There is an old story of a waiter who asked a customer whether he had enjoyed the meal. The guest replied that everything was fine, but it would have been better if they had served more bread. The next day, when the man returned, the waiter doubled the amount of bread, giving him four slices instead of two, but still the man was not happy. The next day, the waiter doubled the bread again, without success.
On the fourth day, the waiter was really determined to make the man happy. And so he took a nine-foot-long (3-m) loaf of bread, cut it in half, and with a smile, served that to the customer. The waiter could scarcely wait for the man’s reaction.
After the meal, the man looked up and said, “Good as always. But I see you’re back to giving only two slices of bread.”
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Grateful in Any Circumstances
A customer repeatedly complains about not receiving enough bread, even as the waiter doubles the portions each day. On the fourth day, the waiter serves half of a nine-foot loaf, yet the customer still insists he only received two slices. The story highlights an attitude that cannot be satisfied despite increasing generosity.
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👤 Other
Gratitude
Happiness
Kindness
Service
Life after High School: It Does Exist!
The author endures a hot, barren approach across desert sand, doubting the value of the trip. After several dusty miles, he descends into Coyote Gulch and is surprised by a lush, cool canyon with water and towering walls. The transformation from bleak to beautiful was invisible from above, illustrating that wonders can lie just out of sight.
The landscape was dry, barren, and ugly. Beauty, admittedly, is in the eye of the beholder. That holds true for scenery as well as works of art. Yet the expanse of desert in front of me did so little to inspire my imagination that I felt sure plenty of other people might share my sentiment. The only thing growing out there was sage brush and weeds, and even those were spread thin.
I’d spent six hours in a car to reach this?
With my backpacking pack loaded with three days of food, water, and supplies, I trudged across the hot sand and hoped things would get better. Soon the dry sand deepened, which made every step feel like two or three. Things went on like that for several miles: hot, dry, dusty, and nothing at all like I’d hoped this adventure would be.
And then Coyote Gulch, one of the great slot canyons of the western United States, swallowed me whole.
It’s hard to describe the drastic change in scenery that engulfs you as you drop into this desert canyon. Hot, dry sand gives way to cool, packed earth. Sage brush is replaced with an oasis of towering trees, ferns, and other vibrant plants.
Barren flatland becomes a deep, shadowed canyon with towering walls on either side. A cool and refreshing stream courses through the bottom, whereas you can’t see water anywhere from above.
I was blown away at every step. I took pictures by the hundred. Yet for those first few dusty miles, literally none of this staggering beauty was visible, even if you looked for it.
I’d spent six hours in a car to reach this?
With my backpacking pack loaded with three days of food, water, and supplies, I trudged across the hot sand and hoped things would get better. Soon the dry sand deepened, which made every step feel like two or three. Things went on like that for several miles: hot, dry, dusty, and nothing at all like I’d hoped this adventure would be.
And then Coyote Gulch, one of the great slot canyons of the western United States, swallowed me whole.
It’s hard to describe the drastic change in scenery that engulfs you as you drop into this desert canyon. Hot, dry sand gives way to cool, packed earth. Sage brush is replaced with an oasis of towering trees, ferns, and other vibrant plants.
Barren flatland becomes a deep, shadowed canyon with towering walls on either side. A cool and refreshing stream courses through the bottom, whereas you can’t see water anywhere from above.
I was blown away at every step. I took pictures by the hundred. Yet for those first few dusty miles, literally none of this staggering beauty was visible, even if you looked for it.
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👤 Other
Adversity
Creation
Hope
“Hey, You’re Matteo, the Mormon, Right?”
Unable to avoid attention about his religion, the author chose to lean into it by dressing as a missionary for Halloween, despite the risk of ridicule. The choice paid off, making people smile, prompting playful interactions, breaking stereotypes, and helping him make new friends.
Since I could not escape my newfound notoriety, I decided to create opportunities that would add laughter to potentially uncomfortable conversations. I took a chance and dressed up as a nametag-wearing missionary for Halloween (a costume holiday celebrated in October). I knew this was a risky endeavor as I could be completely ridiculed, but I had a feeling that doing so would show that I was sure of my beliefs.
