Endure to the End

A bible open to Psalms

One night a few years ago, I was busy doing something many teenage brothers find entertaining: annoying my sister. As usual, she tried many things to get me to stop. Eventually, she pulled out her phone and started looking at scriptures. She checked Genesis chapter 6 and moved on when… Continue reading

Faith Like King Lamoni’s Wife

Artist's depiction of King Lamoni being mourned over by his wife.

When I needed advice, King Lamoni’s wife provided an example that taught me how to receive personal revelation. One courageous woman in the Book of Mormon who sometimes gets overlooked is the wife of King Lamoni. Her husband believed what the missionary, Ammon, taught him about Jesus Christ and his… Continue reading

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… Continue reading

HIS

An Invitation to Come Unto Christ

Jesus said, “Thou art mine” (Isaiah 43:1). Those three words have changed the way I think about myself. I’m sure those words had an impact on the first people who heard them as well—the Israelites. Because of their unrighteous decisions, the scattered Israelites were afflicted, robbed, and trapped by their… Continue reading

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

Belonging to God’s Family

People leaning together.

How I found belonging as a single member of the Church It was my first week in a family ward when the Relief Society president asked me to introduce myself. I offered a brief spiel, and after a moment’s pause, an older sister asked, “Are you married?” I felt several… 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

Be Still, My Soul

As life’s trials rock us, we can feel peace and love through songs of the heart. I came to know this truth more clearly than ever before as I grieved my mother’s death. The choice to serve a mission can be a hard decision for many young adults. I left… Continue reading

Are You Really There?

The world confuses us about our relationship with God. But a simple children’s song reminds us to send our questions heavenward. “So, do you believe in God or not?” My friend Jane was the kind of person to dig deep into a person’s soul, and tonight my brother was the specimen… Continue reading

Master, My Tempest Is Raging

In the midst of my battle with pornography, a sacred hymn let me know that I was loved. You wouldn’t have recognized me that Sunday in Los Angeles. I was 19. I had tangled, unkempt hair that came down past my shoulders and a bushy beard that hid most of… Continue reading