Laman And Lemuel And Their Challenge To Us
A life long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have forgotten how many times I have begun to read the Book of Mormon. Consequently, Nephi and his family have a very dear place in my heart. With a family full of brothers of my own, it is easy...
A Mother’s Heart Knit With Love
The women in my family are the super heroes of my life. Putting others first, creating life from desolation, nurturing those around them even when life was not good to them. Mothers, sisters, daughters. Here are their stories. A turbulent beginning My mother has a...
Mother’s Day: Keeping It Real
Mother’s Day is today and in my book all mothers should be honored, regardless if you have raised one child or twenty. You are still a mother even if you’ve never given birth to any children but raised them just the same. Anyone with responsibility for any children...
Education: School And Family
Recently I saw a clip and read a transcript of Hillary Clinton calling education the “most important non-family enterprise”. I saw a slideshow of students communicating with their teachers about what they wished their teachers knew-in most cases it was about their...
Fat And Healthy To Skinny And Married- Part 2
Well, it has now been approximately 8 weeks since I began my health and fitness goals. I wish I could say that I lost a ton of weight and looked like a million bucks, but as Thomas S. Monson once said, “We often expect instantaneous solutions forgetting that the...
Relationship Perspective
If I cut you off, chances are, you handed me the scissors. —Unknown I wish I could give credit to whoever said that, but I can’t find the original source. It must have resonated with a lot of people, however, because it is all over the internet lately. I’d like to...
Don’t Underestimate Yourself
I like to see results. I rate accomplishment on getting a result I can see. But that desire to see my impact has led me falsely, time and again, to underestimate myself. This can be incredibly, and unnecessarily discouraging. I regularly feel like quitting. My...
Writing To Your Children
When or how it started, I don’t remember. Somehow, I began writing my children weekly emails. That was a dozen years ago. Over time, I have had opportunity to share dozens of exhortations with them. Edify the poor in spirit Address personal concerns Express love and...
Life Changing
Our dear friend Terrie Lynn Bittner, has had a life changing experience. She has recently found out she has terminal brain cancer. In her career she has published multiple books, written many times for The Ensign and several other publications. She has a large web...
Obedience: Finding Gold in the Dark
In the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, Paula Radcliffe and Zhou Chunxiu were top competitors for the women's marathon. Hailing from Great Britian, Radcliff was slated to win the women's marathon. Holding the World Record with an incredible time of 2:15:25, she was a...
6 Ways To Teach Tolerance
This article grew from a conversation I had recently with a gentleman who was struggling with tolerance, but appears to be completely unaware that he has no tolerance. Instead of seeing his own intolerance for others, all he sees is others intolerance for him. That...
Christ—the rock on which to build
A young city boy, walking by a construction site stopped to question the laborers. To the first one he asked, “Hey mister, what are you making?” The man answered, “Ten bucks an hour.” The boy wandered on and asked another worker the same question—“Hey mister, what are...
Accept Yourself
When I was younger I thought I had to be skinny and look a certain way for people to like me. Don't ask me why I needed to be liked so much. That's a question for my therapist. Needless to say I did my best to make my body fit what my mind told me I had to be. I...
Seek For The Things Of A Better World
Every so often, while reading along in my scriptures, I find a verse that really talks to me. This particular scripture comes from modern revelation (modern meaning post 1880 A.D.) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) published a collection...
Self-Control
The life of self-control is not grievous but joyous when we become accustomed to it. It clears the mind; it strengthens the judgment; it elevates the character. It is the true freedom. —Benjamin Jowett As I read this quote, it occurred to me that a lot of the...
When in Doubt, Don’t Freak Out!
What is your greatest fear? My brother, who was nervous and engaged to be married, asked me for advice. I thought about it and the best I could offer was, “When in doubt, don’t freak out.” It is amazingly normal for horrific things to happen in the course of a...
The Bread Of Life
As a young man, just a boy really, I loved it when Granny would make a batch of homemade bread. The whole house smelled sweet and warm. We were happy children on these days, and thankfully it happened often. Frequently, we would peer through the oven doors to watch...
The Quest for Compassion, Part 2
Christ’s compassion for us extended beyond the bounds of mortality. Even in His own death He prepared the way for us to receive the help we would need to carry on with hope.
We Must Stand For Truth
Declare Truth With Boldness—It Strengthens Your Conviction “Mrs. O’Neal, it’s Opposite Day,” my fourth grade violin class said when they barreled into the room for lessons one day. I gave them a curious look. One student smiled back and explained, “Everything you say...
Music: Uplifting To All Families
Life without the ability to hear music is one of the greatest tragedies. I had the opportunity to watch and listen to a musical play in our county this past week which left me pondering about how wonderful music is in our lives. Challenges are in everyone’s life yet...
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