How Can I Become Closer to the Lord?
Before his death, Truman Madsen was a long-time writer for Meridian. We’ll be paying tribute to his work by re-running several of his articles. Truman wrote of the Lord, “Let Him magnify you in all the rounds and corners of your days and nights.”
by Truman G. Madsen
The Fallacy of Nothingness
No matter how loudly our minds can shout, "You are nothing," we human beings have infinite worth.
By Michelle Linford
Lessons of a Broken Pipe
A near-catastrophe in a backyard reminds a gardener of the greater significance of water.
By Janet Peterson
The Sariah Dilemma: Finding Increased Faith When Our Children Misplace Their Own
Our children's rebellious choices may offer us the opportunity to learn more about our personal relationship with Christ, and gain a sweeter understanding of the Savior's role in our lives than we might have imagined.
By Vickey Taylor
Finding Fullness through Covenants, Callings and Consecration
Even people who have the fullness of the gospel can be overcome with despair. But there can be a light at the end of that long, dark tunnel.
By Ken Gibson
The Amazing Connection between Thoughts and Feelings
The liberating truth is we can help the way we feel because our feelings are literally a consequence of the content of our chosen thoughts. Satan is well aware of that connection; all the tools in his arsenal tempt us to focus on thoughts that make us feel miserable.
By Darla Isackson
Ten Percent off the Top: The Math and the Myth
Tithing is a stylish thing in the secular press lately. Like any eternal principle, it appeals universally to people of all beliefs. Although tithing is as old as man, Latter-day Saints have an understanding of tithing that may elude tithepayers of other faiths.
By Kathy Green
This Week in the Blogs
The Church in India and Peru, Mormon Cartoons and More
Check out what’s been happening in the bloggernacle this week.
By Rachel Tanner
This Week in the Blogs
Latter-day Saints always seem do well on television dance competitions; one newspaper marvels that our leaders don’t get paid; and here’s where to find some hilarious one-liners.
By Rachel Tanner
This Week in the Blogs
Why we love flag raising, President Monson’s Four T’s, historic Mormon chapels, and making the most of coupons.
By Rachel Tanner
This Week in the Blogs
A new blog for dispelling Mormon urban legends plus a place to find missionary recipes, another for universal travel tips, and a Mormon place for Harry Potter fans.
By Rachel Tanner
This Week in the Blogs
Here is a variety of blogs that are of great interest, whether for living healthy, loving poetry, or reading about an LDS family with adventures on the high seas.
By Rachel Tanner
This Week in the Blogs
Sounds of Sunday on the Internet and a link to find the LDS historic sites across the U.S.
By Rachel Tanner
This Week in the Blogs
Bloggers certainly say some interesting things.
By Rachel Tanner
This Week in the Blogs
Here are a few interesting things you may not have seen yet.
By Rachel Tanner
God Created Company So the House Would get Clean:
Musings on Motivation
Motivation sometimes seems to be one of life’s most subtle secrets. While most women agree that company is the best motivation for house-cleaning, what motivates us to other good works may not be so clearly definable.
By Darla Isackson
This Week in the Blogs
A heartwarming video of a piano duet that has 3,000,000 views, why there's no place like home, and speculations about David Archuleta and a mission.
By Rachel Tanner
This Week in the Blogs
Information overload? Let us point you to the best information on the blogs and Internet sites this week.
By Rachel Tanner
U.S. News Ranks BYU's Business and Law Schools in Top 50
J. Reuben Clark Law School up five spots; Marriott School retains highest rank ever received.
Reading Between the Lines
An Interview with Joseph Fielding McConkie
The great and grand secret to scripture study is that there are no secrets. The answers can only be found in hard work.
Addiction Recovery Begins When We Let Go of Perfectionism
“No one would ever see a drunk, passed out in the gutter, and say, ‘There lies a perfectionist!' But that's exactly what I was! If I couldn't do life perfectly, then I wouldn't bother even trying.”
By Colleen Harrison
The Irony of Gethsemane, the Cross and the Garden Tomb
What so often hurts and burdens us is saturated with irony – the sudden turn of events, the expected unfolding into the unexpected, the change in fortune, the loss, the disappointment, the sorrow – all this Christ overcame decidedly forever.
