Experiment upon the Words of God

As we implement the commandments in our lives, we can understand the blessings God promises to the obedient. As a chemist, my dad tests hypotheses about compounds to better understand how they react with one another. He doesn’t know the outcome of an experiment until he completes the procedures. Just...

Witnessing the Power of Community Care

The Lord has blessed us with friends and neighbors to strengthen us when the floods of life—literal or metaphorical—threaten to overwhelm us. I’d never truly understood the destructive power of water until I witnessed it submerge my hometown under seven feet of water. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey overtook many homes...

Building Healthy Community through a Gospel of Beauty

Building a healthy community may mean asking for help—Minerva Teichert did just that, helping her paint a gospel of beauty through her art. Building a healthy community means supporting one another, but it begins by having the courage to ask for help. In Laura Paulsen Howe’s article “I Have Dreamed...

How to Slow Down and Savor the Scriptures

Is speed-reading the scriptures a regular habit? This principle for appreciating art may aid in slowing down and savoring the word of God once again. I dreamed of seeing the painting Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I for almost ten years. When I finally stood in the main room of the...

Hear, Hearken, Obey: A Pattern to Overcome Adversity

When it feels like our life is cracking under pressure, how do we continue? Sometimes the answer is to submit to the will of God. I was 12 years old when I lost all my friends—for the second year in a row. Another move, another state. With burgeoning depression, I...
Spiritual Wonder in a Stressful World

Spiritual Wonder in a Stressful World

Too much homework? Upcoming job interview stressing you out? Find peace in what nature has to offer. When I was 12, my family held a reunion at Itasca State Park, Minnesota. Cousins, aunts, and uncles came from all over the country to spend time together in the majestic forest. For...
Jesus: My Hope, My Way Home

Jesus: My Hope, My Way Home

The Savior’s path is the only path that can take me somewhere that matters, so I’ll always choose to stay with him. I don’t always feel that the Savior is walking with me, that the man who lived a perfect life would care to tag along as I stumble my...
Trying: Improving Our Efforts by Taking the Name of Christ

Trying: Improving Our Efforts by Taking the Name of Christ

As we try our best during trials, we can lean on Jesus Christ for support. We fortify our relationship with Christ as we direct our energy to service. “I’ve been having a hard time adjusting I had the shiniest wheels, now they’re rusting … I just wanted you to know...
Am I an Adult Now?

Am I an Adult Now?

Growing up is a process, not an event.
Seek Learning by Faith

Seek Learning by Faith

“Are you and I agents who act and seek learning by faith, or are we waiting to be taught and acted upon?” Elder David A. Bednar shared insights rich with imagery about the power of faith in an address reported in the Religious Educator. Elder Bednar outlined three basic elements of faith:...
It’s Time to Let Go of Your Past

It’s Time to Let Go of Your Past

If we don’t let go of the past, we run the risk of committing the greater sin of focusing on the past  instead of enjoying the present. Do you know what it’s like to have your past mistakes loop through your head repeatedly? I do. After you’ve done all you...