I don’t know why such beauty can come of tragedy; I just know that sometimes it does. I don’t know why faith and hope are strengthened in the most trying times; I just know that they can be.
Faith
Thoughts on building a ship
A few weeks ago as I was reading in the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi 17-18, my thoughts turned to ship building, as they do. Nephi and his family were living in a land they called Bountiful–because it was bountiful in fruit and wild honey and the Lord prepared things for them. Sounds nice […]
Love and love and love
The gospel of Jesus Christ was and is for all. In our efforts to share the gospel, if we want to create a welcoming place for others, we can first start by welcoming those already here among us, but who may not feel like they belong.
The dark strand of Christmas lights
Note: Our Relief Society does a little newsletter each month with a message. I was asked to write the message for December and I hemmed and hawed all of November about what to write. The night I needed to turn it in I still had no ideas, until this (the story below) happened, so it […]
Three lessons from the 2018 Book of Mormon challenge
Go and Do, Something New, and Shared Experiences. Three lessons from President Russell M. Nelson’s challenge to read the Book of Mormon in 2018.
A Call Twelve Years Ago
Sometime life just hits with you with feelings. Like lessons in Church on preparing missionaries to serve. And two sisters leaving on their missions in my ward. And another whose call just came. And a gal I babysat getting home and another who just got her call and another who is serving with so much […]
Singing to the Messiah
Last night, I sang many of the chorus songs in George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. We have likely all heard the “Hallelujah” chorus, and I hope we have felt the exultant joy of “For Unto Us a Child is Born.” I, too, had heard the well-known pieces and loved them for a long time. But the entirety […]
Reflections on Thomas S. Monson
Over the past week and a half, I have read so many thoughts and memories from friends, Church leaders, and other organizations about the passing of President Thomas S. Monson, prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I shared some of my initial thoughts when I first saw the Mormon Newsroom article […]
Lessons from a YSA Ward: Serve, Love, Believe
I attended the Wilford YSA ward in Millcreek, Utah, for over 7 years, which means about 350 Sacrament meetings in the same chapel. Many who have spoken or stood at the pulpit have looked out over the congregation and gazed upward to a beautiful frieze of Christ teaching in the temple, which hangs at the […]
3 Ways to Improve Your Spiritual Vision
[Note: This post is an adaptation of a talk I gave in my new ward today. It has been changed slightly to be a little more blog-friendly, but also not changed very much because I didn’t feel like shortening it.] Do you have a favorite miracle in the scriptures that reminds you of God’s love […]