By Doug Talley
The Not So Simple Gathering of Zion
I for one, find the difficulty of getting into Utah somewhere along the lines of storming the Bastille, or bursting into Buckingham Palace.
By Joni Hilton
Elbow Grease: Essential for Happiness
Spare your children the lessons of hard work and we will have a crippled society of lazy, whiny people who dread even the smallest amount of effort and for whom selfishness is a prominent trait.
By Joni Hilton
E-mail rumor promising huge protests at LDS Conference unfounded
An inflammatory e-mail is circulating around the country, saying Salt Lake City police officers are preparing for up to 200,000 protesters during the LDS General Conference in April.
By Carole Mikita
The Responsibility of Liberty vs. the Appeal of Kingmen
This gospel of ours depends on each man and woman making and keeping individual covenants with the Lord and accepting responsibility to support and sustain a righteous government. What could keep us from doing that?
By G.G. Vandagriff
Finding Addiction Recovery in the LDS Community
There is an ever-growing wave of humble honesty about addiction in the LDS community. That combination of humility and honesty is piercing the adversary's armor of shame-filled secrecy as LDS people are coming together in groups to study and apply the LDS version of the 12-Step program.
By Colleen Harrison
The Birthing Biz: How LDS Moms Get Sidetracked
Who has more babies than Mormons or Catholics? Nobody, right? So you'd think we'd have learned a few lessons by now. But no. In wards across the world, you still see women arguing about birthing methods.
By Joni Hilton
Teaching: No Scarier Call
Sooner or later every one of us in the Church is going to be called to be a teacher.
By Joni Hilton
The Chocolate Challenge
The stake Chocolate Challenge was even better than a trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania.
By Joni Hilton
Newbies Take It— Converts Often Run Circles Around Lifers
The trouble with being a “lifer” in the Church is that you get complacent and you think that just because you've always known about tithing and Primary, you can shift into a lower gear. But believe me, the minute you do that, some crackerjack convert will zoom past reciting The Articles of Faith in four languages, and there you'll be, wondering if they're in the Doctrine and Covenants, or the Pearl of Great Price.
By Joni Hilton
The “Rapture”—Prophetic Fulfillment or False Hope?
Many Protestants and Evangelicals speak of the "rapture." What is it and does it have any correlation with Latter-day beliefs?
By John A. Tvedtnes
Burnt Breakfast, Bananas, and Behavior
He learned so many of life's lessons doing the dishes, he can't wait to find out what he'll learn when he tackles cleaning the stove.
By Lynn Harbertson
Confronting Addiction in the LDS Community
Addiction: There was a time when the LDS community thought of it as a “Word of Wisdom” problem. Now we know that many of those things we dismiss as “bad habits” are addictions and controlling us more than we know.
By Colleen Harrison
Who Should Have Been Mormon of the Year, 1950-1969
After naming Mitt Romney the Mormon of the Year, the Times and Seasons blog, has continued the game.
“Doing Something Fine with Your Time”
What ARE you going to do with your time this year? It's a good question that all of us need to ponder. Here are some wonderful ideas and stories to help.
By Janet Peterson
Blog Creates “Mormon of the Year” Contest
Every year Time magazine chooses a person of the year, and, perhaps in that spirit, Kent Larsen, on the Times and Seasons blog, has created a new category—Mormon of the Year— which is about judging the impact that the nominees had on the world and on Mormonism.
Top Ten Church-Related Stories of the Year
Every year Meridian picks our top ten Church stories of the year, which includes both stories about the Church and stories about its members. This year was sober, exciting, vibrant, sometimes disconcerting, but the news flowed in a steady stream from our pages keeping our readers not only in the know about events, but also updated with savvy analysis.
By Maurine Proctor
Why so few Latter-day Saints Make New Years' Resolutions
Improvement is a good thing, right? So why do so few Latter-day Saints jump on the New Years' Resolutions bandwagon?
By Joni Hilton
How Mahonri Moriancamur Can Help Us in Troubled Times
While mobs attack our temples and our personal assets slip away, many of us are left wondering if the times that were foreseen by Paul are upon us.
By G.G. Vandagriff
The Christmas Tree and the Tree of Life
The Christmas tree is another symbol of the tree of life, complete with its bright balls representing the delicious fruit.
