Right now in Come, Follow Me, we are studying the journeys of Abraham and his family. His people, including his father, had turned from the Lord to serve other gods, even going so far as to sacrifice innocent children to their false gods. Soon, the sacrificial knife turned on Abraham himself. When God intervened, what was Abraham told to do? Get out of Dodge, of course!

Sacrament meetings are usually hectic for me. With three kids five and under, there's little opportunity for reverent reflection. Even when I do get a respite from the craziness, I find myself thinking more about the people I need to reach out to and the lessons I need to figure out than pondering on the words of the Sacramental prayers. But a few weeks ago, that all changed, and I...

It was five years, almost to the day, but if you saw a picture of that Bishop from the start of his term, you'd be forgiven for thinking 15 or 20 years had passed. The marital disputes, the midnight runs to the chapel to forestall eviction, and the last-second interviews had taken their toll on both his hairline and his beltline. "Busy as a man can be," indeed. But...

In part 1 of this series on member missionary work, I talked about why member missionary initiatives always seem to fail– because we keep creating new programs instead of addressing the problem of perspective. In part 2, I talked about starting to change the perspective by getting ourselves "into the zone" through a greater understanding of, conversion to, and immersion in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our...

I pointed out in my previous post that the Lord and His servants have made it clear that when it comes to encouraging member missionary work, we need go beyond gimmicks and corporate management tactics. The Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't need salesmen. Motivating members to occasionally perform missionary actions is not enough. God wants us to become missionaries in our hearts. We don't need a new program– we...

What is the number one complaint among full-time missionaries? Zealous missionaries everywhere are disappointed that members are not inviting their non-member friends to hear the message of the Gospel.

They are frustrated with good reason– members generally are not doing our part to live our covenant to "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places." Investigators, less-actives, and even the random people...

I've heard some members who were born in the Gospel wish that they had been born outside the Church and then converted later in life. These members look back and say, "I wish I could have actually had fun in my youth– sow my wild oats, carefree, without worrying. Get married, hear the Gospel, join the Church, and then live all the rules after I've really enjoyed life." In the...

An online forum asked Church members if the Church endorsed Republicans or Democrats. One member's highly-voted answer essentially said:

The Church stays out of politics. But when you look at our faith's teachings about family values, sexual morality, drugs, and self-reliance, it's no surprise that, in my experience, most Church members are Republicans like me.

Another highly voted answer showed a different perspective. Something like:

The Church...

2020 wasn't the dumpster fire everyone makes it out to be, but it has been a roller coaster year. COVID, lockdowns and their religious liberty concerns, and the most contentious election of my lifetime.

Thankfully, my ward has been less affected than many. Very few members got sick and no one died. Most members were able to work remotely. Our state eased restrictions earlier than others, allowing...

A few months ago, I watched the movie Unplanned, the true story of Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson's conversion to pro-life. She had spent her entire career working on the administrative side of things, but when they were short-staffed one day, she was asked to assist the doctor in the procedure room. That's when Abby finally confronted the gruesome reality of abortion.

That moment broke Abby. And it...