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...

The battle was fierce, but also short and decisive– despite a huge loss of men and a painful personal wound, Captain Moroni's had thrown "one of the greatest of the armies of the Lamanites" into complete disarray. But Moroni "did not delight in bloodshed;" when he saw that his enemies were beaten, he offered them terms of surrender. The Lamanite army accepted his terms and the prisoners were marched to...

All through the year, our news feeds have been inundated with messages like:

• "Kobe Bryant, Alex Trebek, Sean Connery, and RGB? This year can't get any worse."
• "First COVID and now murder hornets? Lord, just take me now."
• "This is crazy. I can't imagine bringing kids into this world."
• "2020 is a dumpster fire of a year. Wake me up with 2020 is over."

Amid such gloom, Pres....

On Friday, the Prophet invited us to "turn social media into your own personal gratitude journal. Post every day about what you are grateful for… flood social media with a wave of gratitude that reaches the four corners of the earth."

That invitation couldn’t have come at a better time, and I’m grateful to accept it. However, I was also prompted to add a little something extra to my search...

Elections have been on my mind recently, as I'm sure they have been on all of ours. 4 years ago, we experience the most divisive election in my lifetime. But by all available data, it looks like this one is going to make that one look "mostly peaceful" in comparison. Even within the Church, relations between good members with differing political ideologies have been seriously strained. But if you are...

"The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after His resurrection." This marvelous event was followed by 300 years of idyllic peace. Of those righteous Nephites, the Lord proclaims that none were lost. The closest thing they had to a fight was a disagreement about what to name the Church. Every time I read through those...

Can you imagine how the Nephites felt when they received the sacred emblems of the Sacrament from the Savior Himself? Just hours before, each had stretched forth his or her hand to feel the wounds in His side and the craters in his hands and feet. Now, the Redeemer of the world was kneeling on the ground in front of them, blessing the pieces of bread that symbolize His own...

This past week in Come, Follow Me, we read "the crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon," the "personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after His resurrection." After 600 years, the Nephites finally were privileged to stand in the presence of their Lord and Savior. You would think that Christ would be met with joyful, anticipated celebration. But that's not what happened at all....

This week in Come Follow Me, we studied the discourse of Samuel the Lamanite on the wall of Zarahemla. Take note of the reaction of the people. In the first few verses of Helaman 16, we read that there were two different and completely opposite reactions to his message: One group believed in his words and sought baptism by those who were authorized to administer in the ordinances of the...