Latest from Mormon Land: Newest apostle is a Son — and a sun — worshipper

The Mormon Land newsletter is The Salt Lake Tribune’s weekly highlight reel of news in and about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Join us on Patreon to receive ad-free podcast episodes, the full newsletter and access to all of our religion content.

Here comes the sun

You can count newly ordained apostle Gérald Caussé as a true believer in the power of the Son (of God) and the sun (in the sky).

At Brigham Young University last week, in one of his first public appearances as an apostle, the Frenchman not only testified that “God and His Son, Jesus Christ, live and love us perfectly” but also that solar power is a viable and vital source of renewable energy.

He pointed out that the global church:

• Equips more than 800 facilities in 45 nations with on-site solar power.

• Plans to build at least 100 more solar projects.

• Soon will finish a microgrid that powers BYU–Hawaii’s campus, the nearby Laie Temple and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

• Taps solar energy so meetinghouses can be used throughout the week as virtual classrooms, including for the tens of thousands of students enrolled in BYU-Pathway Worldwide.

• Helped build five solar-powered desalination plants in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati that provide sustainable water systems for thousands of residents. Ten more plants are planned.

• Donates solar reading lamps to children and solar batteries that can run small kitchen appliances or laptops.

“Our Heavenly Father has entrusted his children with stewardship over his creations — a sacred duty to care for them so that every element of this world might fulfill the measure of its creation and contribute to the glorious work of humanity’s salvation and exaltation,” Caussé said in a provided transcript of his speech. “Preserving and caring for God’s creations is far more than a civic duty or a political responsibility. It is, at its heart, an expression of love for our Creator and a reflection of our sincere gratitude to him.”

Gains in former Soviet republics

In the above photo, check out the church’s first chapel in Azerbaijan, a country of 10.4 million people at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.

No steeple. No gym. Definitely not your typical meetinghouse in Provo or Payson.

Apostle David Bednar dedicated the building in Baku, the capital, on Nov. 13, marking a historic milestone for the Utah-based faith.

“We are honored and delighted to be here and formally recognized,” Bednar said in a news release, “and to be able to dedicate this facility where we will meet and worship.”

Earlier in the day, the visiting apostle met with Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev.

Bednar also discussed humanitarian efforts last week in an audience with Uzbekistan’s president, Shavkat Mirziyoye.

“When people of faith and goodwill work together to bless others,” Bednar said on social media, “hearts are softened and lives are changed.”

The church has never published its membership numbers for Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, but independent researcher Matt Martinich estimated fewer than 100 Latter-day Saints live in each country.

Martinich, who tracks church data developments at ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com, also lauded both moves as significant strides toward greater faith diversity in two former Soviet Union republics with, according to the U.S. State Department, mixed records on religious freedom.

The latest ‘Mormon Land’ podcast: When the prophet speaks …

How much sway do top church leaders hold over members’ views on public policy issues? Is that clout growing or waning?

Listen to the podcast.

Disaster aid

• The church opened more than 240 meetinghouses as temporary shelters after twin typhoons struck the Philippines earlier this month.

According to a news release, Latter-day Saints also provided food, drinking water, clothing, bedding, utility services and other essentials to nearly 50,000 people.

• Meanwhile, dozens of Latter-day Saints prepared and distributed more than 1,000 emergency packages — containing nonperishable food, bottled water and hygiene items — to Jamaicans in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.

Many of the volunteers, a news release noted, saw their own homes damaged or destroyed in the storm.

Salt Lake Temple update

• New chandeliers adorn the sealing rooms in the north addition of the Salt Lake Temple, while recently restored original chandeliers have been returned to the majestic Assembly Room.

See the latest updates and photos of the massive renovation project.

From The Tribune

• Which place is the “powerhouse” of church growth? Hint: It’s not Utah. For that answer and more about the 55 new missions coming next year, listen to last week’s “Mormon Land” podcast.

• He went on “60 Minutes” to defend the church’s finances. Now he is in charge of them. Meet the new presiding bishop and his two counselors.

• The church’s chief stock portfolio soared to another record high and is now worth twice as much as it was during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• To celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday next year, the church is sending 250 semitrucks, each loaded with 20 tons of food, to 250 food banks across all 50 states.

• Members need not be embarrassed about the rush to buy new sleeveless garments, argues Tribune guest columnist Rebbie Brassfield. Rather, they should view “White Tuesday” as a red-letter day for the faithful.

• A Utah couple’s “breathtaking” biblical art is wowing visitors to the St. George Temple.

• An ESPN reporter fumbles his out-of-bounds joke about church founder Joseph Smith and ends up apologizing.

• Warning of Cold War-like “shadows on the horizon,” apostle Dieter Uchtdorf urges all to work for peace.

• “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” misses the mark on much of Latter-day Saint life, but it’s not, writes Religion News Service columnist Jana Riess, totally off target.

• For her part, Tribune culture reporter Palak Jayswal insists the show is deeper than the question of who is — and isn’t — a “good” Latter-day Saint.

• A church restaurant with unrivaled views of the iconic Salt Lake Temple reopens.