served as Young Women general president since April 2018
Members of the Mesa Arizona Kimball East Stake and their neighbors show heart signs with their hands after packing up thousands of items to send to Pakistan for flood victims
Living Faith
JustServe project sends relief to Pakistan flood victims
Church members and their neighbors around Mesa, Arizona, gathered thousands of items in a JustServe project for Pakistan.
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Living Faith
BYU study: Pornography use at any level harms romantic relationships
“The fact remains that relationship stability is weakened by pornography usage for both men and women,” said BYU’s Dr. Brian Willoughby.
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Members
Youth worldwide invited to contribute creative works to upcoming Youth Music and Arts Festival
Youth of all faiths can submit original expressions of how Jesus Christ is their strength.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles holds a portrait of himself holding a copy of the Book of Mormon in Accra, Ghana, on Feb. 19, 2023.
Leaders & Ministry
Elder Christofferson testifies of Christ in Ghana
During meetings in Accra, Elder Christofferson spoke of the two great commandments and having an eternal perspective.
Melissa Corkum, senior manager for polio outbreak response with UNICEF, holds a baby with other women and children in the background.
Global
How female vaccinators are making a difference in the fight against polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Women enter homes where men cannot, build community trust and work with parents to encourage immunizations. The Church and UNICEF are working alongside others in these efforts.
Tents fill the area near new wooden houses at a refugee and migrant shelter run by Senda de Vida, in Reynosa, Mexico
Global
Why the Church donated wooden houses and water systems in Mexico
The two water purification systems and 30 wooden houses will help migrant shelters in northern Mexico.
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Living Faith
BYU study finds missions make positive impact on women’s educational and career outcomes
BYU researchers found that female students who served missions were more likely to discover strengths and make informed career decisions.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson, right, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, greets a young boy at the Centennial Pavilion in Monrovia, Liberia, Feb. 23, 2023.
Leaders & Ministry
What missionaries and members in Liberia learned from Elder Christofferson
While in Monrovia, Liberia, Elder Christofferson spoke about covenants, the Book of Mormon and the missionary purpose.
Photographer Me Ra Koh speaks at RootsTech at the Salt Palace Convention center in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 3, 2023. Behind her is one of her photographs showing someone who has demonstrated resilience.
Global
‘Shadows define the light’: Photographer Me Ra Koh tells RootsTech audience to embrace their whole story
Discovering resiliency allows people to choose their own narrative for their family history, Me Ra Koh shared at RootsTech.
People attend the 2023 RootsTech conference at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
Global
RootsTech class showcases what’s new and available to family history
Industry leaders came from around the world to showcase their products and innovations at RootsTech 2023.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear speaks to the Latter-day Saint delegation in the rotunda of the state capitol building, Frankfurt, Kentucky, Feb. 16, 2023.
Living Faith
Latter-day Saints meet with Kentucky legislators, governor at state capitol
Members of the Church met with Kentucky’s governor and Kentucky General Assembly after responding to several natural disasters in the state.
A woman collects donated supplies, including a large bundle that she is balancing on her head and holding a yellow container. Other yellow containers are in the background.
Global
Church helps give aid to refugees in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Funding from the Church helps Catholic Relief Services and Caritas support thousands of displaced people — primarily women and girls — in war-torn province of North Kivu