The Core Doctrine of the Book of Mormon

There are unnumbered treasures in the Book of Mormon! In 2005, I published a series of thirteen articles about the ways that great book of scripture acts as a latter-day corrective—from teaching us about such subjects as … Read more

God’s Trophies

Quite often something that is almost too good to be true. A sunset. A field of wildflowers. A starry night. A delectable peach.

Over the years, when we ran into a wonder of nature that shocked us … Read more

Understanding Differences in Our Marriages

It is surprising how different we can be in our marriages. Here are some differences we have seen in couples we know and love.

He is married to his job and she wants more family time.

She … Read more

Life is Perfect

Why do I react so strongly to such trivial things?

My usually reliable ball-point pen was not working. I scribbled circles on scratch paper to get it warmed up. I tried again. Still spotty. I checked the … Read more

The Refugee Surprise

I was reluctant at first. Nancy and I were glad to have become involved with a local agency that assists refugees. But when the agency asked Nancy and me to take a Syrian refugee girl to her piano … Read more

Looking at Our Marriages from God’s Perspective

How would you define the purposes of marriage? Love and companionship? Stability? Building a family? Social expectations? There are a lot of reasons people marry and, more often than not, we haven’t thought about them very much … Read more

When Prayers Go Unanswered

H. Wallace Goddard and Barbara Keil

In Elder’s Quorum, we were talking about prayer. A kind, gentle, wise brother raised his hand. I was interested to hear his question. In his quiet voice, he asked, “Why did I pray when … Read more

Filling the Measure of Your Creation: The Lord’s Program for Being Happy and Useful

I grew up trying to overcome my strengths. I didn’t like the excesses that came from my native enthusiasm, so I determined to be moderate. I hated the distractibility that came with my creativity, so I resolved … Read more

The Problem with Praying for What We Want

“Don’t you believe in miracles? Why should we pray at all if we can’t get miracles?” An earnest Latter-day Saint pressed me for answers about her friend’s looming family disaster.

“We don’t pray just to get what … Read more

Our Gospel is NOT as Good as His

The Book of Mormon tells of Enos fervently calling upon God in prayer for his soul. As a result, he heard the voice of God telling him that his sins were forgiven, and he would be blessed.… Read more