Life’s Climb: Facing Fear and Weakness
It wasn't the first time I'd regretted making a promise. I promised to accompany a friend to the Pink Pillbox for sunset on the leeward side of Oahu. I'd done the hike six or so times and while it's not a killer hike for most people, it requires vigorous effort for...
When Your Friend Is MIA
This past Sunday I opened up to a friend at church about the stressful year we have had. It was after several other sisters had asked me if we had moved because they never saw me anymore. The stresses that had seemed so apparent to me had never occurred to these...
Knock and It Shall Be Opened Unto You—The Enos Formula
“Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:63). This is the final article in a series of four. This article addresses...
How to Be A Truly Terrifying Driver OR Commuting 101
My commute this morning was especially horrific. It got so ridiculous that I decided to take note of the drivers around me, and how they ACTUALLY behave. I figure it’s a great lesson for all of us on how to be a more aggressive and terrifying driver. For most of these...
Living in the Blessing
Why are you a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Have you ever been asked that question? If not, you will be. How would you answer that inquiry? Honestly, I would have to say that because my mother and father taught me at a...
The Same God That Gives Us Sunshine Gives Us Rain
Whenever I need inspiration about what to write, what to use in a talk, what advice I can give someone, etc., I always turn to one place — the letters my father sent me on my mission. My father is a man of few words, but he wrote me faithfully every single week...
Making Your Home a Haven: Part 1
My son has always been a “clockwork kid." From the time he was an infant, he kept the same schedule. He would eat every three hours, almost to the minute. He woke and slept at the same times every day. And without fail, he would wake up at 1 am and want to play until...
Motherhood on a Metal Chair in Haiti
James and Lila King adopted siblings from Haiti. Lila traveled from Texas to Haiti for three years before the adoption finalized. She shared this story and I was so touched by not only her tender memory, but her mother-tenderness for a stranger in a tough situation....
When Kids Falter (or Fail)
What do we do as parents when our kids stray farther and farther away from gospel principles and safe living? What do we do if they fail to protect themselves and instead insist on striking out toward risky terrains? I was reading today in 2 Kings and the...
Music in Troubled Times
I ran across a beautiful story about the power of music the other day. I was looking for something appropriate to post on Memorial Day, because one of the best ways I know of to express strong emotions and bring peace is through music. With this account, I read the...
Spectrum Struggles
Life is harder for a person on the spectrum. Did you know that? If we were to compare a neurotypical (NT) brain and a high functioning autistic spectrum (HFASD) brain to two computers, the NT would be a PC and the HFASD brain would be an Apple. They both...
Full Measure
We have been in our resident congregation for 16 years—my, how time flies. The majority of our children have graduated from this local high school and essentially our family has grown up here. But it actually all started in Provo, Utah. I had just returned from...
Life Changes and Faith
There are constant changes in life, and that makes it exciting—and sometimes unpredictable. Changes can be good or they can throw you off balance. When a change happens that throws you off balance, it’s important to regain stability—and that takes faith. ...
9 Tips for Preparing For A New School
My son is starting a new school. He has a lot of anxiety with any new things. So I got some tips from the professionals that really made a big difference, and I wanted to share. These tips can be used for any new experience your child will have. We use them for Scout...
Is There Only One “Typical” Way to Fulfill a Calling?
Recently I stumbled into, and then out of, a conversation about the way a person served in a church calling. The instigator of the topic kept saying, "If [so and so] would just do this or that, then [so and so] would be great in the calling." I knew the person...
I’m Doing Everything Right — So Why is Life Harder Than Ever?
Throughout my life, I've experienced — as have most of you, I'm sure — times when I've wondered, "I'm doing everything right. I'm trying so hard to be good and to follow God. So why am I not being blessed? Why is this trial not being lifted from me?" I felt it...
Learning the Gospel From My Father
I grew up as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I can’t really say we were a model LDS family. Oh, in a lot of ways we were, but in some very basic ways we weren’t. We only ever had a handful of Family Home Evenings, we hardly ever ate...
Rules Are Given For A Reason
When I had my final interview with my stake president so that I could send in my mission papers (my application to serve as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), I was given two points of counsel from my Stake President. ...
The Matchless Gift of the Savior
A great deal of this article is pulled from recent articles of mine, but I have found that repetition truly is a great teacher. I always wondered how this was going to happen. When word came that it was time to make the trip back to Missouri in preparation for...
Parley P. Pratt
One of the original twelve apostles called under Joseph Smith, Jr. was Elder Parley P. Pratt. I have always felt an affinity to this man because of the strength and power of the words he has written. A particular story I recall was when Parley was staying at a...
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