Why I’m so grateful someone pushed through awkwardness to serve

God spoke to the great prophets of the Old Testament in some rather unique ways, most of them deeply visual. Ezekiel had wonderful visions that would grasp his hearers’ imagination, causing them to pay attention and think profoundly. In one of those visions he saw a great valley of dry bones bleaching in the sun. Visualize that scene with me for just a moment. Before us is a wide valley, filled with bones as far as the eye can see in every direction. A great army or a mighty people have all died, and their bones lie exposed to the weather. Ezekiel stands “in the midst of the valley,” when the Lord enters the scene and causes Ezekiel “to pass by [the bones] round about . . . and, lo, they were very dry” (Ezekiel 37:1–2). After Ezekiel makes a circuit of the valley, the Lord addresses His prophet with a question: “Son of man, can these bones live?”

Kim White is a Latter-day Saint woman who has been battling stage 4 cancer for nearly five years—something doctors told her at the time of her diagnosis that she would be lucky to do.

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Though we sometimes hear of Church buildings miraculously surviving natural disasters, that is not always the case. In 2010, just a little over a week before Christmas, the historic Provo Tabernacle caught fire. The interior of the building burned to the ground, and only the outer walls of the tabernacle survived.

Health and happiness are something we all desire. Many people claim to have found the solution to lasting health and happiness and are quick to offer answers in a nice package that can conveniently be shipped to our front door. But often the results of these products and programs leave us feeling like something is missing.

“The sacred ordinances performed in this holy temple will unite families for eternity," President Russell M. Nelson said of the Rome Italy Temple. "God loves all His children equally and has provided a way for them to be linked in love, generation to generation. We are thrilled to be able to dedicate a temple in this city replete with historical importance throughout the ages.”

“I knew in whom I had trusted, and with the fire of Israel’s God burning in my bosom, I forsook my home.” So wrote Jane C. Robinson Hindley, who was one of about 90,000 European converts who gathered to an American Zion in the mid-19th century.

This year's youth theme is "If ye love me, keep my commandments” from John 14:15. As you read this month's article, think about ways that you can become better friends with Jesus by keeping the commandments.

You have probably heard the news that the Church changed its guidelines regarding missionaries and communication with their families. Instead of waiting for Christmas and Mother's Day, missionaries can talk to their families once a week via text, online messaging, phone calls, and video chat in addition to writing letters and emailing family members.