In ancient Israel, the closest male relative was responsible for the well-being of the entire family. He was often the head of the house, but he could also be a brother or an uncle. His responsibilities included making sure the extended family, in-laws, and nonrelatives living with the family were… Continue reading
Like he did with the Israelites of old, Heavenly Father teaches us according to our understanding, tradition, and culture. Sometimes it seems like there’s a disconnect between what the Creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 teaches and what we know from modern science. Can we find truth in the… Continue reading
Life is full of important days. How do we know what choices can prepare us for them? I recently attended the temple sealing of a good friend. As I sat in the sealing room and listened to the words of the ordinance, I could feel the eternal importance of that… Continue reading
What does the gospel of Jesus Christ teach us about our life’s purpose and eternal destiny? Familial bonds don’t end with mortality. There are millions of pop culture portrayals of the afterlife and speculations about what it’s like. For instance, I recently watched a movie with a depiction of an… Continue reading
Being a disciple of Christ doesn’t need to be complicated, and it doesn’t come with a list of prerequisites. In his October 2015 general conference talk, “It Works Wonderfully!,” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf emphasizes the Savior’s grace in the journey of discipleship. He asks us to consider whether we are… Continue reading
As we trust that trials are for our good, we will be proved before God and ourselves. Life can be a struggle, a pain, and a test of endurance. Sometimes it’s easy to view the trials in our lives as evidence that God doesn’t care about the difficulties we face—or… Continue reading
Seeing others’ divine nature means seeing them as God does. This perspective helps us develop Christlike attributes and makes our service meaningful. In Elder Dale G. Renlund’s first general conference talk as an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he spoke of the importance of remembering that a… Continue reading
We are told to love our neighbors as we do ourselves, but what do we do when we struggle to love ourselves? When a friend or a neighbor makes a mistake or does something that makes us mad, we might be annoyed or frustrated at them for a while, but… Continue reading
Although sometimes we may feel like we do not belong, we always have a place as God’s children. Deserved or not, lasting or temporary, major or minor, we have all probably had the terrible experience of feeling like we don’t belong. It’s an emotion to which we humans are all… Continue reading
Taking time away from computer, phone, and television screens gives us the stillness we need to find refinement and come to know our Heavenly Parents. Many missionaries have a hard time giving up Facebook, phones, and computer time for eighteen months to two years. For my friend, the difficult sacrifice was books.… Continue reading
