Living Prophets: The Blessings of General Conference
Every six months, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather round their televisions and computers, or assemble in church buildings all over the world to listen to leaders headquartered in Salt Lake City speak inspiring words. Like many members of the...
What it Means to Me to Be an LDS Woman, Part 1: The 1980s
Editor's Note: This article, written by its author in the 1980s, deals with the theme of abuse and how it is treated. When this piece was written, the world as a whole did not have the same capabilities and specialized tools that are available to us today in treating...
Manliness
This article on manliness begins with a few well-researched statistics. There was a study done a few years back that showed the #1 most common factor in poverty in the United States is a fatherless home. In fact, in the same study, results were gathered for...
Blessings Without End
Anonymity is one of the valuable tools of a writer. It is not a cloak as much as it is a platform where we can speak without hesitation and fear. The readers may have preconceived notions and premonitions about the intent of the writing; anonymity helps eliminate such...
Teaching Resilience
Panic attacks and anxiety seem to be running rampant in our society—at least in my neck of the woods. More and more we are seeing young adults who don’t have the skills needed to cope in the real world. My heart goes out to them. As a mother, I want to give them all...
Service Brings The Greatest Blessings
Last Sunday, my husband and I were asked to speak in church. The bishop asked that we share some experiences in our lives that had built our testimonies. I thought right away of three amazing miracles in my life that I had to share. They are in order of sequence:...
Being Tested: Purpose and the Way
Here's to being tested! Sometimes I've found myself running laps on particular life lessons. I think I've learned the lesson, yet later find myself in the middle of what seems to be the same lesson, different trial. Other times, I feel like I've learned the lesson,...
John Taylor, Joseph Smith, and “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief”
Every time I hear the hymn "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief," I cannot help but think of the prophet Joseph Smith. Shortly before he was killed, his good friend (and future president of the Church) John Taylor sang this hymn for him. On the afternoon of June 27,...
All the — Things!
This article is a follow-up to "The Small Things Are Not Small." This article contains a list of things I'm thankful for not because of something that was taken from me, but because I have them at all. I was going to title it "All the Small Things," but I...
Reaching For Your Spiritual High
General conference is a special time for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a time when we get to listen and be taught by the prophet of God, President Russell M. Nelson, and by other leaders of the Church. General conference is held in...
Finding Peace
My third decision (you can read about decisions one and two by clicking on their respective links) comes right around the same time as my decision to embrace motherhood. After I decided to go “all in,” I was presented with an opportunity to pursue something I felt...
Autism Gives You Superpowers
I've been on an adventure in autismland for six months now. Well, seven years, really. But the last six months, we have (finally!) known what path we've been traveling. And I have to say I've learned some surprising things. Did you know that high-functioning autism...
Transforming Themselves to Be Apostles
In much of the northern hemisphere, September begins a season where many transformations occur. Leaves change colors and fall from the trees. Many plants and flowers lose their vibrant leaves and petals and become dormant. The morning chatter of birds gives way to...
Did My Mission Even Matter?
"Did My Mission Even Matter" first appeared on Third Hour. I can't even count the number of times I've wondered if my missionary service was worthwhile. Firstly, because I can't count very high (math is my nemesis now and forever) and secondly, because I...
Poetry from Within My Heart: Part 2
Read the first part here. Let me share a personal experience that helped me better understand the verse in Malachi 4:6. It reads: “And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come...
Earning vs. Qualifying
There are many ideas in the gospel that are easy to misunderstand if not approached with Christ's Atonement in context. I was recently reminded of one of those principles. Ever since the Lord helped me understand the difference between earning and qualifying for...
Triumph in Christ
As soon as it happened, I knew it was going to be painful. We had erected the Christmas tree and were just finishing stringing the lights. We have had the twelve-foot tree for umpteen years now and used a ladder to decorate the tree with luminaries. I was moving the...
The Doctrine Behind the Story
A while back, I had an interesting discussion with friends about using stories to teach doctrine, and I wrote about that discussion here. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, taught in parables, or stories. Many of the General Authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of...
Eternal Marriage
Two days ago my husband and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary. We commented to each other about how celebrating seven years of marriage made us feel so old — that and three children! But we were excited to celebrate one more year of being together. After my...
Would You Call Shotgun on the Ship You Built?
Was picking your seat in the car for a road trip as a kid important in your family? It definitely was in mine. With the advent of minivans and car seats, jockeying for seats has minimized. However, I experienced the wonderfully reckless times of no seat belt...