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

My wife and I recently celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary. It has been a wonderful 27 years. It has also been a difficult 27 years. I’ve had to put up with some things; she’s had to put up with a lot more. All successful marriages are a composite of happy and sad experiences. The key is being able to get through the difficult times.

One of our favorite places to go for family vacation is called Craters of the Moon in Idaho. It’s a weird place that’s covered with miles and miles of black lava rocks and dormant volcanoes. It looks much like the surface of the moon, except that there’s no vegetation on the moon. Craters, at least, has a few trees and some sagebrush. Nearby, there’s a place called Hell’s Half Acre. The name says it all. It’s similar to Craters of the Moon, but it’s more burned looking.

While considering serving a mission as a young adult, I enrolled in a BYU class called Mormon Issues. I thought it would prepare me to answer historical questions regarding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Miki Ogao lies on the table for yet another outpatient medical procedure. Doctors are performing a Swan-Ganz catheterization to check the health of her finicky heart. She feels nothing, but she’s wide awake. She hears the doctors and nurses discussing the procedure and marveling at their quirky patient’s upbeat mood.

Members of the Church may sometimes forget that the gold plates and the Book of Mormon don’t say the same things. One contains the writings of an ancient people in a lost language and the other is a translation of those writings into the English language made during the 19th century. Our Primary children sing about Moroni burying golden plates in a mountainside. The record was made by Nephites, but the story is retold in the Book of Mormon.

From presidents and popes to rappers and authors, the Book of Mormon has come into the hands of some incredible public figures.

For the 90th anniversary of Chef Boyardee, the company "brought together two diverse musical talents to re-imagine the classic 'Thank Goodness for Chef Boyardee' jingle." And what resulted is a tune that is surprisingly catchy.

President Harold B. Lee’s experience on an airplane illustrates the truth that angels may participate in healing a mortal who has an illness. President Lee recalled: “I was suffering from an ulcer condition that was becoming worse and worse. We had been touring a mission; my wife, Joan, and I were impressed the next morning that we should get home as quickly as possible, although we had planned to stay for some other meetings.

“I believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is our Heavenly Father’s practical guide for happy living,” Sister Joy D. Jones, Primary general president, said at a devotional held at BYU Education Week.