What I do now when God answers my prayers with silence

“We can feel the Lord hastening His work to gather Israel. And with this hastening comes the joyful imperative to simplify and focus," said Sister Michelle D. Craig, second counselor in the Young Women general presidency and a member of the scriptures committee, about the change to the scripture styles.

Despite their own personal struggles during hard economic times, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Zimbabwe generously donated a small mountain of supplies, bedding and food to those suffering from the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai. High winds and floods have spread wide destruction throughout Manicaland, the eastern province of this southeastern African nation. Earlier the gigantic storm (described as the worst storm in history) had done similar damage in neighboring Mozambique and Malawi.

After BYU women's basketball team defeated Auburn to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament, Sister Jean B. Bingham posted on Facebook, "Good for you, BYU women’s basketball team – you’ve won the first NCAA round! We’re cheering you on!"

"When the messages come during the dark of night, Russell M. Nelson reaches for his lighted pen and takes dictation from the Lord," Daniel Burke from CNN writes.

In all of life’s activities, most of us fall into one of two categories: those that act and those that watch. It’s hard to imagine someone dreaming being in the stands for a great game or a great show, but to be on the field or in the middle of the activity would be the chance of a lifetime. Are you dreaming of an Alaska Vacation? Surely in this case, you’ll want to be a player and not a spectator. Maybe this would be your first visit, or you could be an annual visitor with a desire for an “off the beaten path” experience. The devil is always in the details when it comes to pulling the trigger on, what for most people, is a sizable travel and leisure expenditure. We are all about making your dreams come true without spending top dollar for what might not be your best value. When its time to make the homeward journey, you want to leave Alaska wondering how to make a return trip, and not so worried about what you may have missed.

When it comes to heavenly communication, does it ever feel like the Lord has everyone else on speed dial—and you’re just sitting there hoping for any little bit of communication, even a generic “new phone, who dis” text?

The other day I was in a grocery store when I noticed a small child giving his mother a run for her money. As I watched the two of them, I could tell the mother was getting very tired; and in a moment of desperation, she directed a few unkind remarks toward her small son. As she did so, I wanted to say, “Please don’t. You may not mean what you just said, but your little boy will believe you! If he believes you, and such exchanges between you and him continue, I may find him in my office years later as a teenager or a grown man, wondering why he is such a failure and why he is never good enough.” I think sometimes we forget how very powerful words are. For example:

"Is she wearing her garments in that wedding dress photo?"

Born in 1822 to former slaves, Jane Elizabeth Manning was baptized in 1842 into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which brought her great reproach. This was the beginning of many trials for Jane as a convert of African descent.