The risk paid off. Walking around campus as a missionary made everyone smile and sparked lively role-playing sessions. I broke some stereotypes and made some new friends.
The risk paid off. Walking around campus as a missionary made everyone smile and sparked lively role-playing sessions. I broke some stereotypes and made some new friends.
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👤 Youth
👤 Friends
Courage
Faith
Friendship
Judging Others
Missionary Work
Counsel to Young Men
As a five-year-old, the speaker contracted polio, was bedridden, and had to relearn how to walk, leaving him weak and self-conscious. He decided to compensate in other ways and later received a patriarchal blessing affirming his body's fitness for his spirit. This assurance gave him encouragement to move forward despite limitations.
When I was five years old, I became very ill. It turned out that I had polio, a disease that was completely unknown to the small-town doctor. I lay for several weeks on a World War I army cot in our front room beside a coal stove. Afterward, I could not walk. I remember very clearly sliding around on the linoleum floor and pulling myself up on chairs, learning to walk again. I was more fortunate than some. A friend walked with crutches and steel leg braces all of his life.
As I moved into school, I found that my muscles were weak. I was very self-conscious. I knew that I could never be an athlete.
It did not help a lot when I read about the man who went to a doctor to find a cure for his inferiority complex. After a careful examination, the doctor told him, “You don’t have a complex. You really are inferior!”
With that for encouragement, I set about through life and determined to compensate in other ways.
I found hope in my patriarchal blessing. The patriarch, whom I had never met before, confirmed to me that patriarchs do have prophetic insight. He said that I had a desire to come to earth life and was willing to meet the tests that would accompany life in a mortal body. He said that I had been given a body of such physical proportion and fitness to enable my spirit to function through it unhampered by physical impediment. That encouraged me.
As I moved into school, I found that my muscles were weak. I was very self-conscious. I knew that I could never be an athlete.
It did not help a lot when I read about the man who went to a doctor to find a cure for his inferiority complex. After a careful examination, the doctor told him, “You don’t have a complex. You really are inferior!”
With that for encouragement, I set about through life and determined to compensate in other ways.
I found hope in my patriarchal blessing. The patriarch, whom I had never met before, confirmed to me that patriarchs do have prophetic insight. He said that I had a desire to come to earth life and was willing to meet the tests that would accompany life in a mortal body. He said that I had been given a body of such physical proportion and fitness to enable my spirit to function through it unhampered by physical impediment. That encouraged me.
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👤 General Authorities (Modern)
👤 Children
Adversity
Disabilities
Health
Hope
Patriarchal Blessings
Cans for Kailey
Kailey was born prematurely and spent months in intensive care, with doctors predicting severe lifelong disabilities. Through years of prayers, ward and family fasts, priesthood blessings, and surgeries, she survived and grew into a happy 12-year-old. Despite continued vision loss, including permanent loss in one eye and worsening sight in the other, she remains optimistic.
This is a story of vision lost and vision gained.
It’s the story of Kailey I. of eastern Utah, USA, who as a baby was so eager to enter this life that she came early and spent her first four and a half months of life in the newborn intensive care unit. Doctors said she might not live long and that if she did survive, she wouldn’t be able to see or speak. She would spend her life in a wheelchair, they said, and she would suffer from cerebral palsy.
Today, Kailey and her parents say that Heavenly Father must have had other plans. The years have been filled with prayer and days of ward and family fasts, multiple priesthood blessings, repeated surgeries, several three-and-a-half-hour drives to doctors, and even a two-and-a-half-month period of total blindness. Despite all that, Kailey is a vibrant, happy 12-year-old who just advanced from Primary into Young Women.
But her eyes, diseased from birth, have never provided more than limited sight. At age 10, Kailey permanently lost vision in her left eye. Now her right eye—which has a field of vision so small it’s like looking through a straw—is getting worse.
It’s the story of Kailey I. of eastern Utah, USA, who as a baby was so eager to enter this life that she came early and spent her first four and a half months of life in the newborn intensive care unit. Doctors said she might not live long and that if she did survive, she wouldn’t be able to see or speak. She would spend her life in a wheelchair, they said, and she would suffer from cerebral palsy.
