Posted by Bryan R Isaacson
October 5, 2026
"Here we are again, a bunch of old friends from the little town of St. John’s and one from Eagar. We meet every two weeks for breakfast at an IHOP in Mesa. Please join us but we can’t promise you won’t hear a few lies."
((Slideshow):
How to do a Humanitarian Project in Russia
Finding a Project
Opening Project
Initial Visit
Never promise!! We only say that we try, that the final decision is made from Moscow and/or Salt Lake City.
Try to impress upon them that we work on a limitged budget and that the money comeds from families all over the world. We cannot do everything.
We do not tell organizations what they need. They have to be caerful to llist their specific needs, prioritized. No action will be taken if they fail to give complete information (prices, required forms, and information.)
If we think the project is viable, we leave a packet with sample cpies of the documents for them to submit to us.
Required Documents Needed from Organization
Letter of Request (must have purple stamp)
Terms of Agreement (must have purple stamp)
Non-Profit Tax Form
Tax Registration with INN#
Letinsia (only from hospitals)
Invoices
Nakladnaya
Thank-you Letter
Project Checklist is helpful tracing receipt of these documents and other required ssteps to complete a project.
We try to make the visits professional, cordial and respectful.
When the Letter of Request is received, we have our translator translate the essential parts.
Submitting a project
Make sure to evaluate the requests to submit projects most deserving.
Things to consider
We should limit the number of projects done outside our area (2 hours or more away). If we visit an area that is a distance away, it is all right to visit several organizations; but we should select only one or two of these we consider the very best to submit. It is much better for the humanitarian couple to make the determination than relying on adminisgtrators in Moscow to do it!!
The key to a successful project submimssion is to be thorough. Make sure everything is well worded, complete, and accurate. Check and recheck the math! Remember to include how many beneficiaries there will be!
Remember projects about $5000 or less can be approved by one of the Aarea Presidency. DO NOT submit projects for over $15,000 unless asked specifically do do so.
When you make a request, please don't name the filw "Proect Request," because it will then replace other project requests on the computer!
Double-click to edit What happens next?
Please do not fill in the number on the form. The Country Director will assign a number for the project, (example: WE08RUS001), reviews it, and forwards it with a recommendation to the EEA Welfare Specialist or contacts the couple about concerns.
The EEA Welfare Specialist reviews the project and either forward it to th e Area Welfare Manager with a recommendation or asks Country Director about concerns.
The EEA Presidency reviews it and determines if it will be funded.
Sometimes sthe approval process takes longer than we think it will. If you haven't heard from the Country Director a week after hyou have submmitted the project, please ask about the project in an email.
If you know the request has made it to the EEA WElfare Specialist and you haven't heard anything after two weeks, you may inquire about it once. On rare occasions there are computer glitches and projects may have been approved but notification has not reached the couples. This is RARE.
Please be patient with the system.
After you receive approval for a project - * Moscow will send you a copy of your Project Request back with the signatures of the Area Presidency and others. Keep the copy. You will need to scan and send electronically and by courier the following documents . . .
Notify the organization of approval!!! Specify that they are to work through vendors and obtain invoices. The invoices must be correct. Have your translator check them. Then send scanned copies to the Country Director and send the original with the courier.
Documents Needed
Letter of Request must have original purple stamp.
Terms of Agreement must be signed and have purple stamp.
Tax Registration with INN number (can be a copy).
Certificate of State Regisgtration as a non-profit organization (can be a copy).
Correct invoice(s).
Remember to check for original stamps on the documents.
After you are notified the invoices have been paid, your translatorcoontacts the organization to determine if the items hae been delivered and installed. (It is perfectly alright to ask the status of payments a week after the invoices have been submitted.
Closing the Project.
Make an appointment to visit the facility to document the items are there and are being used. Local church leaders should be invitged to accompany you. (Remember ours is a worldwide church, not just an American church.)
Take pictures.
Get Nakladnayas for all the funds paid for the project. (The Nakladnays must equal the amount finance paid)
Get Thank-you Letter. Ask your translator to make sure the letter is addressed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
Scan the Nakladnaya(s) (proof of receipt) and Thank-you Letter. Send a copy of each to Moscow by email.
Celebrate with the organization! This varies from place to place.
Write up and submit the Final Report (email it to the Country Director).
Make Historical Document and email a copy to the Country Director and to Vlad Necheprov.
You are finished with the project!
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"Love is being interested in their lives, their successes, and their challenges.
"Love is being there with arms outstretched and a cheerful countenance.
"Love is lifting with faith and hope in our Lord and Savior.
"Love relies upon the calming influence of the Holy Ghost."
—Elder Ronald A. Rasband (@ronaldarasband)
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"Let us put compassion into action and minister to the person in front of us. It's what Jesus did. And 'it's what we do.'" - President Timothy L. Farnes
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"We make the covenant during sacred time with God every Sunday. An essential way we keep the covenant is by ministering to God's children every day." - Pesident Timothy L. Farnes
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"His life should be reflected in ours. It means that when someone encounters us, they should experience something of Jesus Christ -- His kindness, His patience, His hope, His love, His compassion." - President Timothy L. Farnes
When Dieter F. Uchtdorf was a young boy, he delivered laundry on his bicycle for his family's business.
