Last week, I had my six-month checkup at the dentist office. As I am sure many can sympathize with, it’s hardly a day I anticipate with eagerness. Thankfully, I don’t dread it as much as I once did. My attitude toward going to the dentist changed about 10 years ago. I had just started ...

When I was on my Latter-day Saint mission in Taiwan, there was a phrase I often heard by the people who we would attempt to teach: “Kao Zi Ji.” Simply put, it means, “Rely on oneself." Respectfully, I just can’t do that. And I’m not ashamed of it. I know that I have a Heavenly ...

My favorite talks in church are the ones in which the speaker draws on personal experiences to provide instruction on whatever gospel subject they are discussing. In those moments, I find my focus completely fixed on the message and I realize how similar the speaker is to me, attempting to ...

Last week, I was walking my two sons to school in the driving snow. Walking to school has become a necessity as of late because the transmission in my car faltered. Thankfully, it’s less than a mile walk, but in the snow, it’s not particularly pleasant. About halfway there, a woman from ...

There’s a story I read once about Joseph Smith, founder and first president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that made such an impression on me that I haven’t forgotten it. As the story goes, while Smith was in Far West, Missouri, at his parents’ home, armed militiamen ...

There’s a vague memory inside my head from when I was a young child, perhaps only 8 or 9 years old. I was lying in bed one evening and found myself pondering life after death. I don’t remember much about the thoughts I had at the time, but I remember being gripped with fear by the ...