Today, Kailey and her parents say that Heavenly Father must have had other plans. The years have been filled with prayer and days of ward and family fasts, multiple priesthood blessings, repeated surgeries, several three-and-a-half-hour drives to doctors, and even a two-and-a-half-month period of total blindness. Despite all that, Kailey is a vibrant, happy 12-year-old who just advanced from Primary into Young Women.
But her eyes, diseased from birth, have never provided more than limited sight. At age 10, Kailey permanently lost vision in her left eye. Now her right eye—which has a field of vision so small it’s like looking through a straw—is getting worse.
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👤 Parents
👤 Children
👤 Church Members (General)
👤 Other
Adversity
Children
Disabilities
Faith
Family
Fasting and Fast Offerings
Health
Miracles
Prayer
Priesthood Blessing
Young Women
Call the Church in His Name
While visiting a friend’s church, someone asked if the author was a 'Mormon.' He consistently replied using the Church’s full name and explained who the prophet Mormon was. He testified that Jesus Christ is his Savior and desired to be known by Christ’s name, leading the person to ask if he was a Christian, which he affirmed.
One day I was visiting a friend at a church of another faith. Someone came up to me and with a bright smile asked if I was a Mormon. “Yes, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” I said.
He started asking me several questions, each beginning with: “Does the Mormon Church believe … ?”
And each time, I began my answer with the phrase: “In the restored Church of Jesus Christ, we believe …”
This banter went back and forth several times. When he noticed that I wasn’t accepting the title “Mormon,” he asked me point-blank, “Are you not Mormon?”
So I asked him if he knew who Mormon was—he didn’t. I told him that Mormon was a prophet, a historian, and a military general in the ancient Americas. I am honored to be associated with a man who was so dedicated to the service of God and others.
“But,” I continued, “Mormon didn’t die for my sins. Jesus Christ is my God and my Savior. He is my Redeemer. And it is by His name that I want to be known at the last day, and it’s by His name that I hope to be known today.”
I felt the assurance of the Spirit supporting me in this short testimony to my new acquaintance. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “So, you’re a Christian?”
“Yes, I’m a Christian,” I responded, “and a member of Christ’s restored Church.”
He started asking me several questions, each beginning with: “Does the Mormon Church believe … ?”
And each time, I began my answer with the phrase: “In the restored Church of Jesus Christ, we believe …”
This banter went back and forth several times. When he noticed that I wasn’t accepting the title “Mormon,” he asked me point-blank, “Are you not Mormon?”
So I asked him if he knew who Mormon was—he didn’t. I told him that Mormon was a prophet, a historian, and a military general in the ancient Americas. I am honored to be associated with a man who was so dedicated to the service of God and others.
“But,” I continued, “Mormon didn’t die for my sins. Jesus Christ is my God and my Savior. He is my Redeemer. And it is by His name that I want to be known at the last day, and it’s by His name that I hope to be known today.”
I felt the assurance of the Spirit supporting me in this short testimony to my new acquaintance. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “So, you’re a Christian?”
“Yes, I’m a Christian,” I responded, “and a member of Christ’s restored Church.”
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👤 Church Members (General)
👤 Friends
👤 Other
Book of Mormon
Holy Ghost
Jesus Christ
Missionary Work
Testimony
The Restoration
Highlights from Recent Devotional Addresses
On the day before Valentine’s Day, Elder Ronald A. Rasband spoke at BYU–Idaho in a devotional titled “What’s Not to Love?”. He taught that loving God with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength is the curriculum of discipleship. He emphasized that such love is not lukewarm and that joy accompanies the blessings that follow.
On the day before Valentine’s Day, Elder Ronald A. Rasband gave a devotional address titled “What’s Not to Love?” at Brigham Young University–Idaho.
He taught that “love of God embraces both the Father and the Son” and motivates us to become true disciples: “To love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is life’s curriculum in becoming a true disciple. It is no lukewarm, casual effort with spotty results. … When your love of God consumes your service, interests, priorities, and affections, you are blessed, and joy attends those blessings.”2
He taught that “love of God embraces both the Father and the Son” and motivates us to become true disciples: “To love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is life’s curriculum in becoming a true disciple. It is no lukewarm, casual effort with spotty results. … When your love of God consumes your service, interests, priorities, and affections, you are blessed, and joy attends those blessings.”2
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👤 General Authorities (Modern)
👤 Church Members (General)
Conversion
Happiness
Jesus Christ
Love
Stewardship—a Sacred Trust
As a boy, the speaker helped his grandmother carry water from a protected spring on his grandparents’ ranch. Years later, he drove his elderly grandfather to visit and found the fences broken and the spring polluted by cows, which deeply upset his grandfather. Because of that reaction, protections were restored and the spring returned to purity.
