Given our drastically different life experiences, unless we exercise charity, it is all too easy to write off others’ soul-trying experiences as instances in which they simply made choices. I have three really good friends who have come out as gay, and I highly admire each of them, the first for his ability...

Perhaps the best way to learn patience with others is to first be patient with yourself. How many perfect days have you had? Days that were truly perfect: love and harmony abounded, the sun shone brightly, and you were the paragon of patience. Or do you more often find yourself...

We are often encouraged to reach out to those who are alone and forgotten, but what is the true motivation behind that? When I taught a church lesson on Elder Gerrit W. Gong’s talk “No One Sits Alone,” I was struck by something that had never previously occurred to me....

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...

We know that Mormons are Christians, but what do we say when others aren’t convinced? I will never forget the day when my best friend stopped being my best friend in elementary school. Her mother had learned that I was a Mormon, had come to the conclusion that I wasn’t a Christian,...

In a world where distractions constantly compete for our attention, giving our whole selves to the gospel of Jesus Christ leads us to receive the greatest blessing—the gift of eternal life. In Mark 10, when the rich young man denies the Savior’s counsel to sell all his belongings, take up...