David A. Bednar was a quarterback on his high school team.
Quentin L. Cook's great-great-grandpa was an ASpostle named Heber C. Kimball, who served with Joseph Smith.
Growing up, Neil L. Andersen rode a horse to herd cattle on his family's dairy farm.
When he was 12, Ronald A. Rasband had a job driving a tractor that picked up golf balls!
Before becoming an Apostle, Gary E. Stevenson helped start an exercise equipment company.
Elder Dale G. Renlund received his testimony of the Book of Mormon while praying when he was 11 years old in Goteborg, Sweden.
Gerrit W. Gong has been all over the world, including Antarctica! He liked seeing the penguins.
Ulisses Soares's family first attended church above a bakery. He loved going to church and smelling fresh-baked bread.
Patrick Kearon lived in the Arabian Peninsula. Once, he got stung by a scorpion!
Gerald Causse - when he was just six months old, his parents were baptized into the Church in a collapsible swimming pool in France.
Clark G. Gilbert - before becoming an Apostle, Elder Gilbert helped start BYU-Pathway Worldwide, which helps people throughout the world meet their education goals.
General Conference
196th Semiannual General Conference
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Saturday Session, October 3, 2026
Saturday, October. 3, 2026 - Morning Session
Sister Tamara W. Runia, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, spoke during the Saturday morning session.
"The Sculpting of Our Souls"
Notable Quotes:
“God’s love has moved me from questions that begin with ‘why’ to reflections that begin, ‘I know that God loves me, so what is supposed to be happening here?’”
“Consider this: Christ’s work in your life and His love for you are bigger than your present story. And He can fix what feels badly broken.”
“With an earned conviction, I witness that this, all of this, is the true and only way we could grow and progress and become like our heavenly parents and Savior.”
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“Make no mistake — you are doing the most important work you could be doing.”
“To all the rising generation of the Church, I invite you to place serving a full-time mission high on your list.”
“There is still plenty of room and a special place reserved for each of you. We need you. ‘Come join the ranks.’”
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“Remember that trials may come, yet, as we worship in the temple and remember our covenants, we receive personal direction from the Lord that will guide us along the covenant path.”
“I invite you to always remember scriptures, prayers, sacrament and covenants. While they may seem small and simple, they are truly the armor of God.”
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President Timothy L. Farnes, Young Men General President: Ministering to Others with Compassion.
“As covenant followers of Jesus Christ, we minister with compassion to whomever God places in our path. We do it because that’s what the Savior did. And we’ve made a covenant to follow Him.”
“Let us pray every day for eyes to see the divine appointments God places before us. Let us put compassion into action and minister to the person in front of us. It’s what Jesus did.”
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Elder Hutch U. Fale, a General Authority Seventy
How knowing and understanding Heavenly Father’s love can provide power, peace and comfort.
“Understanding our Father’s love and our true identity as His children is essential for our daily and eternal happiness. It prevents deception and gives purpose to this mortal life.”
“From the prodigal son to leaving the 99 sheep to find the one, our Father’s message, through His Son, has always been that there is still yet time, if we turn to Christ today.”
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Elder Jeremiah J. Morgan: "The Infinite Power of God in Our Covenants" - General Authority Seventy
As a member of a different church that also believes in the Book of Mormon and the prophetic mission of Joseph Smith, “my mother read to me — out loud — from the Book of Mormon. She did this every day, whether I was listening or not.”
“The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the greatest promise God made — that Jesus Christ would be our Savior and Redeemer.”
“No time or effort is ever wasted in reading the Book of Mormon. Not for you, not for your children, not for your family, not for anyone.”
“Covenants with God are filled with incalculable power.”
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Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Spoke about loving those who have left the gospel path.
But by divine design, each person must choose for themselves to follow Jesus Christ. “I ask you to turn over to Jesus Christ your despair for those wayward souls. We cannot change their hearts, but He can; He is a God of miracles.”
“Love is not stepping back or sanctioning others’ decisions and actions. Love is being interested in their lives, their successes and their challenges. Love is being there with arms outstretched and a cheerful countenance. Love is lifting with faith and hope in our Lord and Savior.”
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The Sculpting of Our Souls - Sister Tamara W. Runia
Saturday Session, Oct. 3, 2026 - Sister Runia
Three quotes from Sister Runia's talk:
"So, the gospel felt like a big umbrella I could hold over my head to keep the rain from falling on me. But I've learned, from experience, that we're all going to get rained on. And sometimes we're going to get pelted!"
"God is shaping us into something only He knows we can become."
"And someday, when all the suffering and loneliness have ended, and the pain is gone, we'll be able to step back and look into the mirror of our own soul. Then we will "stand all amazed" and fall at the Savior's feet and thank Him - we will thank Him for all of it. The molding. The shaping. The pain and the adversity that have helped us become more like Him."
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“God’s love has moved me from questions that begin with ‘why’ to reflections that begin, ‘I know that God loves me, so what is supposed to be happening here?’”
“Consider this: Christ’s work in your life and His love for you are bigger than your present story. And He can fix what feels badly broken.”
“With an earned conviction, I witness that this, all of this, is the true and only way we could grow and progress and become like our heavenly parents and Savior.”
