How one couple raised 8 kids to recognize the Spirit for themselves

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.

Jensen Arnold has continued making waves on So You Think You Can Dance, dancing her way into the top six performers.

"Leaders see a vision of the future; they take an oath to achieve that future; they take a stand to sacrifice whatever is necessary; then with words they paint a picture of that future and take us by the hand and lead us there, all the while keeping us in orbit. Leaders look to the stars and help us soar."

When discussing the purpose of life, we often hear the mantra “we are here to be tested,” but how many of us cringe at that thought? So few of us want to feel like a kid again sitting in a classroom taking a test on things we don’t remember, we don’t understand, and we can’t leave until we finish. Comparing life to a test can be a downer and not the inspirational mantra that it should be. But if we look at life as a lesson we learn from over and over again as more things become clear, we can gain the inspiration we need to improve. We didn’t learn algebra before we learned addition. Life can be viewed as a continual learning process, not the end test. It’s more about what we are learning and becoming than about having all the right answers.