An Antidote for Pride

We all know pride is a problem, but how do we avoid it? President Eyring has a suggestion. Moroni warned that our dispensation would struggle with pride: “Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. . . . I know that ye do… Continue reading

In My Afflictions: Missionary Trainer for Two

After spending weeks as a missionary punching bag, I stopped fighting and got down on my knees to call for backup. I bit back my words as the three of us walked to our apartment. The tension between us was palpable and strangled any patience I still maintained. I was… Continue reading

Why Your Greatest Accomplishments Can Be Small and Simple

We often think we need to change the world in order to feel accomplished. In truth, it’s the small and simple things that are harder to achieve and more glorious in reward. In “Small and Simple Things,” President Dallin H. Oaks reminds us of a familiar scripture: “By small and… Continue reading

An Open Invitation: Applying General Conference Messages

What you choose to do after general conference is over can have a far greater impact than can the notes you took or the good feelings you felt during the conference. Every six months, we have the privilege of joining with people across the world to hear messages from men… Continue reading

Instruments of Revelation: Translating the Book of Mormon

scriptures

The translation of the Book of Mormon was a miracle of modern revelation. When most of us hear the word translation, we think of bilingual dictionaries, conjugation charts, and Google Translate. If we need to verify that something is translated correctly, we might ask a native speaker or someone who… Continue reading

The First Mormon Government: The Council of Fifty

desk with quill and paper

Before Joseph Smith ran for US president, he established an organization in Nauvoo to govern the temporal concerns of the Saints. He called the group “the Council of Fifty.”  I remember the first time I learned about Joseph Smith’s seer stones, polygamous relationships, and other uncomfortable tidbits of Mormon history. I… Continue reading

My Struggle with Scripture Study

person at desk with scriptures and pen in hand

Prioritizing scripture study is a choice that can heal us. I had been home from my mission for three months, and I was already having trouble reading scriptures. I had read scriptures for an hour every day on my mission and had promised myself upon returning home that I would… Continue reading

Understanding Instead of Fixing: Mourning with Those That Mourn

When others are sad, we want to take their sorrow away. But we need to try to understand their feelings rather than try to fix them.  When other people feel sad, our instincts tell us that we need to somehow make them happy again. Our society views sadness as a disease that… 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

Four Words Can Transform Life’s Journey

butterfly on leaf

As we follow four important words in Alma 34:32, the purpose of life can become clearer, and our journey through life can become easier. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with all that living the gospel entails. The long list of to-do’s can distract us from the true purpose of life.… Continue reading