By Garth Norman
Elder Wirthlin and the Inspired Road of Silent Night
A composer, a writer, and a missionary all found their inspiration at a little town in Austria.
By David C. Cooper
“How Far Is It to Bethlehem?”
It is thousands of miles and dollars to get to Bethlehem, but you can be there with the Savior by taking a journey of a different kind.
By Janet Peterson
The Christmas Kindness Blanket
Today marks the first of eight days of Christmas stories from Meridian to warm the season and read aloud to your family. “We were strangers in a new place on that bitterly cold night and wondered if we would ever really feel warm again,” said Maurine Proctor, author of today's story.
By Maurine Proctor
WHY ANASAZI WORKS
Don't Fix Your Child; Let the Goodness Come Out
Parents with troubled children wonder what they can possibly do to help them. Here are some ideas, as well as a look at a program where teens make remarkable turn-a-rounds. .
By C. Terry Warner
Chairman of The Arbinger Institute
Pick a Card, Any Card
Am I the only LDS woman in the world who dreads having to buy a greeting card? If we're going to send cards this often, we need cards that fit real life.
By Joni Hilton
Prayers of Thanks
Like all commandments, the commandment to “thank the Lord in all things” is for our good, for our well-being and comfort. When furious storms blow all around us, this key of gratitude unlocks the door to the house of joy, then lets us stay inside where the fire of faith burns bright in the fireplace.
By Darla Isackson
A Miracle in Norway
In broken English, they asked me what I felt about this Mormons Book (Book of Mormon) that John had brought to them. Of course, I didn't speak Norwegian. . .
Edited By Matthew Dean Barkdull
Turn Off the Bad News of the World,
Tune into the Good News of the Gospel
Immersing ourselves in the scriptures and conference talks—so easily available—won't solve all our problems. But it is the best way I know to keep tuned into the very real power of the Spirit.
By Darla Isackson
If More Celebrities Joined the Church
Joni imagines what great callings would be Al Pacino, Celine Dion, Meryl Streep and more.
By Joni Hilton
Are You Being A Good Girl?
“Are you being a good girl?” questions my nearly 90-year-old Uncle Bob every time we meet. Uncle Bob's question is a very good question. You might consider his question as a condensed temple recommend interview.
By Janet Peterson
The Greater Yes
Can we trust God in all the turmoil we are seeing in the world today? He is in charge. God is who he says he is and can do what he says he can do. We have to come to understand his perfect answers.
By Darla Isackson
Bargaining With God
Sometimes we feel so desperate in our need that we try to make a deal with our Father in Heaven. It isn't much different than a teenager saying, "If you'll just let me borrow the car this one time, I promise I'll never get another ticket."
By Joni Hilton
Sister Nuttle and the Primary Program
When the program ended, all was quiet, all was calm, all was at peace and nobody wondered why Sister Nuttle's eyes pooled with tears. Come and read if this is not just about like the special primary program in your ward.
By Lisa Nissen
Two-by-Four Lessons from the Lord
Take some time today to think about what you can do to not only tell your spouse and family you love them, but to show them. Show them your love through positive responses of understanding and compassion. Don't wait for the Lord to remind you the hard way.
By Paul Bishop
Are We Having Fun Yet?
What is this worldwide obsession with having fun? Why are we then surprised when our teenagers seem reluctant to work hard, slow to serve others, and far more interested in pursuing self-indulgent activities, parties, drugs, sex, and thrill-seeking adventures?
By Joni Hilton
Life IS Fair
“Life just isn't fair!” Would it be fair to say that few, if any of us, have moved through the daily ups and downs of life without feeling that we have been unjustly dealt with at some time or another?
By Lynn Harbertson
"Will Ye Not Now Return unto Me that I May Heal You?"
The very worst has happened — a night of horror past all imaginings. You do not even know where you are. The darkness is so thick you cannot see your hand before your face. Is there any hope that you will survive the storm?
By G.G. Vandagriff
Standing Up for Prop 8: “I Hope You Know We're Not Haters”
A California resident endures catcalls and responds with kindness as she holds a placard in support of Prop 8.
By Michelle Worley
Overcoming the Nothingness of the Natural Man
All the elements obey; all God's creatures obey. Only man is disobedient; only man is capable of feeling like nothing.
