3 ways to adapt your lessons to the new Sunday class schedule

One of author Dean Hughes' favorite pioneer stories starts out with his angry, somewhat intoxicated ancestor trying to punch out an early Latter-day Saint apostle.

It’s not the traditional pioneer story.

It can be hard to imagine what life was like for the pioneers. We read stories of their miracles and tragedies, but what about the time in between? What was daily life like? Comparing certain aspects of our lives to their's side-by-side may help you better understand and appreciate how life has changed since 1847. Here are nine glimpses of life from a pioneer's perspective:

Most of us have heard of Ephraim Hanks, Porter Rockwell, Eliza R. Snow, and many other high-profile pioneers who accomplished notable events during the early years of the Church. But there are also others who were influential members of the Church who impacted the Latter-day Saints as well as the outside world. Here are just a few significant pioneers that you may never have heard of before.

Elder Neil L. Andersen wound up on the pitcher's mound at Dodger Stadium on July 19, 2019, prepared to throw the first pitch. There to catch the pitch was Area Seventy Gary K. Wilde.

Seeing young missionaries walking around and proselyting in fancy clothes with black name tags can be confusing to those who are not members of the Church.

The setting was an institute class wherein some important dimensions about Acts 16–20 became clear to me. For example, it became apparent that in three instances the Lord had coated his believers with Teflon, so to speak. All instances involved the Apostle Paul in one way or another. Plainly, the Lord watches over his people and orders events for their good, whether they perceive it or not.

It’s been 5 minutes, so that means it’s time for another Disney remake! If you’re like me, you’ve probably seen the 1994 original movie The Lion King at least a dozen times, right? My kids grew up watching it over and over. The story, in a nutshell, is that a lion prince is deceived by his evil uncle and exiled from the kingdom until he grows up and accepts his rightful place as king after his father is killed. Did that synopsis give too much away? Luckily for Disney, nostalgia sells.

Earlier this year, I was in a really rough spot. I was going through some parenting stuff that consumed my mind, body, and spirit. One day, after dropping my kids at school, I sat in a parking lot praying, crying, and searching for answers. It was the out loud kind of cry, the shake your whole body kind of cry, the kind of cry that comes with words hurled to heaven. I really wanted the Lord to just fix things for me, maybe wave a magic wand or something, but I have enough experience to know that isn’t the way things work. So instead, I begged him to please send me someone I could talk to who would understand.