The Miracle of Self-Forgiveness

White and purple crocuses poking out of dead winter leaves.

Through Christ’s Atonement, we can remember our past without letting it define who we are. I sometimes wonder if I’ve been truly forgiven. Even after praying, repenting, and striving to apply the Savior’s Atonement, I still feel weighed down by guilt. I know Christ can forgive others—even me—but that truth… Continue reading

How to Combat Perfectionism

Yellow flower on a brown wooden table.

The pressure to be perfect can be immense, but because of Jesus Christ and the power of repentance, a second chance is always available.  From chasing impeccable grades to creating seemingly flawless social media accounts, young adults face intense and exhausting pressure to be perfect. I have often worried that… Continue reading

Finding Growth Through Failure

Scrabble tiles on a white background that spell out “learn from failure.”

Experiencing failure is part of our mortal existence, but through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can grow through those mistakes and progress toward perfection. We will all make mistakes and experience failure at various points in our lives. It is an inevitable part of being a human in this… Continue reading

Planning Like the Prodigal Son

Time management

I may not be spending my money in ways that drive me from God like the prodigal son did, but how am I spending my time? Nearly every Christian knows the story of the prodigal son, but many may not know what prodigal actually means. If you had asked me… Continue reading

3 Concrete Ways to Apply Jesus Christ’s Atonement

For the times when life seems hopeless, here are three concrete ways to apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ. When discussing how to overcome trials in Sunday School, I frequently hear the comment, “Just apply the Atonement.” But when a crisis hits, I often wonder, “How do I apply the… Continue reading

The Beauty and Value in Messiness

Life is messy. Luckily, there is holiness in the mess. In her essay titled “This Holy Mess,” Sharlee Glenn shared an experience she had while in Italy. Glenn’s tour guide said something that struck her as they were rushing to make it to mass: “Hurry!… We can’t be late for… Continue reading

Choose Joy—Choose Repentance

The choice to forsake sin and repent may be hard, but it will bring joy. Some people struggle with charity. Some people struggle with purity. But as a kid, Elder Dale G. Renlund struggled with lighting firecrackers before sacrament meetings. In his talk “Repentance: A Joyful Choice,” Elder Renlund describes how, when he… Continue reading

Force Quit the Things Freezing Your Life

Person typing at Mac computer

Repentance can be a joyful choice when we choose to regulate our lives with the task manager provided by God. Have you ever encountered the frustrating experience of an unresponsive computer? If you have, you probably know that pressing Control-Alt-Delete on a PC (or Command-Option-Escape on a Mac) is the… Continue reading

No Scars Remain

Christ wants to heal our spirits completely—all we have to do is repent.  When my six-year-old brother broke his arm, he immediately thought, I bet Dad can fix it! My dad is not a doctor, but in my brother’s mind, he can do anything. While my brother was a little… Continue reading

Having His Spirit With Us: 4 Ways to Help Us Always Be Repentant

How can we use repentance and the Atonement daily, even when we don’t think we’ve sinned? When we think of repentance, we often think of making mistakes, taking the sacrament, righting our wrongs, and becoming clean again. But it’s much more than that. Repentance shouldn’t just be used when we… Continue reading