What Elder Stevenson says to do when you’ve reached the ‘deep end’ of your faith

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.

The following is an excerpt from Temples of the Most High

"I don't consider it to be accidental. It was providential that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the NAACP would come together on common ground," pastor of San Fransisco's Third Baptist Church Reverend Amos Brown said in a Church video. "We need each other. We should not turn on each other during these difficult times."

Top leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participated in the unveiling of the Pioneer Children’s Memorial at This Is the Place Heritage Park on Saturday in Salt Lake City. The new landmark honors the lives of more than 650 known children who died during the 1,300-mile journey Latter-day Saints made in the mid-1800s from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Utah.

"As president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I pray that we may increasingly call each other dear friends. May we go forward doing our best to exemplify the two great commandments — to love God and love each of his children," President Nelson said at the NAACP's 110th national convention. "Arm in arm and shoulder to shoulder, may we strive to lift our brothers and sisters everywhere, in every way we can. This world will never be the same. My dear friends, I thank you."

Author's note: This article was originally published by the Deseret News in January 2015. It has been updated and republished here with permission.