By Darla Isackson
Why Am I Doing This?
We're human. Hobbies and interests aren't inherently bad by any means, it's just that they sometimes fill our lives so full that when we try to insert the nobler stuff, there's no room at the Inn.
By Joni Hilton
Dispelling Darkness in the " White City "
A young LDS family have been the only members of the Church in Algiers city, where bombs explode, Christ is only another prophet, and church must be held at home.
By Johnell and Bryan DeWitt
25 Cleaning Time Savers
The less time you spend cleaning, the more time you can lavish on those you love. Why not shave minutes off every task you tackle?
By Joni Hilton
Symposium to Help Authors, Musicians and Artists Publish
One2Another.net (O2A) announces a forum for authors, musicians and artists ready to publish their creations.
Serving with Joy
Callings are not meant to be a heavy burden, but a source of joy.
By Janet Peterson
When Parents Aren't “Goodly.”
Some time ago a sister in Relief Society shared that she absolutely cringes every time she hears the song, I Am a Child of God , because of the line, “has given me a loving home with parents kind and dear.”
By Joni Hilton
A Gift of Tongues When I Needed It
The good brother in the Family History library anxiously needed help, but he only spoke Spanish—and no Spanish speaker could be found.
By Matthew Dean Barkdull
The Miracle that Beat AIDS
Miracles—We often use the word to describe an event that is beyond explanation. Here is a miracle story about hemophilia and AIDS that demonstrates the power and love of God.
By Matthew Dean Barkdull
Every Member Online a Cyber Missionary
President David O. McKay became well known for the saying: "Every member a missionary." Had he lived in our time, he might have added: "Every member online a CYBER Missionary!" The World Wide Web seems to be an ideal way to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world.
By Marcel Demas
“Love in Any Language”
A Salute to China
Galena Street East, California's young performing ambassadors, recently visited China in anticipation of the Olympics, and found that “people are the same all over the world.”
By Alison Busch
Tuning Our Heart to Christ — the Heart of Our Father's Love for Us Overcoming Addiction — From One Heart to Another
With President Hinckley's prophetic witness ringing in our ears that even anger can be addictive, Latter-day Saints are finding they may need to adjust their definition of “addiction.” Maybe addiction really does plague the Saints far beyond the small percentage that fall into obvious alcohol or drug abuse.
By Colleen Harrison
Binding the Modern-day Korihor
It is very telling that Korihor first seeks to attack the atonement of Jesus Christ, the very root of a Christian life. It shows a cunning that reveals to us that Korihor knew right where to place his darts. He attacks both aspects of the atonement.
By G.G. Vandagriff
Protect Your Eyes from Evil
“Protect your eyes, boys!” was my battle cry as we rushed from the danger.
By Geoff Steurer
Forgiveness: The Healing Gift We Give Ourselves
The passage to inner peace comes through forgiving others.
By Cheryl Carson
All the Bad Stuff is Temporary
No trial goes on forever. The oft-quoted scripture, “And it came to pass,” is literal. Nothing here comes to stay.
By Darla Isackson
Taking the Cup of Christ
Have you ever wondered about the symbolism of the “cup?” It represents suffering that was done for us, but it also represents the potential that is offered for those who partake of the sacrament.
By G.G. Vandagriff
Modern-Day Christian Writing: It's All about Metaphor
As wickedness blackens the world around us, many good people struggle to reach for the light. They know that it is there, but it they don't know where to find it. People are hungry for stories of redemption.
By G.G. Vandagriff
The View from Bus 7 — a Peek into a Lady's Diary
Thirty years after the dedication of the Nauvoo Monument to Women on June 28, 1978, a Latter-day Saint recalls the event with the help of her journal.
By Kathy Green
Lessons in Adversity from the Book of Mormon
Our adversities may come as a result of our own mistakes, or they may be due to circumstances beyond our control. Either way, those trials can be endured and even overcome. The Book of Mormon shows us how.
By Janet Lisonbee
Is God Miserable about His Children's Choices?
How can God sit up there with His huge capacity for loving His billions of children, and not be miserable knowing what a mess many of us are making of our lives?
By Darla Isackson
A Living Sacrifice
Tired and miserable with the rigors of pregnancy, a young mother learns an important secret.
