Not Ordained but Called: Women and the Priesthood

For a long time, I believed that women didn’t exercise the priesthood. But a class I took at BYU taught me how wrong I was. I’ve often grappled with women’s roles in the priesthood. For the majority of my life, I thought the priesthood was something that only men had… Continue reading

How to Serve the Poor and Needy Even When You Are Poor and Needy

Heavenly Father knows and cares about each person’s needs. If we prayerfully seek guidance, then we’ll know how to fulfill these needs. As Latter-day Saints, we know that God asks us to care for the poor and needy. Though this commandment is important, it can also be overwhelming at times—especially… Continue reading

Our “Beautiful Messiness”

It wasn’t until the last few weeks of my mission that I learned one of the most important lessons of all. When I served as a full-time missionary in Cusco, Peru, I did my best to be obedient, to overcome my fears, and to be positive even amid trials. Despite… Continue reading

Finding Peace While Pursuing Perfection

How do you know when you’re forgiven? In many LDS homes, a favorite activity for teaching children about repentance involves food coloring. In this object lesson, parents bring out a glass of water and add a few drops of food coloring to it, tainting the water to represent what happens… Continue reading

I Don’t Wanna Grow Up

The Peter Pan mentality might not be a bad one. In fact, having the believing heart of a child can increase our spiritual growth. January 14, 2002 “Tonight I had a verry bad dream and I started to cry then I said a paryr and then I stoped crying.” February… Continue reading

Wading through the Waves of Uncertainty

Our lives are riddled with uncertainty and confusion. As we learn to trust in the Lord and act on gospel principles, we’ll find answers to our deepest questions. Lately, my conversations with friends have consisted of debating what to study, who to date, whether to get married, what job to… Continue reading

Choose to Believe: Faith Is a Choice, Not a Happenstance

We often think of a testimony as a burning flame we have to feel in our hearts. In reality, the base of our testimony is simply choosing to believe.  Faith is frequently described as a feeling that suddenly overcomes someone after a spiritual experience. While spiritual experiences can greatly strengthen… Continue reading

Small and Simple or Large and Difficult?

We may think the small things don’t matter, but in reality they add up to something more. Go to church, read your scriptures, say your prayers. Seems easy enough, right? What happens when we forget to do these steps? In the general conference talk “Small and Simple Things,” President Dallin… Continue reading

You Are Enough

I realized that even in the darkest of times, God is always available to me. We are never too unworthy to talk to God. The Paris train station was getting more crowded by the minute as I made my way through customs. It had been a phenomenal trip, but the… Continue reading

Missions Are for Everyone—Just in Different Ways

I wasn’t inadequate. I wasn’t second class. And I still could do a lot to serve the Lord. When I was a sophomore in high school, President Monson announced that worthy young women could serve a mission as early as age 19. From that moment on, people were constantly asking… Continue reading