The central metamessage in all Church curricula may be that the answers to life’s challenges are found in the scriptures and the counsel of modern prophets. All of our lessons are strongest when they are organized around key scriptural stories … Read more
Author: H. Wallace Goddard
Wally Goddard is a retired professor of Family Life having served in Arkansas and Alabama. He developed programs on personal well-being, marriage, and parenting. He is well known for his many creative family programs, including The Marriage Garden, The Parenting Journey, and Blueprint for Happiness. Wally has authored or co-authored several books including Between Parent and Child, The Soft-Spoken Parent, and Drawing Heaven into Your Marriage. He has been recognized by his colleagues with several awards including the Outstanding Family Life Educator Award. Wally and his wife, Nancy, have three adult children, fourteen grandchildren, and have cared for many foster children over the years. Wally describes Nancy as the finest human being he has ever known.
Going Down the Waterslide in God’s Embrace
Sara is the youngest of our three children. She was always more cautious than Emily or Andy. I don’t know why. We never tricked or deceived her. She was just more cautious. In fact, she was born two weeks late. … Read more
The Cheeriest Person in the Universe
Recently I met with a young woman who is trying—sometimes half-heartedly and sometimes earnestly―to move from a substance-filled, cohabiting, bar-scene life toward a saintly one. When she came to see me, we talked about what she has learned and ways … Read more
Stepping Out of the Time Line
We mortals are so immersed in time that we rarely glimpse timelessness—or eternity. We see fantastic movies where people hopscotch from place to place in time but, in our “real” lives we plod along our time-bound path with no sense … Read more
O Lord, Have Mercy and Deliver Us from Our Strengths!
We know instinctively from childhood that we must contend against our weaknesses. If we are wise and determined, we make some progress over the decades. If we draw on the power of the Redeemer we can make quantum leaps. After … Read more
The Economic Principles of Heaven
In the marketplace, we trade something we have for something we want. This system is built on the ancient premise that you can buy anything in this world with money—or gold or land or . . . . Those who … Read more
Blessed are the Merciful
In a rural Utah town some years ago, a young man with a burden of life challenges added one more: a premarital pregnancy. As if it were not enough to be poor, bashful, poorly educated, and have a speech defect. … Read more
Fix One Another As I Have Fixed You
“I can’t tell her about my trouble. Even if I begged her not to tell, I know she would tell everyone she talked to. And the story she told would be an awful distortion.” A saintly friend spoke of a … Read more
Calling Evil Good
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light,and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!—Isaiah 5:20
Satan is the master of inversion. Where God offers light, Satan provides … Read more
Personality and Perfection
We all have different personalities. Each personality type has its characteristic strengths and vulnerabilities. For example, those who have an exploring type of personality are open to learning and constantly seek greater insight into gospel principles. But in their attempt … Read more