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Gay marriage: What's next for Utah?

Deseret News - SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake residents Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbiety want to get married, but not in California or Iowa or one of the other 10 states that allow gay marriage. "We don't plan to get married in any other state but Utah," Sbiety said. "We don't want to live in any other state. Our friends are here. Our families are here. Utah is home and we can't see ourselves living anywhere else." Two momentous U.S. Supreme Court decisions last week on the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8 bring the gay marriage issue to the forefront...

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Hawaii Mother of the Year Extends Love Outside the Home Too

LDS.org - LAIE, HAWAII -- Penny Toilolo is an active member of the Church in Hawaii, a professional dancer, and a mother of six children ranging in age from 1 to 11. She spends four hours a day volunteering at the elementary school, actively supports the high school football team, and occasionally takes her dance team to competitions in both Hawaii and Utah. Friends jokingly called her the “mother of the year.” They were not surprised when she actually won the award. Sister Toilolo was raised to take care of others. “My mother raised me as the oldest girl in the family,” she...

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July 2013 Visiting Teaching Message: Teaching and Learning the Gospel

LDS Living - Faith, Family, Relief President Harold B. Lee said: “The calling of the gospel teacher is one of the noblest in the world. The good teacher can make all the difference in inspiring boys and girls and men and women to change their lives and fulfill their highest destiny. The importance of the teacher has been beautifully described by Daniel Webster when he said, ‘If we work upon marble, it will perish; if we work upon brass, time will efface it; but if we work upon immortal minds, if we imbue them with principles and the just fear of God and love...

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D&C Lesson 28: ''Oh God, Where Art Thou?''

Ted L. Gibbons - Introduction I have been in the jail at Carthage, Illinois many times. In 2009, I wrote some words in my journal about my feelings: The two jails made famous in Church History—Liberty and Carthage—have never felt to me like places of confinement. They seem somehow spiritually liberating. They speak of sacrifice more than suffering, and they speak of sanctification. Ancient Jewish Rabbis used to describe the act of making a covenant as building an altar in the heart. Joseph had certainly built such an altar, and had laid everything he had on it, including his life. There was nothing the Lord...

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July 2013 Home Teaching Message: The World Needs Pioneers Today

LDS Living - For many, the pioneer trek of 1847 didn’t begin at Nauvoo, Kirtland, Far West, or New York but rather in distant England, Scotland, Scandinavia, or Germany. Tiny children could not fully comprehend the dynamic faith that motivated their parents to leave behind family, friends, comfort, and security. A little one might ask, “Mommy, why are we leaving home? Where are we going?” “Come along, precious one; we’re going to Zion, the city of our God.” Between the safety of home and the promise of Zion stood the angry and treacherous waters of the mighty Atlantic. Who can recount the fear that...

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Jell-O Recipe Contest Honorable Mention: Jelly Lamingtons

LDS Living - Jelly Lamingtons Martine Shelton; Brisbane, Australia · 1 stick butter, softened · ½ cup powdered sugar · 1 egg, lightly beaten · 1 cup self-rising flour · 1 cup milk · 1 (3-ounce) raspberry Jell-O mix · 1 cup boiling water · 1 cup cold water · 3 cups dried coconut · ½ cup heavy cream, whipped Grease a cake pop or glass 8"×8" pan. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, a little at a time, beating until well combined. Gently fold in half the flour and half the milk. Repeat with remaining...

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Saving Seats in Church: When Is It Too Much?

Kaela Worthen Gardner - Many of us often sit in the same area each week when we attend church, sometimes just out of habit and ease, and some people like to even sit in the exact same row each week. Finding a place for your family to sit during sacrament meeting or stake conference can be a frustrating experience—particularly if you’re a family of nine. And if you’re a family of nine who has recently moved into a new ward--or if you have a lot of family in town for a missionary farewell or baby blessing, as happened this Sunday when seat-saving led to a...

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Alex Boyé Music Video: Calling America

YouTube - Buy Alex Boye's patriotic album, Calling America, here . ...

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Lottery winner's misfortune leads to Mormon conversion

Deseret News - Lottery winner Clarence Jackson thought he had lost it all when he missed the deadline to claim his winnings — $5.8 million — by just three days. And he did — as far as money goes. But for the Connecticut native, losing may be the best thing that ever happened to him. ...

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Founding of America and LDS gospel Restoration are divinely connected

Deseret News - Even with religious freedom and the birth of a new nation, the Restoration of the gospel was still an uphill battle. Only with a divinely orchestrated plan and precise timing was a space carved out for the young Mormon church to grow. That was the thesis of a phone conversation with John C. Thomas, who teaches LDS Church history and other subjects in the Department of Religious Education at BYU-Idaho. If conditions were altered here or an event was moved there, the circumstances would have changed, Thomas said. ...