The battle really hasn’t changed. In the premortal life, the fight was over agency, and it is here as well (see Moses 4:1–4). Satan promised success in delivering all pilgrims home again with some costs in the area of agency. … Read more
Author: H. Wallace Goddard
Different Parenting Books for Different Purposes
Editor’s Note: The books mentioned in this column connect the line of reasoning in the last two Myths of the Month with specific book recommendations.
There are almost as many different kinds of parenting books as there are different kinds … Read more
Seek Ye Out of the Best Books Words of Wisdom (D&C 109:7)
As you begin a new year in a still-youthful century, you may be interested in resources to strengthen yourself and your family. As the quality of research has improved, so the conclusions have gotten closer and closer to God’s recommendations. … Read more
First Comes Charity, Then Comes Teaching
In my last Myth of the Month, “Charitable Parenting,” I described the central importance of love in raising healthy children. Love is simply the first law of parenting— just as it is the great commandment in the law. Nothing matters … Read more
Charitable Parenting: A Case Study
There is a nationally syndicated columnist who regularly gives advice to parents on managing their children. Many parents appreciate his no-nonsense approach. He observes that many parents in our society fail to enforce reasonable limits with their children. For many, … Read more
The Advanced Curriculum in Love
May I tell you about my wife, Nancy? I wish I could be objective, but I cannot. She is mild in temperament—we laugh in the family that she is constitutionally and dispositionally unable to yell. She is compassionate—she seems naturally … Read more
Marriage as an Act of Love
Perhaps the most pernicious sins are those that make us feel virtuous while we devastate our fundamental Christian professions. For instance, the Pharisees were famous for painstakingly observing the law while failing at basic compassion.
There is a modern and … Read more
When Being Right Isn’t Good Enough
Almost twenty years ago Nancy and I were planning the landscaping around our new house. A landscape architect had recommended a cluster of three fruit trees at the corner of our property. We wondered if that was too many trees … Read more
Marriage and the Parting of the Red Sea
There is nothing quite so helpful for mortals as total desperation. As long as there is even a sliver of hope that our efforts might remove us from our dilemmas, we are likely to keep floundering along. But when we … Read more
Conflict Resolution and the Creation of Peace
Nancy and I have some friends who have been married for a few years longer than we have been. They are earnest, good people. But they are human. A few years ago the husband was dragging home from work every … Read more