The Lord often used parables relating to the land in teaching accountability and stewardship. When I was a small boy, I would visit my grandparents at their ranch during the summer. There was no electrical power, running water, or indoor plumbing. There was, however, a spring of water next to their small ranch house. The spring created a little pond of clear, pure water, where several times a day I would help my grandmother carry water to the house for drinking, cooking, bathing, and washing clothes. My grandparents loved this life-giving spring and took special precautions to protect it.
Many years later my grandfather was in his early 90s and did not live on the property; he was unable to maintain or oversee it. I drove him to see the ranch which he loved. His high expectations at seeing the ranch turned to disappointment when he realized the fences that protected the spring had fallen into disrepair and cows had damaged the spring and the precious, pure springwater had been significantly polluted. He was upset with the damage and the pollution. To him, it was a violation of a trust he had observed all his working life. He felt somehow he had not protected that life-sustaining spring which had meant so much to him.
Because of my grandfather’s reaction to the polluted spring, improvements and protections were undertaken which returned the spring to its original beauty and purity.
Many years later my grandfather was in his early 90s and did not live on the property; he was unable to maintain or oversee it. I drove him to see the ranch which he loved. His high expectations at seeing the ranch turned to disappointment when he realized the fences that protected the spring had fallen into disrepair and cows had damaged the spring and the precious, pure springwater had been significantly polluted. He was upset with the damage and the pollution. To him, it was a violation of a trust he had observed all his working life. He felt somehow he had not protected that life-sustaining spring which had meant so much to him.
Because of my grandfather’s reaction to the polluted spring, improvements and protections were undertaken which returned the spring to its original beauty and purity.
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👤 Children
👤 Other
Agency and Accountability
Creation
Family
Stewardship
Friend to Friend
As a young Scout, Spencer Osborn took a different mountain path and became lost. He prayed for help, and shortly after, his Scoutmaster, prompted by the Spirit, found him and led him back down the trail.
As a youth, Elder Osborn especially enjoyed Scouting. One time when he had gone on a hike into the mountains with his Scout troop, he took a different path from that of the rest of the Scouts, thinking that the two paths would eventually meet. The trail was steep and rocky and did not join the path that the other Scouts had taken, after all. He was lost, and he prayed that the Lord would help him. “A short time later,” he said, “my Scoutmaster, having been prompted by the Spirit to find me, came up the path and helped me back down the trail.”
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👤 Youth
👤 Church Members (General)
Holy Ghost
Miracles
Prayer
Revelation
Young Men
Go Ye Therefore
As her grandson Christian prepared for his eighth birthday and baptism, he asked his mother to invite the speaker to share her conversion story. When asked why, he explained that her accepting the gospel made his baptism and identity possible. The exchange highlights the far-reaching effects of conversion.
A couple of years ago my grandson Christian was turning eight and planning his baptismal service with great anticipation. He asked his mother if I could be one of the speakers and share my conversion story. When I asked him why he wanted me to do that, he replied, “Grandma, that is so important. Do you realize that if you hadn’t accepted the gospel, I wouldn’t be getting baptized? I wouldn’t even be who I am.”
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👤 Parents
👤 Children
👤 Church Members (General)
Baptism
Children
Conversion
Family
Testimony
“I feel so alone at church. How can I learn to feel included?”
Gredy felt alone when she moved from Primary to Young Women. By supporting others, she received support and made friends, no longer feeling alone. Now as Beehive president, she welcomes new girls and helps them feel included.
When I first entered Young Women, I felt alone because I had left my friends in the Valiant class. However, I tried to support the young women, and they also supported me, and I was able to make new friends and interact with them. I no longer felt alone, and that made me happy. Now I am the president of the Beehives, and if I see a new sister who feels uncomfortable being with us, I talk with her, explain what we do in class, and make her feel that she is part of us.
