My Second Life … As a Latter-day Saint

The Salt Lake City Temple

The first time I heard the story of Joseph Smith and the First Vision was at Temple Square in Salt Lake City during a guided tour. I believed it. But my family didn’t. My father said it was the most bogus story he had ever heard. I was crushed and… Continue reading

Rediscovering My Connection with God

Train tunnel.

When our connection with God feels weak, we can find strength by remembering he is our Father and the Savior is our Redeemer. Oftentimes we’ll go above and beyond to regain a missing internet connection on our cell phone: we’ll try everything that normally does work, and it just won’t… Continue reading

Four Tips to Love Yourself

woman greeting sunrise with arms spread

Here are some ways you can love yourself, starting today. I hated myself for a long time. I hated my imperfections, my mental illnesses, my poor choices. It became hard to love myself because I believed that everyone around me expected me to be a perfect woman.  One day I… Continue reading

Blazing Bonfires: How I’ve Learned to Love Obedience

hands praying over scriptures

“Don’t rock yourself into the bonfire,” my grandpa joked as he purposefully wobbled his cheap plastic chair in front of the roaring fire.  Six-year-old me giggled and thought, “Duh, fire’s dangerous. Who’d ever touch it on purpose?” A few seconds later, however, I decided to ignore my grandpa’s advice. “Chairs… Continue reading

3 Lies Satan Wants You to Believe

Fence with padlock

Satan is the enemy of progress. Learning to discern his lies that distract and discourage us will help us to finish strong. Whether we are experiencing minor daily challenges or life-changing moments, we are all prone to feelings of inadequacy, doubt, and discouragement. However, we can be sure that these… Continue reading

How to Serve Even When We’re Busy

Two people putting groceries in car

Even when you have a lot going on in your own life, there are always opportunities to serve. When the Savior taught that we should “lose our lives for [his] sake,” he was telling us to dedicate our time to serving others (Luke 9:24). While we want to follow this… Continue reading

The God Hypothesis

Closeup of Microscope

You don’t have to reject science to believe in God. But to prove a spiritual theory, you need spiritual evidence. I recently heard of a chemist who strongly opposed the existence of God. He claimed that his belief in science was so intense, it could never coexist with religious faith.… Continue reading

How to Turn Disappointments into Successes

Girl holding a flower

Life will always bring unexpected, disappointing events; more important than the events themselves, however, is how we decide to respond to them.  A friend of mine recently expressed to me the devastation he felt when he returned home from his mission earlier than he had anticipated. Even though the reason… Continue reading

3 Ways To Get to Know Our Savior

A girl stands near a river surrounded by rocks and purple flowers.

Christ has the power to heal us through his Atonement, but we have to be willing to develop a relationship with him first.  Because I have learned about biblical stories and studied the scriptures since I was young, I have always thought that I knew a lot about Jesus. However,… Continue reading

How to Build Creativity through Faith

Two kids doing arts and crafts.

As we continue to strengthen our faith in Christ, we can find joy in creativity and receive creative gospel joy and blessings, despite the challenges we face. When we were kids, we showed excitement and took pride in displaying our creative abilities, whether through drawing, making a silly home video,… Continue reading