Spreading God’s Love on Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day can be a lonely holiday for many of God’s children, but we can help the people in need all around us to feel God’s love on this holiday. When I was young, Valentine’s Day was my favorite holiday. My mom would get up early in the morning to...

The Best Christmas Gifts Only Christ Can Give

The truest desires of our hearts often can’t be bought and placed under the Christmas tree, but they can become a reality because of Jesus Christ. I have a very distinct memory of asking my dad what he wanted for Christmas one year. He simply said, “I just want you...

Christ, the Universal Savior: Lessons from Third Nephi

Jesus Christ’s presence as an active character in Third Nephi proves the Book of Mormon’s purpose of inviting all to come unto Christ.   When I was a missionary, my companion and I met every week with a recently baptized young adult. Our friend struggled with reading, so we would study...

Get on Your Knees and Face It

When life is beating you down, relying on the Lord through prayer can help you confront your trials. A highlight of this week’s Come, Follow Me lesson is the classic scripture 3 Nephi 5:13, which starts off, “For behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.” It’s clear why this...

Lessons from Pahoran: Accepting Feedback with Humility

If we follow Pahoran’s example and practice humility, we can improve our lives and collaborate better with others.  One of the most unexpected lessons I’ve had to learn as an editor is that I need to be just as comfortable receiving feedback as giving it. Editing is a collaborative effort,...
Can I Ever Be Good Enough?

Can I Ever Be Good Enough?

Even with the commandment “be ye therefore perfect” ringing in our ears, we can still be cheerful and hopeful as we seek eternal life. With all our weaknesses, how will we know if we’re acceptable to God? And with so many commandments to keep track of, where should we even...
Finding Strength in Healing

Finding Strength in Healing

It’s easy to assume that our broken situation is our only situation and that asking for help is a sign of weakness. What if we restructured these assumptions to see asking for help as a source of strength and healing? Seeking help can feel difficult in a world full of...
How to Avoid the Rut of Spiritual Apathy

How to Avoid the Rut of Spiritual Apathy

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...
We Always Have a Place with God

We Always Have a Place with God

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...
You Are Allowed to Believe in the Magnificent

You Are Allowed to Believe in the Magnificent

There are miracles all around us that we take for granted. Recognizing the incredible in the everyday can help us believe in the magnificent aspects and promises of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We live in an era that is dominated by secular thought, and sometimes it’s hard not to...
Applying the Savior’s Atonement to My Own Life

Applying the Savior’s Atonement to My Own Life

I realized that I had been so focused on working to take the gospel to other people that I had forgotten to let the gospel work in me. Early in my mission to Tennessee, my companion shared with me part of Sister Linda K. Burton’s address from the October 2012 General...