Gredy G., 14, Lima, Peru
Gredy G., 14, Lima, Peru
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👤 Youth
👤 Friends
👤 Church Members (General)
👤 Church Leaders (Local)
Friendship
Happiness
Kindness
Ministering
Young Women
Other Pioneers
Following the 1948 communist takeover, members faced threats but continued to worship and pay tithes. After two missionaries were imprisoned, non-Czech leaders were forced out and Rudolf Kubiska was set apart as acting mission and branch president. For fourteen years, leaders ministered in homes while members endured government questioning and severe risks, yet most remained faithful.
Missionaries returned to Czechoslovakia. Then in February 1948, the communists took over the government. Though persecuted and threatened with having their food rations reduced and losing their jobs, the members continued to attend their meetings and pay their tithes and offerings. In 1950 two missionaries were imprisoned as spies. The only way the government would let them go was if all the non-Czech leaders of the Church left the country.
Rudolf Kubiska was set apart as the acting mission president and branch president in Prague. For the next fourteen years, the government would not allow the Czech members to worship publicly. Instead, priesthood leaders visited members in their homes, administering the sacrament and teaching the gospel to one family at a time. Members were often called in for questioning by government officials to see if they were breaking the laws against public worship. If the government felt that the laws had been broken, the members could lose their opportunity to go to school, their homes, and/or their jobs. But even though they were persecuted, most of the Saints remained faithful.
Rudolf Kubiska was set apart as the acting mission president and branch president in Prague. For the next fourteen years, the government would not allow the Czech members to worship publicly. Instead, priesthood leaders visited members in their homes, administering the sacrament and teaching the gospel to one family at a time. Members were often called in for questioning by government officials to see if they were breaking the laws against public worship. If the government felt that the laws had been broken, the members could lose their opportunity to go to school, their homes, and/or their jobs. But even though they were persecuted, most of the Saints remained faithful.
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👤 Missionaries
👤 Church Leaders (Local)
👤 Church Members (General)
👤 Other
Adversity
Endure to the End
Faith
Ministering
Missionary Work
Priesthood
Religious Freedom
Sacrament
Tithing
It Started with a Friend
As she began attending church, the author felt the Spirit strongly and wondered if she would gain her own testimony. That night she prayed about joining the Church and felt prompted to read in John. She found John 14:6 and felt that Christ was the way for her.
During this time I started going to church. I cried at my first sacrament meeting—I felt the Spirit so strongly! As I listened to the testimonies of others at that first fast and testimony meeting, I remember wondering if I would ever have my own testimony. Young Women was my favorite meeting. I loved being with other girls who shared my values and some of my interests and learning about how I was a daughter of God. I felt so much love at church.
That night, I asked Heavenly Father in prayer if joining the Church was the right path for me. My mind was filled with one word: John. I had never read much in the Bible, but I knew I’d find my answer in the book of John. I found John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Christ was meant to be the way for me too.
That night, I asked Heavenly Father in prayer if joining the Church was the right path for me. My mind was filled with one word: John. I had never read much in the Bible, but I knew I’d find my answer in the book of John. I found John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Christ was meant to be the way for me too.
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👤 Youth
👤 Church Members (General)
Bible
Conversion
Faith
Friendship
Holy Ghost
Jesus Christ
Love
Prayer
Revelation
Sacrament
Sacrament Meeting
Scriptures
Testimony
Young Women
From Cape Town to Port Louis, Lighting The World in Southern Africa
Members in Ladysmith sewed and altered nearly 200 curtains for Môrester Children’s Home after noticing the old, mismatched curtains. They also donated a volleyball set and biscuits, and a social worker expressed gratitude, noting the children had hoped for Christmas cookies without funds to buy them.
Members of the church in Ladysmith, South Africa donated almost 200 handmade curtains to the Môrester Children’s Home.
Môrester Children’s Home cares for children that were removed from their families by a court order because of unsafe and unhealthy circumstances in their homes. The home houses 157 children in 11 houses in Ladysmith and surrounding areas.
