Should We Think About Gratitude in a Different Way?

Two people praying together.

Perhaps focusing on what we are grateful for is the wrong approach. Have you ever tried counting your blessings? Counting your blessings can be uplifting, but what if you lose some blessings on your list? Perhaps you lose a prized possession or a loved one.  Life changes quickly, and we… Continue reading

How Can I Minister as Christ Did?

Man Soothing Crying Sad Woman on Sofa

Christ is the perfect example of ministering to the one. How can we use our modern-day resources to serve and minister as he did? “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go… 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

Foster the Desire to Do Good

Lady in red top walking down dirt lane

Can our efforts ever be good enough when we are imperfect at best? Do our desires and our less-than-perfect efforts count for anything? I desire to do good and to improve myself, yet I frequently fall short of my expectations. I feel edified and motivated one day, yet find myself struggling the… Continue reading

Peacemakers and Children of God

As a people who have decided to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, Mormons should seek opportunities to make peace in the political world. Ernest Benn once said, “Politics is the art of looking for trouble [and] finding it everywhere.” With the political world becoming more and more polarized, it’s… Continue reading

Strong in Spite of My Weakness

Our weaknesses aren’t meant to beat us down or make us discouraged. They can help us to eventually become strong. During my freshman year of high school, I memorized—and promptly forgot—Ether 12:27: “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness… Continue reading

Discover Your Own Path: Steps from Jesus Christ’s Young-Adult Years

group on top of mountain

Jesus doesn’t just understand young-adult life, he has lived it—perfectly. When we imagine the Savior, we typically visualize him as an adult––full beard, broad shoulders, and traces of wrinkles showing the joys and sorrows of 33 years. Kent F. Richards instead paints us a portrait of Jesus during his young-adult… Continue reading

The Necessity of Being Judgmental

Although we should be careful how we judge, judgment is necessary for our eternal progression. I hear what people say when they call for no judgment: love the sinner, not the sin. But too often people, whether out of good intentions or bad, blur the phrase, taking it into dangerous… Continue reading

Intellectual Integrity

To truly be intellectually honest, we need to consider the evidence in favor of God’s existence. It’s pretty difficult to make it through life without your faith being challenged at some point; sometimes it happens sooner, sometimes later, but it almost always happens. What we choose to do in those… Continue reading

7 Tips for Making Righteous Judgments

Man on tablet

We are sometimes required to pass judgment on other people and on important decisions in our lives. These seven principles outline how we can make righteous judgments. In Matthew 7:1, Christ commands us not to judge. Through the Joseph Smith Translation, however, we see that not all judgment is bad.… Continue reading