I had been living far below my privileges when it came to scripture study. In a class I took on teaching seminary, I learned that there is a better way to study scriptures: by following the learning pattern. The learning pattern includes understanding the context and content, identifying and understanding… Continue reading
As an atheist, I knew nothing about prayer. But when I learned about Joseph Smith and the First Vision, I learned how to get answers from God. I asked God every night for eight years if he was real, and I never got an answer. Growing up as an atheist,… Continue reading
I dreaded Sundays. I wanted to enjoy them, but I didn’t until I learned to focus on my relationship with God. In his talk “The Sabbath Is a Delight,” President Russell M. Nelson uses the word delight sixteen times. To me, delight meant eating ice cream or watching a romantic comedy; it did not… Continue reading
Taking time away from computer, phone, and television screens gives us the stillness we need to find refinement and come to know our Heavenly Parents. Many missionaries have a hard time giving up Facebook, phones, and computer time for eighteen months to two years. For my friend, the difficult sacrifice was books.… Continue reading
Family history isn’t just for the salvation of our ancestors. As we learn about our ancestors, their example strengthens us. I always felt like family history was for old people, so when Elder David A. Bednar gave his talk “The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn” in October 2011, I immediately… Continue reading
Fact: life can be tough. However, as we look toward Christ, we can find the joy we need to endure even the most difficult trials. We never think that we will be the ones who will have to suffer through a particular challenge or trial—until it is staring us in… Continue reading
We often selfishly ask ourselves if the commandments to love and serve others really apply to us. The Savior lovingly reminds us that they do. Two very different people each asked an unassuming and easily justifiable question. One asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Another asked, “And who is my… Continue reading
During a two-month internship in Brazil, I had difficulty developing feelings of gratitude for the very things that made my experience so amazing. As I stood under the pathetic, lukewarm trickle of the shower, struggling to rid my hair of the last of the fruity shampoo suds, I was struck… Continue reading
Gratitude has the power to heal desperation, shame, sadness, and more. As I wrote down the ways I’d seen God’s hand in my life every day, my burdens lifted. I have a little black journal I write in every night. It has a tight red elastic band that has left an indent… Continue reading
We must have faith that things will work out—but if they don’t work out according to our desires, we need to trust in God and in his timing. During the April 2004 general conference, I listened to a talk by Elder Dennis E. Simmons that literally made me stop in my… Continue reading