By Kathryn Lynard Soper
Look to God and Live
Thoughts become patterns. They become the programming that establishes our personal basis for evaluating and dealing with the world. They can, and usually do, influence our every move. But we can re-script, reprogram, and relearn.
By Myke Weber
The Duffle Bag
Sometimes good things happen to people who don’t conform.
By Larry Day
Pray and Stay Awake!
Sometimes in the scriptures, there are stories that parallel each other that command our attention and teach principles. Such is the case of the two accounts in scripture where Jesus was with his apostles and commanded them to watch and pray always lest they entered into temptation.
By Janet Lisonbee
We
are All Warriors
We are all warriors. Have you ever
wondered why Mormon kept all the war chapters in the Book of Mormon?
My son taught me the answer as he served in Georgia on his mission.
He said, "We are in a war here — a war with Satan.
I am learning a lot from the way Captain Moroni fought. Everything
is an allegory. There is a lot of instruction there on how to
fight this war."
By G.G. Vandagriff
Coming
Home to Love
The minute I begin feeling unloving
or critical toward someone who is unloving or critical, I am no
longer on the Lord's turf. I am uncomfortable because I've lost
the spirit of love. Since God is love, I've lost His Spirit, and
am left on my own until I turn back to Him.
By Darla Isackson
Family
Helps: CDs, Games and FHE Ideas
Entertaining as well as educational products aim to help LDS families
fulfill goals. They run the gamut from recorded talks to
games to books filled with ideas for Family Home Evening.
By Laurie
Williams Sowby
The
Spiritual Anatomy of Anger
Anger is part of being human. Denying the emotion causes more
problems than admitting it. Fortunately, there are healthy ways
to deal with anger and to get the understanding from your head
into your heart.
By Darla Isackson
Secretive
Mormonism?
If people who are not members of the Church complain to you about
the "secretive" nature of Mormonism, here is a resonse
from a noted LDS scholar.
By John A. Tvedtnes
Tales
from the Backwater of the Church
It has been called an island of individuality
in a sea of status quo. But whatever you call it, this community
of Latter-day Saints knows how to have a rip-roaring good time.
By Greg Hansen
Make
an Un-Smart New Year's Resolution
We
have probably all heard about the importance of making plans to
ensure a better likelihood of actually accomplishing the goals
we set for ourselves, but is there ever a time when sticking to
your goals isn't so smart?
By Jonathan H. Westover
Glimpses of the Church in England
The wife of a newly called mission president
of the England London South Mission experiences a melting
pot of nationalities in Latter-day Saint congregations.
By Heidi S. Swinton
The
Ultimate iPod
Here is The Definitive Explanation of why
you should consider getting an iPod, or other mp3 player. The
best part is, John the Revelator and other prophets may have foreseen
something just as personal as this.
By Greg Hansen
One
Mom’s New Year’s Eve Dreams
A starry-eyed teenager's belief
that how we end the old year tells much about how we will spend
the new is recalled by an older and wiser mother.
By Debra Sansing Woods
Presence,
Not Presents
In December and throughout the year,
we need to remind ourselves that our presence is much more valuable
than any other gift we can give. Likewise, the presence
of the Lord in our lives is the greatest gift we can receive.
By Darla Isackson
How To Make Cold Mornings Memorable for Your School Kids
Here are some simple tips that
offer a fun, inexpensive way to make those winter mornings something
the kids will remember and look forward to.
By Greg Hansen
A Tiny Christmas Miracle
All the memories of her lost baby were contained in a slender scrapbook. Now the scrapbook was missing. Would the memories be lost too?
By Janice Kapp Perry
Fasting
and Spiritual Feasting
Both fasting and prayer are not to
change God’s mind, but to change our hearts. They are not
to change God's will, but to put our will in harmony with it.
By Darla Isackson
The
Blessing of Patriarchal Blessings
Most human beings are on a quest to understand
who they really are. Since we can't remember, we yearn for clues.
Patriarchal blessings give us some of the most important and trustworthy
insights to personal reality that we will ever receive.
By
Darla Isackson
Ye
Shall Always Rejoice
What particular experiences have
you had in your life that have forged your testimony, that have
shown you that God is there? Do you always retain them in remembrance?
