How I stopped worshipping a false God

Losing 140 pounds is no easy feat. Just ask Trent Heppler. Never in a million years did he believe that he would one day shed the weight, let alone run a marathon. But Heppler learned that the power to overcome his physical weaknesses—whatever they may be—comes from a spiritual strength gained through the Savior, Jesus Christ. Growing up overweight and self-conscious, Latter-day Saint Trent Heppler always felt that exercise was just another form of torture invented to make him feel inadequate.

As a people, we have been extraordinarily good at keeping the very first commandment given by the Lord to the newly organized Church of Christ in April 1830: “Behold, there shall be a record kept among you” (D&C 21:1). Our initial impulse in recording our lives and remembering the past is to emphasize the good, even the heroic. This is a great virtue and act of charity toward ourselves and our forebears. We don’t pretend that we or our ancestors are perfect, but we do highlight what is noble and worthy of emulation. We hope our record will have inspirational value for someone down the road who might encounter it and need a bit of uplift. Naturally, there’s some aspect of vanity involved as well—we want others to see us at our best.

I love the invigorating, clean-slate feeling that comes with a new year. The impossible suddenly feels possible. I no longer fixate on past mistakes but instead on the endless possibilities before me.

Just as my parents taught me what to do if I got lost at Disneyland, we’ve all been taught what to do when we feel lost, scared, or abandoned on earth. 

The new year always comes with a bit of nostalgia for the old. And today, we're going even older as we remember some of the fun and memorable parts of life in the Church before the turn of the century thanks to you, our readers, who shared additional memories with us on Facebook!

I recently went through a pretty significant breakup. Significant because over the course of the relationship, there were several times when I believed this was it—this was the guy, and I was done looking. I am not going to get into the details of our breakup, but I will say it ended mutually and kindly and with plenty of sadness on both of our parts.

Beloved singer and youngest sibling of The Osmonds, Jimmy Osmond, age 55, suffered a stroke on Thursday while performing as Captain Hook in a central England production, according to his spokesperson.

Much of how we worship is drawn directly from biblical roots, building upon the patterns of ancient Israel in the Old Testament and the first Christians in the New Testament. Though we learn many of these patterns directly from these texts, our current practices have also been drawn heavily from Christian tradition. Indeed, since worship goes back to Adam and Eve, we know that it is the result of the natural yearning of children to seek a Parent who loves, cares, and provides for them.

With a new year, we often need new motivation. Maybe you're convinced this is the year you'll stop eating sugar altogether, or maybe you set a goal to continue doing daily acts of service. Many of us make goals, and all of us fall short at one point or another.