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Donny Osmond is notable for dozens of reasons, but one is his willingness to share his testimony of Jesus Christ, which he has done throughout his 63-year career as a world-famous singer.
He openly spoke about his beliefs in the opening session of the 2025 BYU Women’s Conference last week in remarkable ways, even sharing for the first time publicly some pieces of his patriarchal blessing. He did it all in the same robe he wore for 2,000 performances of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and sang “Any Dream Will Do” to the delight of all of the 8,254 people at the Marriott Center.
Osmond did all that to amplify a message about Joseph given by his boyhood friend, Brother Brad Wilcox of the Young Men general presidency.
One of the things that stood out but did not make it into my coverage that night was an answer he gave when Brother Wilcox asked him what he’d learned about trusting God from playing Joseph again and again. Osmond talked about the way his mother, Olive Osmond, raised her nine children.
“My mother taught all nine of us to not just read the scriptures, but love the scriptures and memorize the scriptures,” Donny Osmond said. “The first scripture I ever memorized — I must have been 7 — was Proverbs 3:5-6 — ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.’"
The noteworthy fact that Osmond has been willing to share this testimony throughout his performing life was still bouncing around in my head two nights later, when Elder Quentin L. Cook stood up at the Marriott Center to give the final remarks of Women’s Conference.
“Clearly, a dividing line between those who hear the music of faith and those who are tone deaf or off key is the active study of the scriptures,” Elder Cook said. “Regardless of the challenges you face, do not become discouraged.”
It was an unmistakable through line from one talk to another.
Elder Cook also made a comment about a specific scripture that was noteworthy.
“The message, ministry and Atonement of Jesus Christ our Savior is our essential curriculum,” he said. “No scripture characterizes our faith better than 2 Nephi 25:26:
“‘And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.’”
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About the church
Elder David A. Bednar took to social media to teach how one can receive Spirit by the "prayer of faith."
Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson told young adults to prepare for Christ’s second coming through righteous stewardship.
A church leader participated at the White House event for the National Day of Prayer.
The open house for the Syracuse Utah Temple begins Saturday and runs through May 31. The dedication is scheduled for June 8. On Wednesday, the church released the first images from inside the temple.
The First Presidency released an exterior rendering for the Colorado Springs Colorado Temple.
The church provided humanitarian relief after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar.
What I’m reading
If you love defense in any sport, but especially in basketball, this interesting story is a must-read.
I honestly picked up this pitcher for a fantasy baseball team and only afterward learned from this story that he is a BYU alum and a Latter-day Saint.
Many of you have carried a child on your shoulders. Some of you have caught a foul ball at a baseball game. How many of you have caught a foul ball at a game while the child on your shoulders is covering your eyes?
If you love stories about team building, this is a piece for you (paywall).
Behind the Scenes
Elder Cook shared an illustration of the covenant path in several slides during his Women’s Conference talk. The illustration mixed some of the basic waystations on the path with Elder Cook’s message that the spiritual conditions necessary to proceed along the pathway all relate to the heart.
“The gateway to this path starts with the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel: first, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, repentance; third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost,” he said.
“We continue on the covenant pathway with the sacred saving and exalting ordinances of the temple and endure to the end.”
The illustration added in stages of change or conditions of the heart.
“If we place hearts on the covenant pathway, a changed heart goes with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the beginnings of repentance,” Elder Cook said. “I love the description ‘a mighty change of heart.’ Repentance is also accompanied by a broken heart, coupled with a contrite spirit and is a requirement for baptism.
“A healed heart is most often present when one understands that the atonement of Jesus Christ overcomes the unfairness of life and the poor decisions of those who exercise agency in a way that inflicts harm on us.
“A turned heart is what happened to the Prophet Lehi when he tasted of the fruit of the gospel and immediately desired to share it with his family. A turned heart elevates us from thinking about ourselves and focuses us on the Savior, others and particularly our own family.
“Hearts full of love, gratitude, joy and peace are the righteous rewards of staying on the covenant pathway and enduring to the end.”
