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

At a news conference at the Utah National Guard headquarters outside Salt Lake City, Gov. Gary R. Herbert said he knew Major Taylor personally, calling him “the personification of love of God, family, and country.”

Major Brent Taylor, who was killed in an insider attack Saturday in Kabul, was "the personification of love of God, family, and country," Gov. Gary Herbert said. The Taylor family released a statement Sunday through Jennie Taylor's sister, Kristy Pack, expressing appreciation "for the outpouring of love and support during this unspeakably difficult time," according to the Deseret News.

As the aunt of 10 nieces and nephews, I love to watch my brother and sisters raise their kids. Among the grandchildren in my family, we’ve got two daredevils, two wild-childs, one bossy pants, and the sweetest autistic boy you’ll ever meet. Needless to say, wrangling—I mean, parenting—these kids is never the same for my brother and sisters. So when the children near the age of eight, how do they—and parents everywhere—decide on the best way to teach their child about the importance of baptism? And how much does the child actually understand?

U.S. Army Maj. Brent Taylor was the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, a father of seven, and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Taylor was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday while serving what was expected to be a one-year deployment.

Here are just a few of these profound principles about the after-life that are unique to the Church.

This article is the second in a series about Alan Alderman. To read more about how Alderman found hope after his diagnosis and his plans to row across the Atlantic to raise money for ALS research, check out this article.

We've all had those moments when we open our hymn book and suddenly realize a Church song we thought we knew really doesn't mention toilet paper, elephants, or badgers eating squirrels.

Editor's note: This article is part of a series on what the Church has actually taught about various topics. To read more about the Church’s teachings on cremation, garments, beards, and more, click here.

Some time ago a friend, not a member of the Church because of recent discipline, asked, "What can I do while I am waiting? Over the past period of time, it has been made very evident what I cannot do. Tell me and others in my situation what we can do."