“During our visit to the care centre we found the curtains to be old and washed out and often two different curtains hung at the same window. We felt that curtains are associated with light, and this would fit in well with our campaign,” Sister Susan De Klerk, the communications director in Ladysmith District, said.
Hours of sewing the curtains, and more hours of altering the curtains to Môrester’s specifications yielded 198 curtains.
The group further donated a volleyball net and two volleyballs as well as boxes of biscuits.
With tears in her eyes, Nobambo Nzinya, a social worker at the Môrester Children’s Home expressed her gratitude for the efforts of the volunteers.
“The children kept asking when the centre is going to buy them cookies for Christmas. And I honestly didn’t know what to tell them as I knew that there was no funds available to buy cookies for Christmas,” Nobambo Nzinya said.
“We as the centre are so grateful. Your service proves that you work in collaboration with the Holy Spirit.”
Môrester Children’s Home cares for children that were removed from their families by a court order because of unsafe and unhealthy circumstances in their homes. The home houses 157 children in 11 houses in Ladysmith and surrounding areas.
“During our visit to the care centre we found the curtains to be old and washed out and often two different curtains hung at the same window. We felt that curtains are associated with light, and this would fit in well with our campaign,” Sister Susan De Klerk, the communications director in Ladysmith District, said.
Hours of sewing the curtains, and more hours of altering the curtains to Môrester’s specifications yielded 198 curtains.
The group further donated a volleyball net and two volleyballs as well as boxes of biscuits.
With tears in her eyes, Nobambo Nzinya, a social worker at the Môrester Children’s Home expressed her gratitude for the efforts of the volunteers.
“The children kept asking when the centre is going to buy them cookies for Christmas. And I honestly didn’t know what to tell them as I knew that there was no funds available to buy cookies for Christmas,” Nobambo Nzinya said.
“We as the centre are so grateful. Your service proves that you work in collaboration with the Holy Spirit.”
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👤 Church Members (General)
👤 Church Leaders (Local)
👤 Children
👤 Other
Adoption
Charity
Children
Christmas
Gratitude
Holy Ghost
Kindness
Service
Out of the Best Books:Summer Reading Fun
Juan, enslaved to the painter Velázquez, longs to paint in sixteenth-century Spain where it is illegal for him. Though fiction, the tale is based on real people, and Juan’s story is compelling.
I, Juan de Pareja A slave to the famous painter Velázquez, Juan wanted to paint, too—but it was against the law in sixteenth-century Spain. This award-winning book is fiction, but Juan and Velázquez were real people, and Juan’s story is gripping.Elizabeth Borton de Treviño10–13 years
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👤 Other
Adversity
Courage
Racial and Cultural Prejudice
Chastity in an Unchaste World
In high school, Kaylie had friends who were atheist or agnostic, including one who viewed intimacy as purely self-gratifying. Kaylie shared that she follows commandments because they make her happy. Despite disagreements, her friend respected her and they remained close.
Kaylie: Some people who don’t believe in God feel that the Bible and the law of chastity are out of date. I had some friends in high school who were basically atheist or agnostic—and I had one friend who didn’t really believe in the teachings of her religion. She just lived according to what she wanted, what she felt was right for her. Physical intimacy, from her point of view, is self-gratifying, and anything that would restrict that gratification is undesirable.
I think my friend was surprised that I believed in the Bible and God’s commandments, but I tried to help her understand that I don’t view the commandments as restrictions; I live them because they make me happier. Although we disagreed, she respected me, and we remained great friends.
I think my friend was surprised that I believed in the Bible and God’s commandments, but I tried to help her understand that I don’t view the commandments as restrictions; I live them because they make me happier. Although we disagreed, she respected me, and we remained great friends.
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👤 Youth
👤 Friends
Agency and Accountability
Bible
Chastity
Commandments
Friendship
Happiness
Inside a House of the Lord
Toni Smith reached the Celestial Room and realized the temple is truly the house of the Lord. That realization removed her doubts about where she wanted to be married.
When I got to the Celestial Room, I suddenly realized that this building isn’t like the rest of the buildings in the world; it is the house of the Lord. Now I have no doubt where I want to be married.—Toni Smith, Salt Lake City, Utah
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👤 Church Members (General)
Marriage
Reverence
Sealing
Temples
FYI:For Your Information
Laurels in the Chatsworth Second Ward spent a Saturday cleaning the home of a wheelchair-bound sister. They felt the Spirit, saw her happiness, and decided to do more service projects after the experience.