Have you written them down? Have you shared them with your family
and with others whose testimony may be flagging?
By G.G. Vandagriff
Choosing Agency — Again!
A well-meaning stake missionary watches the trials a family goes through and reminds herself that agency rules — even in instances where people making the choices aren't as smart as we are.
by Darla Isackson
Financial Freedom and the Blessings of a Debt-Free Life
Experiencing the blessings of a debt-free life all starts with learning to put the Lord first and paying an honest tithing and a generous fast offering. Being obedient to the Lord's law of finance helps to put us into the correct frame of mind — recognizing that all we have comes from the Lord.
By Jonathan H. Westover
Counting
the Blessings Freedom Brings
If you are looking for new traditions
to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, try counting the blessings
of freedom. You may be surprised with the freedoms that are important
to you.
By Debra Sansing Woods
The
Highway of the Lord
Highways play an important role in the gospel.
It is important that we be on the right path, that the path be
in a good condition, and that the path be well lit in order for
us to reach our final destination.
By Janet Lisonbee
There
Are No Small Things
One small act
of kindness activated a family and has even affected generations
beyond the veil. Through this gesture of love, the author learned
that there are no small acts of kindness.
By G.G. Vandagriff
Loving
Life's Second Half
It's been proved by a reputable research
team that those who have the most birthdays live the longest!
The second half can be the best.
by Darla Isackson
Friends
Help a Family with Home Decorating
A Low-End Budget Yields a High-End Look
It started
as one girl's idea: learn interior design and make it a project
to help others.
By Dana King
Announcing
Meridian Japanese
We started Meridian with a vision,
that this magazine could be a gathering place for Saints from
around the world —
and today we mark the beginning of Meridian Magazine in Japanese!
By Maurine Proctor
Margaret
Barker's Understanding of Jesus Christ
Depictions
of Christ as anything from a magician to a cynic teacher are dismissed
by Margaret Barker, whose Jesus of Nazareth knew who he was and
what he was doing. Her Jesus of history was the Christ of faith.
By Kevin Christensen
Celebrating
the Continuation of Life
If Mother's Day brought pain to
you, there is another way to look at the annual commemoration.
Next year, think of Mother's Day as a celebration of life.
By Darla Isackson
Latter-day
Saints and Infertility:
A Unique Challenge and a Unique Blessing
Living in a family-oriented culture can
present a unique challenge to those who have unfulfilled expectations
with regard to children, but not so challenging that we should
miss out on promised blessings.
By Krista
Ralston Oakes
A
More Excellent Hope: Developing a Vision of Wholeness in the Process
of Recovery from Pornography and Sexual Addiction
In a world where homosexuality,
pornography, and alternative lifestyles are vehemently protected
we've come to the point where the prophets of old have warned.
That is, we now call evil good and good evil, we now put darkness
for light and light for darkness (Isaiah 5:20). Yet there is hope.
By Joseph White
Verily,
Verily, I Say unto You
When Jesus said "verily," He did
it for a reason. We should pay special attention to the "verily,
verily" phrases and even the singular "verily"
should alert us to something that Jesus especially wants us to
know.
By Janet Lisonbee
Rings
and Repentance
It was just one ancient diamond ring
in a whole collection of jewelry. Nobody would ever notice it
was gone.
By Kathryn Lynard Soper
“Lord,
How Is It Done?”
There is no limit to God's power
in our lives —
except as we limit Him by our doubt and unbelief. Only as we believe
and trust Him can he bless us as He desires. What an awesome risk
He took to give us agency, knowing we could use it to shut Him
out of our lives. He stands at the door and knocks, but when we
choose not to believe we leave Him standing out in the cold.
By Darla Isackson
Beautifully
Modest Announces Scholarships
Beautifully
Modest, America's largest provider of modest-only bridal and formal
wear, announced today it is offering five scholarships to students
who best exemplify modesty in an article or essay.
Overcoming
Opposition
The hymn "Where Can I Turn for
Peace" has a story for all of us. But the biggest story may
be the one behind the hymn —
the reason the hymn was written in the first place.
By D. Bryce Baker
The
Lord's Yoke
What an amazing concept that I am
invited to have Him right beside me — He who never tires,
never needs sleep, always knows what is best to do. But the yoke
concept works only if I'm willing to go the Lord's way, move in
the same direction He is headed, have the same desires, plow the
same field.
