How I stopped worshipping a false God

Are you planning to submit an original hymn to the Church's new Hymnal? Are you struggling to know if your hymn is good enough to rise to the top of the submissions pile? The announcement of the new hymnal made me think about the thousands of members who want to write and submit their hymns and songs.

The dream was always the same. I’d find myself lying in the middle of the street in front of our house on Hawthorne Avenue in Pocatello, Idaho. It’s as vivid in my mind today as it was a half century ago when the dream repeated itself on multiple occasions. I was lying facedown, looking up the street (we lived on a hill), while feeling the pavement pressing against my body and hands. At first it was not unpleasant; in fact, the pavement was warm and supportive. But then something alerted me, and I looked to see a car coming down the street directly toward me. I pressed down with my hands so I could get up and run, but my arms were not strong enough to make me move. Frantic, since the car wasn’t slowing, I struggled to crawl out of its way, straining with all the strength in my legs, but they wouldn’t move either. It was as if I was glued to the pavement! The car was getting closer and closer, and I tried to scream, but all that came out was a gurgling sort of strangled sound, certainly not enough to alert the driver. As the car was almost upon me, my heart pounded and the terror was so intense that the panic woke me!

Leonard Bagalwa watched as the rebel officers who had captured him and forced him to train as a child soldier walked away to drink at a shop. With his captors’ backs turned, he heard a voice in his mind repeat, “You need to run.”

I saw a post a while ago that has stuck with me for months. This post referenced a choice someone had made—a choice contrary to the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which they claim membership. After explaining their choice and their feelings surrounding it, they shared that they found peace in their choice by focusing on Heavenly Father’s love for them. They had determined that God’s love and their own happiness was the most important part of this situation.

Christ cares for us individually. The inverted five-point stars found on the Nauvoo Temple are symbols of Christ, the “bright and morning star” (Revelation 22:16), reaching down to earth and inviting us to reach up to Him. . . .

Like many of us I’m intrigued by symbols—perhaps because I’m active in a church that honors symbolism, or maybe because of a poet heart or that I like to think about things deeply, especially things that make me feel deeply. Most likely it has something to do with all of the above working in collaboration to teach me, or at least remind me of, what is significant.

CTR Movies (formerly Mormon Moviegoers) is a conglomerate of Latter-day Saint film critics looking for gospel messages in Hollywood films. We also review movies and give you a heads up about content so you can make an informed decision. It was founded by Jonathan Decker, author of 250 Great Movies for Latter-day Families. For more of this sort of thing, join our Facebook group and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Resources for teaching the 2019 Mutual theme "If ye love me, keep my commandments" are now available on lds.org.

The Church’s new historic book, Saints, has already been read or listened to by thousands of people. It brings a fresh perspective on the story of how the gospel and The Church of Jesus Christ evolved. While it tells many familiar stories in a conversational, dialogue-based style, there are also many stories that even avid Church history researchers might not have heard, including stories that portray the more human sides of some of our revered early Church figures. Whether you’ve already read Saints once or haven’t started it yet, here are five unique facts that you can watch for in the book.