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

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

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

King Benjamin’s Timeless Message to Us

As we depart childhood and enter adulthood, we start to feel more self-sufficient. We can drive a car, sustain a career, and raise a family. We are adults. If we are not careful, we may think that … 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

God is Calling Us to Care for His Displaced Children

On a recent Saturday morning, Nancy and I went hunting corkscrew willows or tall grasses to put in the enormous pot on our front porch. We tried the countryside and the marshes with no success.  We had … Read more

Book of Mormon Gems: Jesus is Different from Us

As humans, we think first and foremost of ourselves. We tune in to our aches and pains. We focus on our wants and needs. We react to any slights with defensiveness. We compare ourselves and our good … Read more