By Darla Isackson
The
Missing Scriptures
There were other sets of scriptures
around the house. Why was it that the loss of this one set of
scriptures made the whole world seem out of whack?
By Steve Orton
Root
Causes of the Need to Be Right
"What difference does it make?"
is a good conflict-defusing question to ask ourselves any time
we disagree. The only difference any conflict about mundane things
makes is what we make of it.
By Darla Isackson
What's
Wrong with Being Right?
Being "right" about something
is an empty victory indeed if a relationship is strained because
of it. It
take a generosity of spirit to allow others their own perceptions
and responses, to have the patience to let others be on their
own journey, learn at their own speed — the very same generosity
of experience exemplified by the Savior.
By Darla Isackson
Rest
and Recreation that Rejuvenate
When you're tired, how do you relax?
Do you take a warm bath, or turn on the television to unwind?
There may be a better way.
By Peggy Barrus
The
Testament of “Amazing Grace”
The beloved hymn "Amazing Grace,"
recently featured in a feature film by the same name, is no mere
pop cultural icon. It is a testament to the potentially transformative
power of religious conversion.
By Daniel C. Peterson
Kneeling
in the Snow
A few of the Scouts took the wrong
fork in the road and ended up miles from their equipment. How
would they make it back to the rest of their group before nightfall?
By Jonathan H. Westover
Making
a Mission Happen, Part 5
Couples who serving as senior missionaries
around the world share their joys and their frustrations, hoping
that you will join them in their labors.
By Laurie Williams Sowby
Latter-day
Miracle Among the Zuni
More
than 406 priesthood blessings given in one day by one missionary
stopped a smallpox epidemic in its tracks. In our church, miracles
continue to happen.
By Steve Orton
Letting
Go of Self-Deception
Do we remember our actions the way they
really happened or as we wish they had happened? And we if only
remember the wishes, what is the harm in that?
By
Paul
Bishop
Choosing
Life in Spite of Loss
All of us suffer losses. Sometimes those
losses are great ones. It's how we react to the losses that determines
who we are, and whether we will be happy.
By
Darla Isackson
Plain
and Precious Things Restored: Jesus and the Temple Tradition
When studying the New Testament, the text
without the context cannot tell us everything we need to know.
We have to prepare our minds to bring the most bountiful harvest
from the text.
By Kevin Christensen
Valentine's
Day is for Everyone
I realize now that she gave me two
gifts that year —
the baked goodies themselves, but also the sense, as I tried to
figure out who had delivered my secret valentine, that I was loved
by many.
By Debra Sansing Woods
The
Subtle Curse of Too Many Choices
When there are a thousand options
you can choose or not-choose, how can you ever decide which cell
phone (or which car, or which brand of spaghetti sauce) is the
perfect one for you?
By Darla
Isackson
Some Things Are Worth Saving
In your quest to de-clutter your life, don't throw out the treasures with the trash. There's a way to tell the difference.
By Darla Isackson
A
Different Way to Read the Scriptures
He was proud of his scripture-marking
program until he realized that the markings caused him to see
the same things every time he read the scriptures.
By Jonathan H. Westover
Becoming
Temples of the Lord
We who follow Jesus Christ are all carpenters.
We are building temples where the Lord's spirit can come to reside.
By Janet Lisonbee
With
Surety Hoping for a Better World
In a Romanian orphanage, a BYU student
learned, "When I was overwhelmed with the pain around me,
I was lovingly reminded that I did not need to take it on myself,
because Someone else already had."
By G.G. Vandagriff and Shannon Wilson
The
Lord is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want (What I Can't Have)
If the Lord
is my Shepherd I won't want what I can't have and what He is not
willing to give me. What are some of the "can'ts" I
sometimes have wanted?
By Darla
Isackson
One
Mom’s Mostly Complete Thoughts on Family Life
Are you so
distracted by your children's constant chatter that you forget
to add baking soda to the cake? One mother has found some lifesaving
coping mechanisms.
By Debra Sansing Woods
John
Adams: “A Man Worth Knowing”
America's second
president set examples of morality and service that are still
relevant today. His life is worth remembering more than 175 years
after his death.
David McCullough
