Elder Andersen in Oaxaca. On Sunday, Nov. 1, Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles posted on X (@AndersenNeilL) with a video from the Panteón General de Oaxaca: "Each year at the Panteón General de Oaxaca in Mexico, families gather to remember loved ones during Día de Muertos—the Day of the Dead. I was grateful to visit this cemetery and witness for myself the meaningful traditions and beautiful celebration of family history that take place here." He added: "The restored gospel of Jesus Christ teaches a glorious truth: family relationships are meant to continue beyond our mortal lives. Because of the atoning sacrifice and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we continue to live beyond the veil as we unite with those we love."
In the video, recorded Oct. 14 for the Mexico Area's "Merecen ser recordados" ("They deserve to be remembered") initiative, he said, "There is something deeply sacred about remembering," and invited members to remember loved ones by finding an ancestor and taking his or her name to the temple (Church News; Deseret News).
A river from the temple. This week's "Come, Follow Me" study covers Ezekiel 1–3, 33–34, 36–37 and 47 (Church News). In chapter 47, Ezekiel sees water flowing out of the temple, growing into a river that heals the land: "every thing shall live whither the river cometh" (Ezekiel 47:9). Also in Mexico, Elder Dale G. Renlund, who taught on that verse in 2018, dedicated the San Luis Potosí Mexico Temple on Sunday. "It is about the people," he said. "It is about the Saints who have prayed to have this temple here" (Church News).
Kansas has its first temple. As the fog lifted Sunday, Elder Patrick Kearon dedicated the Wichita Kansas Temple, the first in the state. "I know this moment represents countless prayers and the devoted, faithful efforts of so many," he said. Teen siblings from Rose Hill used to travel nearly three hours to Oklahoma City: "I just love that it's closer so that we can come more" (Church News).
A first for the Holy War. For the first time ever, BYU and Utah will meet as two top-10 teams: the Cougars rose to No. 7 and the Utes to No. 3 in Sunday's AP poll. Kickoff is 10 a.m. MST Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium on ABC (Deseret News).
Six new stakes. The Church announced new stakes in Haiti, Ghana, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming, including the Artibonite Haiti and Kpong Ghana stakes, both created from former districts, plus 11 reorganized stake presidencies (Church News).
"The river renewed everything that it touched. The blessings of the temple likewise have a stunning capacity to heal. Temple blessings can heal hearts and lives and families."
— Elder Dale G. Renlund, "Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing," April 2018 general conference
Nov. 2, 1838: The morning after a militia court ordered his execution, Joseph Smith was marched under guard to his Far West home. Guards refused the family a private goodbye, and five-year-old Joseph sobbed, "Why can't you stay with us?" At the prisoners' wagon, Lucy Mack Smith reached his hand under the canvas: "Joseph, I cannot bear to go till I hear your voice." He answered, "God bless you, Mother," as the wagon rolled away (Saints, vol. 1, ch. 31).
Ezekiel was told to write on one stick "For Judah" and on another "For Joseph," and to "join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand" (Ezekiel 37:16–17). Latter-day Saints read this as the Bible and the Book of Mormon. President Russell M. Nelson taught that Saints in many nations now "gratefully hold the Bible (the stick of Judah) and the Book of Mormon (the stick of Ephraim) bound as one in their hands" ("Scriptural Witnesses," October 2007).
Reflect: Which verse from the Bible and which from the Book of Mormon would you put side by side this week?
The temple many Wichita families traveled to before Sunday. President James E. Faust dedicated it on July 30, 2000, and after a major renovation President Henry B. Eyring rededicated it on May 19, 2019, saying, "Don't forget that our ancestors are real" (official temple page, Church Newsroom).
Yesterday's answer: Manti Utah Temple. When Earl McIntyre moved to Wichita in 1978, his temple was nearly a thousand miles west in Manti, Utah (Church News).
Today’s question: According to President D. Todd Christofferson, how old was Ezekiel when he was carried captive to Babylon in 597 BC?
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Which part of Ezekiel are you most excited to study this week?
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