By Shannon McAdam, Council of Twelve Apostles

The temple shall be dedicated to the pursuit of peace. It shall be for reconciliation and for healing of the spirit.

My 2025 began with a series of meetings of small groups of Canadian church members talking about what they’d like to see in their new, united Canada Mission Centre. Most members of these groups had never met each other before and were not just sharing their hopes but sharing their lives. I saw God’s New Community being birthed in their curious, kind, and open conversations.

It has been difficult at times to discover what I have to offer as an apostle to the USA, but I have been encouraged so many times by the team of USA apostles and field support ministers, that I’m starting to see that I do have an important perspective to share. And just this past week I got to participate in a delightfully hopeful conversation between mission center leaders in the USA who are working at joining three mission centers by having their youth, who have been sharing in camps, be the ones to lead the way. God’s New Community is being born there, with the young people as the midwives.

You might have heard the story of a baptism in the cold Irish Sea on a windy October day. You might not have known that Lach and I argued on the shore about which one of us would run in to rescue Andrew Bolton if anything went awry! You also might not know that that newly baptized member is now part of the Western Europe’s Community Circle congregation and is already planning a retreat in Ireland for other spiritual seekers like himself. God’s New Community is being birthed in Ireland, and our message of peace and wide welcome is the catalyst.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t share the story of six women from five different countries who stayed at the Rising Wave Inn during the Philippines resource summit. We shared our instant coffee packets, knocked on each other’s doors to make sure we got up in time for the Jeepney, pointed out the giant spiders, and watched the sun rise over rice fields. Where else would women from Norway, Canada, Nepal, the USA, and India share laughter, hugs, and sisterhood than in God’s New Community? Surely something was birthed in our sharing.

But perhaps the story of the past year where I see God’s New Community being birthed most clearly is the story of my own heart. My heart that keeps breaking because it is too small, and mending itself bigger, over and over to make room for new languages, new people, new ideas, and new challenges. Like most births this process has been marked by both joy and pain, pain which is eased and joy that is amplified when I’m accompanied by others.

Prayer Phrase

“a new community…is being born” (Doctrine and Covenants 164:5).

Spiritual Community

Meditate on a time when you experienced true belonging—a moment when someone welcomed you, listened to you, encouraged you, or reminded you that you were not walking the journey of faith alone. Prayerfully consider the qualities that help build a Christ-centered community: hospitality, compassion, forgiveness, patience, courage, joy, and a willingness to walk alongside one another. Offer a prayer of gratitude for the communities that have shaped you and a prayer of commitment to help create spaces where all people can experience the love, peace, and presence of Christ.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.