People in Utah have started asking us an important question, when you build these power facilities for AI data centers, can some of that energy be sold back into the local grid? The answer is yes. That completely changes the conversation. Instead of being seen as “the evil data center guys,” we can help power Utah’s grid while also building critical AI infrastructure for the future. And despite the headlines, we’re not building the world’s largest data center overnight. We’re starting with just 1.5 gigawatts with 1 gigawatt of net IT load a small fraction of the long-term proposal and proving the model first. And it’s not a 40,000 acre data center. Our project a full build out will span 10-13k acres 7,500 of which will be preserved. We want the people of Box Elder County to come see it themselves, the EPA air quality standards, the water permits, the noise compliance, and how the project actually operates before anything scales further.
Today we honor mothers and women of all ages and circumstances.
When I think of those who have helped make me who I am, I think first of my sweet and selfless eternal companion, Melanie.
Through the years, she has helped mold me like potter’s clay into a more polished disciple of Jesus Christ. She knows when to draw me back, slow me down, and get it right. In large measure, it’s her spiritual influence that has led to everything that I’ve done spiritually. She’s kept me spiritually grounded.
Women of faith have profound influence upon families and the world. Please know you are cherished and loved. I sustain you on this day and every day.
This Mother’s Day, I express heartfelt gratitude to the women who love with Christlike charity, who strengthen faith, and who build the rising generation with hope and tenderness. You are the heart of the Lord’s work.
I saw this love in my beloved wife, Kathleen. She displayed the Savior’s love through her compassion, her faithfulness, and her service. She embraced the sacred role of a mothering influence not only for our children, but for more than a hundred members of our direct family and for many hundreds more whom she welcomed into her motherly heart.
While I do not fully know all the Lord’s purposes in giving the primary responsibility for nurturing to faithful sisters, I believe it is because of their capacity to love. To love in such a way that the needs of others are felt more deeply than their own—that is charity. That is the pure love of Christ.
Today, my counselors in the First Presidency and I were grateful for the opportunity to visit the Salt Lake Temple, which has been undergoing a significant renovation since 2020.
We look forward to welcoming people from throughout the world during the Salt Lake Temple Celebration and open house, to be held from April through October 2027.
Above all, we look forward to teaching about the sacred purposes of temples throughout the world. In the temple, faithful men and women receive divine instruction, sacred responsibilities, and spiritual power.
It is in the temple that eternal covenants are made that bind us and our families to our Heavenly Father and to one another for eternity.
We've always known that Generation X is a unique breed. Listen to this guy explain it perfectly—it all makes complete sense.
We now live in a world that feels completely foreign compared to the way we were raised.
@DougKass@DougKasss I was thinking of this quote today before I say yours! I learned it from one of your posts several years ago and it made an impression on me. What a coincidence to see io again!
Utah’s Tax Revolt Is Brewing | Salt Lake County’s 20% Hike Is the Final Straw
Last night, news broke that Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson intends to propose a 19.6% property tax increase; nearly $49 million in new revenue pulled straight from the pockets of Utahns who are already barely holding on.
Wilson says the hike is needed to cover “inflationary pressures,” fund county operations, and pay for “essential services” like the jail, the DA’s office, and state-mandated programs. But let’s call this what it is: another burden placed on working families at the worst possible time.
Salt Lake County’s move isn’t unique, it’s part of a state-wide pattern. Counties and cities all across Utah have approved or proposed massive hikes over the past year. Utah County raised its general fund tax by nearly 48%. Box Elder, Cache, Davis, and Weber counties have each greenlit double-digit increases. Even small towns like Wellington and Gunnison are slamming homeowners with tax hikes north of 70%.
The political class says they have “no choice.” They cite inflation, growth, and unfunded mandates from the state. But they never talk about the other side of the equation; the spending side. Utah’s state budget has more than doubled since 2000, even after adjusting for inflation. Meanwhile, Utahns’ wages have not.
And let’s remember how we got here.
Before 2019, Utah was one of the most affordable and stable places to live in America. Then came the pandemic. With the rise of remote work, thousands of high-earning Californians moved here, inflating housing costs beyond what locals could ever match. The taxable value of Utah homes tripled in a decade (from $126 billion to $375 billion) but the number of homes only grew by about 20%.
That explosion in value shifted Utah’s entire property tax burden onto homeowners. Add to that the Legislature’s ill-timed 2018 “basic levy” freeze, which stopped tax rates from adjusting downward as property values surged, and you’ve got a perfect storm.
Now, Salt Lake County and dozens of other jurisdictions are capitalizing on that “perfect storm” to take even more from the people who built this state.
And as if housing pressures from out-of-staters weren’t enough, Utah’s lax policies toward illegal migration have only increased demand on housing and public services; driving prices higher while stretching budgets thinner. Local families who’ve been here for generations now find themselves priced out of the homes they grew up in, paying more taxes to fund a system that seems to be working against them.
Mayor Wilson and other county executives say their hands are tied. But they’re not. They could tighten their own belts, prioritize essential services, and stop bonding us into oblivion for convention centers and government campuses. Instead, they choose the easy route: raise taxes, blame inflation, and call it “responsible governance.”
Utahns are tapped out. We’ve weathered a pandemic, runaway housing inflation, and national economic decline. And now we’re being told we must pay more to live in our own homes.
It’s time to stop accepting this as normal. Every tax increase should be met with fierce opposition until the political class learns that Utah families are not their personal ATM.
In 2026, voters have the power to make that message clear. It’s time to send new leaders to every level of government. And leaders who will stop balancing budgets on the backs of working Utahns and start restoring fiscal sanity, accountability, and respect for the people who built Zion.
Today is the birthday of my wonderful wife, Kristen. How I love her and how grateful I am for our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness for our families. Our relationship to God and the purpose of our mortal life are explained in terms of the family.
@GrandpaJoeSux I’ve been teaching in Church almost 50 years. It is my experience that the best lessons are the ones that get students involved discussing their experiences with the lesson material, and may begin with sharing one’s own story to stimulate thought.
Recap of the Saturday Evening session of General Conference, which featured a multi-cultural choir singing an epic Tongan hymn.
Livestream Sunday night with @InformedSaints for the full conference breakdown.
Here’s the simple reason the government is shut down:
1️⃣ House Republicans passed a CLEAN CR over 2 weeks ago to keep the government open and continue our work for the AMERICAN PEOPLE.
2️⃣ Senate Democrats blocked it to give illegal aliens free healthcare and protect themselves from their radical base.
That’s it.
Most liberal media outlets chose not to air the Q&A portion of our press conference today. THEY HATED MY ANSWERS — because the simple truth is a powerful thing. See for yourself.