It’s Not Where You Serve, but How You Serve

an image of a group of people standing around a room

After being reassigned to a new mission and then leaving the field early, a conference address helped me put things into perspective.  In April 2017, I was in the Missionary Training Center when I got a major concussion and sprained my ankle. Consequently, a week later I was reassigned to… Continue reading

 How to Keep Your Balance  

an image of a bicycle parked on a dirt road in the fog

Do we sometimes find ourselves losing our balance as we pedal our way through life? It seems that we’re always being pulled in a million different directions. As we ride through this life, it’s easy to let stress overcome the important balance in our lives.  Gary K. Palmer gave a… Continue reading

Why Do You Go to Church?

an image of a group of women standing in front of a building

We will get more out of church attendance by focusing on what we can contribute and on whom we can serve than if we just go for our own benefit. Near the end of my high school experience, I stopped going to Mutual—but not for the reasons you might think.… Continue reading

How Zina D. H. Young Influenced America

an image of a painting of a woman with a black dress

During the nineteenth century, Zina D. H. Young represented Mormon women in local and national medical, political, and religious circles. When we give all that the Lord asks of us, the bounds of our influence for good can be limitless. The life and service of Zina Diantha Huntington Young (1821–1901)… Continue reading

Why Does It Matter That No One Sits Alone?

an image of a woman holding a silver ball with red nails

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.… Continue reading

Defining Charity

Father holding laughing little girl.

Charity is defined not only by the action itself, but by the love that inspires the action. Ever since I was a little girl, I have struggled to understand what the word charity means. Of course, it does not help that the term has multiple definitions. For example, the word… Continue reading

Disciples with a Dash of Salt

A hand holding a handful of white salt.

Learning to purify ourselves through Jesus Christ and become examples of refined faith leads us to seek out those who are ready to “be perfected in him” (Moroni 10:32). Christ teaches us that we “are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13) and that we are his disciples according to… Continue reading

Compassion: A Meaningful Way to Love and Serve

A woman in a striped shirt with short blond hair in a ponytail cradles the head of another woman with dark hair in comfort. They are both sitting on a bed.

When those we love are suffering, we may not be able to remove their struggles, but we can still offer something truly valuable. When a close family member was grieving a sudden, unexpected job loss, I felt useless as I watched them struggle. Without financial resources, professional connections, or extensive… Continue reading

Witnessing the Power of Community Care

an image of a group of people in colorful clothing hugging each other

The Lord has blessed us with friends and neighbors to strengthen us when the floods of life—literal or metaphorical—threaten to overwhelm us. I’d never truly understood the destructive power of water until I witnessed it submerge my hometown under seven feet of water. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey overtook many homes… Continue reading

Not My Feet Only: Accepting the Lord’s Service

Two hands cup water as it pours in

When we struggle to accept the Lord’s help, let us follow the example of Peter at the Last Supper when Christ washes Peter’s feet. My parents were recently called to serve as a mission president couple in California. While they’ve been preparing for their mission, I’ve thought a lot about… Continue reading