The Laurels in the Chatsworth Second Ward, Los Angeles California Chatsworth Stake, learned a great lesson about service when they cleaned an elderly lady’s house one Saturday.
Armed with buckets, mops, soap and rags, they cleaned the house until it sparkled inside and out. The sister they helped is confined to a wheelchair and greatly appreciated their service.
“I know the Spirit was with us because we felt so close to one another after we had finished,” said Julie Jensen, president of the Laurel class. “After this experience we knew that it wasn’t only the work we were helping her with, but that we made her feel so happy. That is what service projects are all about.”
The Laurels all agreed that they should do even more service projects, because they learned such a valuable lesson with this one.
Armed with buckets, mops, soap and rags, they cleaned the house until it sparkled inside and out. The sister they helped is confined to a wheelchair and greatly appreciated their service.
“I know the Spirit was with us because we felt so close to one another after we had finished,” said Julie Jensen, president of the Laurel class. “After this experience we knew that it wasn’t only the work we were helping her with, but that we made her feel so happy. That is what service projects are all about.”
The Laurels all agreed that they should do even more service projects, because they learned such a valuable lesson with this one.
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👤 Youth
👤 Church Members (General)
👤 Other
Disabilities
Holy Ghost
Kindness
Service
Young Women
The Priesthood Quorum
Elder Robert L. Backman told of young Mark Peterson being visited at home by his deacons quorum presidency. They arrived prepared, taught from the scriptures about the Aaronic Priesthood, outlined his duties, and answered questions. After the organized, prayerful visit, Mark told his father, "They were awesome!"
Second, a quorum is a fraternity. In the October general conference of 1982, Elder Robert L. Backman recounted the experience of a young man named Mark Peterson. Shortly after his ordination as a deacon, the deacons quorum presidency scheduled an appointment with Mark and his parents at their home.
“Promptly at the hour set, the doorbell rang. The members of the presidency stood on the porch, dressed in suits, white shirts, and ties, and each one carrying his scriptures.
“Sitting down with Mark and his parents, they began with prayer, then handed an agenda to everyone there.
“The president then opened the scriptures, having Mark and his father read those references which speak of the power of the Aaronic Priesthood, what it is, and the particular duties of a deacon.
“The president then spoke about Mark’s particular responsibilities and duties: how he should dress, how he should pass the sacrament, act as a messenger, collect fast offerings. And then they asked him if he had any questions.
“At the end of the visit they welcomed him to the quorum and offered help whenever he needed it. As they left, Mark … said to his Dad: ‘They were awesome!’”
“Promptly at the hour set, the doorbell rang. The members of the presidency stood on the porch, dressed in suits, white shirts, and ties, and each one carrying his scriptures.
“Sitting down with Mark and his parents, they began with prayer, then handed an agenda to everyone there.
“The president then opened the scriptures, having Mark and his father read those references which speak of the power of the Aaronic Priesthood, what it is, and the particular duties of a deacon.
“The president then spoke about Mark’s particular responsibilities and duties: how he should dress, how he should pass the sacrament, act as a messenger, collect fast offerings. And then they asked him if he had any questions.
“At the end of the visit they welcomed him to the quorum and offered help whenever he needed it. As they left, Mark … said to his Dad: ‘They were awesome!’”
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👤 Youth
Fasting and Fast Offerings
Prayer
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Teaching the Gospel
Young Men
Helping Youth Choose Sexual Purity
A father described his reaction after his teenage son made a serious mistake that led to a near-fatal accident. Rather than react in anger, he embraced his son and expressed love. He recognized the lesson had already been learned and chose not to lecture.
We must not convey the feeling that it’s the end of the world when our children make mistakes. One father recalled, “My teenage son made a foolish mistake that resulted in an accident that could have taken his life. Instead of being angry, I just held him in my arms and told him I loved him. He had learned all he needed to learn from it, and I didn’t need to say more.”
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👤 Parents
👤 Youth
Children
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Forgiveness
Love
Parenting
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