Teaching Tips from the Apostle Paul

A teacher stands at the front of his classroom with hymnbooks and scriptures on a table in front of him.

The Apostle Paul can help us learn to teach more like the Savior taught. Members of the LDS Church have numberless opportunities to teach, whether it’s as missionaries, in Sunday School, at home, or with friends. In the Ensign article “The Apostle Paul as Master Teacher,” Frank F. Judd Jr. and John Hilton… Continue reading

How You Belong in the Family Proclamation

A woman and two boys play with a dog

Even if you feel like your family is broken or simply does not reflect the structure of other families in the Church, you still have a place within the family proclamation. If you feel like your family is broken or incomplete, it can be difficult to understand how the principles… Continue reading

How to Avoid the Rut of Spiritual Apathy

Green mountains

Remembering God’s love will strengthen your spiritual resilience and protect you from the trap of spiritual apathy. I peered out through the dense fog at the Ribeira da Torre Valley of Santa Antão, Cape Verde. As the clouds parted and sunlight illuminated the view, my jaw dropped. Enormous mountains covered… Continue reading

Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones: Coming to Grips with Troubling Information in Church History

sketch of Joseph Smith showing the golden plates to a group of men

Paradigm shifts can rock our world, but they can also bring greater understanding. Before 1697, Westerners believed the idiom “all swans are white.” But when a Dutch explorer discovered a black swan in Australia, his discovery “instantly demolished an apparent reality while also enabling a new, more informed state of… Continue reading

“Neither Dupes nor Slaves of Men”: Witnesses from Women in Polygamous Marriages

Hands holding a photo album

Who better to help you in your understanding of the practice of polygamy in the early Church than the women who were plural wives themselves? Many people feel confused about the practice of polygamy and its fairness to women in the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of… Continue reading

Calvary and Gethsemane: Where Did Christ Atone for Our Sins?

an image of a man with a crown of thorns on his head

We tend to emphasize the role of Gethsemane in Christ’s Atonement, but the Crucifixion at Calvary also plays a crucial role. How can we come closer to Jesus Christ by learning about his death? Where did Christ’s Atonement take place? In Dr. John Hilton III’s interview titled “The Atoning Crucifixion,”… Continue reading

The Parable: Simply Complex

woman looking through binoculars

While parables can simplify confusing doctrine, the parables themselves have complex layers that require the reader’s full attention in order to grasp the full doctrine. Jesus’s parables are practically magic; through them, we can see ourselves in almost every character, apply them to current situations, and understand complex doctrine. The Savior’s parables are an almost… Continue reading

Science Is Catching Up

an image of a model of a human head on a table

Modern science continues to affirm the blessings of following the Word of Wisdom. In his Ensign article, “A Principle with Promises,” G. Craig Kiser discusses the counsel given in Doctrine and Covenants 89 with an insightful approach to the Word of Wisdom. Not surprisingly, there is scientific evidence to support the… Continue reading

How Joseph Smith Preserved the Plates

an image of a statue of a man holding a book

Joseph Smith didn’t write much about how he protected the gold plates, but some people close to him left records of what really happened.  Many people are familiar with the account of the appearance of the angel Moroni in Joseph Smith’s bedroom  on the evening of September 21, 1823. It… Continue reading