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

Tami Schellenberg remembers first reading about Tim Ballard in an LDS Living article as she and her husband drove from Houston to Austin, Texas, for a job interview. That night, she found her mind turning with how she could help rescue children from sex slavery.

"The new home-centered, Church-supported integrated curriculum has the potential to unleash the power of families, as each family follows through conscientiously and carefully to transform their home into a sanctuary of faith. I promise that as you diligently work to remodel your home into a center of gospel learning, over time your Sabbath days will truly be a delight. Your children will be excited to learn and to live the Savior’s teachings, and the influence of the adversary in your life and in your home will decrease. Changes in your family will be dramatic and sustaining." —President Russell M. Nelson

The impressive professional resume of President Henry B. Eyring, his degree in the rigorous field of physics and time spent as president of Ricks College, sometimes pigeonholes our perception of him as a logical and deliberate sort of person. But as hisbiography reveals, President Eyring is also an artist. For a time, his artwork was on display at the Church History Museum.

A press release from the White House celebrates Latter-day Saint and U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch for his 41 years of service, saying he "championed religious liberty, fought against communism, and stood on the side of freedom around the world." Senator Hatch will be honored along with six others including Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth, Anton Scalia, Roger Staubach, Alan Page, and Miriam Adelson.

On February 24, 1834, Parley P. Pratt and Lyman Wight told a somber story to the Kirtland high council. Hundreds of Saints in Clay County, Missouri, were suffering after being driven from their homes in Jackson County by mob violence. They now found themselves impoverished and wondering what the Lord wanted them to do. How would the lost property in Jackson County be regained? When would the Saints be able to return to their beloved city of Zion? Pratt and Wight posed such questions to the high council, telling them that “the idea of being driven away from the land of Zion pained their very souls and they desired of God, by earnest prayer, to return with songs of everlasting joy.”

Getting a college degree can open doors to a good-paying career or additional education. For Alex Mestre, a software development student learning how LDS Business College offers more than business degrees has done just that.

The first time I saw the LDS missionaries was through the scope of my sniper rifle—their white shirts strikingly visible against the intense green of the jungle. Who would dare be so visible in the middle of a war?

In 1943, a World War II American transport ship, the SS Dorchester, was struck midship by a torpedo fired from a German submarine. Over 900 people — many young soldiers far from home for the first time in their lives — were on board. In the dead of night chaos ensued as the ship quickly began to sink and individuals rushed to find life jackets and lifeboats. Over 600 died that night while some 230 were rescued.

Because prayer is such a sacred gift, we should treat it as such by praying often and sincerely. Here are a few ways you can make your prayers more meaningful in your everyday life.