Kelsey Berteaux

50 Ways to Dominate at Trunk-or-Treat Decorating

Fun

50 epic trunk-or-treat decorating ideas you wish you had time for

By Kelsey Berteaux

October 18, 2021 08:00 AM MDT

Get inspired for your ward trunk-or-treat, from flashy and flamboyant to simple and sophisticated.

1 Min Read

Fun

How the Book of Mormon design has changed over the last 100 years

By Kelsey Berteaux

March 26, 2020 11:00 AM MDT

Pause for a moment and picture a copy of the Book of Mormon. What does it look like? Is it slender and blue with gold embossing on the front? Or maybe part of a thicker volume that contains other books of scripture?

2 Min Read

Fun

20 Things You Didn't Know About Temple Square at Christmastime

By Kelsey Berteaux

December 22, 2019 10:00 PM MST

This story originally ran on LDS Living in December 2017.

6 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

How I Share the Gospel as a Google Maps Local Guide

By Kelsey Berteaux

November 29, 2019 02:01 PM MST

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a church I’d like to visit. Scott Wright wrote this review in early 2019 as part of a Google Maps program called “local guides.” These guides are trusted members of the Google Maps community who add local roads, take photos, and write reviews in their area. Most do it for free because they like helping others.

2 Min Read

December,12,,2020,-,San,Antonio,,Texas,,Usa:,The,San

Fun

10 things you probably didn’t know about the angel Moroni statue

By Kelsey Berteaux

November 07, 2019 09:10 PM MST

The angel Moroni statue is seen atop many a Latter-day Saint temple. But what do you really know about its history? Here are 10 fun facts you might be surprised to learn about the statue and where it came from.

1 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

10 Ways to Feel the Spirit on Sundays Even When You Have to Work

By Kelsey Berteaux

July 25, 2019 09:37 AM MDT

The following article previously ran on LDS Living in September 2016.

3 Min Read

Fun

The Most-Sung Conference Hymn and 3 More Fun Music Facts (+Poll)

By Kelsey Berteaux

April 06, 2019 09:57 AM MDT

Conference is around the corner—and so's the chance to listen to the Tabernacle Choir and sing some of our favorite songs. Which hymns might we hear or sing this year? Turns out that some are more popular than others! Check out what we found by combing through the last 21 years of hymns sung in general conference:

1 Min Read

Fun

11 Postage Stamps from Around the World with Latter-day Saint–Themed Images

By Kelsey Berteaux

March 19, 2019 08:49 AM MDT

Almost a dozen countries around the world have issued postage stamps with Latter-day Saint images on them. Check out these 11 examples of Latter-day Saint–themed postage stamps that really were used to send mail:

3 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

6 Ways Latter-day Saints Can Enjoy the Spirit of Lent

By Kelsey Berteaux

March 06, 2019 09:17 AM MST

For many faiths, today is known as Ash Wednesday, or the beginning of the season of Lent—a 40-day period dedicated to fasting and repentance in preparation for Easter. Christians who celebrate Lent traditionally give up specific bad habits, fast, pray, and practice increased spiritual discipline.

3 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

How to Accept the Change When a Parent Remarries

By Kelsey Berteaux

January 15, 2019 07:00 AM MST

More than 50 million remarried people currently live in the United States alone. Two of those people are my parents. In just over 14 months, they went from a couple of 25 years to divorcés to members of new blended families. I and my four adult siblings quite suddenly found ourselves with a stepfather, a stepmother, and five new stepsiblings. And for a long time, I wasn’t really sure where I fit.

7 Min Read

Fun

Where did the CTR ring come from?

By Kelsey Berteaux

November 29, 2018 10:30 PM MST

Editor's note: For a more in-depth article on the history of CTR rings, see this article from 2022.

1 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Bearing Your Testimony: 5 Powerful Tips

By Kelsey Berteaux

November 07, 2018 10:51 PM MST

Sitting in the back of the chapel during fast and testimony meeting feels like a safe bet—until we get the spiritual prompting to stand up and bear our testimonies. For several minutes, we struggle with whether or not we really should. We rationalize. We're teaching Gospel Doctrine this week. We just bore our testimony last year, right? We don't have anything special to say. We're scared.

5 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

When Bullying Happens on Missions: What You Can Do About It

By Kelsey Berteaux

October 25, 2018 08:43 AM MDT

From the very first day, Elder Davis* knew it was going to be a hard transfer. He just didn’t realize how hard.

8 Min Read

5 Ways I Got Fasting Wrong (& How to Avoid the Same Mistakes)

Latter-day Saint Life

5 Ways I Got Fasting Wrong (and How to Avoid the Same Mistakes)

By Kelsey Berteaux

September 29, 2018 12:10 PM MDT

See how many problems you can spot in this personal story:

6 Min Read

Fun

"Not Empty Sea, MTC": 12 Hilarious Lingo Mix-Ups Latter-day Saints Understand All Too Well

By Carly M. Springer

September 15, 2018 02:00 PM MDT

Sometimes it's easy for lifelong members to forget not everyone grew up a Latter-day Saint. All it takes is a new member, investigator, or non-member friend to remind us that sometimes, we're speaking a different language.

3 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

5 Ways Not to Start a Sacrament Talk (and What to Do Instead)

By Kelsey Berteaux

August 25, 2018 04:00 PM MDT

Chances are, if you’re a Latter-day Saint, you’ve had this happen to you before: it’s a Tuesday night like any other. Our family has just finished dinner, and we’re clearing the table when the phone rings. It’s the bishop. The conversation lasts less than two minutes, but the worry we feel coming away from that phone call will haunt us for the next week: we’ve been asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting.

4 Min Read

Fun

21 Simple Pleasures Only Mormons Will Understand

By Kelsey Berteaux

August 15, 2018 09:15 AM MDT

Have you ever had a moment where you pause to take a breath and appreciate something small? These little wonders can be tender mercies in our lives. Here are 21 such simple pleasures that Latter-day Saints in particular might find in their everyday lives.

1 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

7 Things All Mormons Should Know About the King James Bible

By Kelsey Berteaux

July 31, 2018 09:27 AM MDT

Latter-day Saints use the King James Bible along with other scripture to learn the will and word of God. But while you may know your Bible verses, you might not know these things about the King James Version of the Bible.

8 Min Read

Fun

President Monson in a Lei + Unique General Authority Connections to the Polynesian Cultural Center

By Jannalee Sandau

November 15, 2016 10:06 PM MST

When Thomas S. Monson was called to the Quorum of the Twelve in October of 1963, one of the first assignments he was given was to supervise the work of the gospel in the Polynesian area. He came to know and love the members in Polynesia, even giving his October 1966 conference talk on "God's Gifts to Polynesia's People."

3 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

How the Temple Brought Me Peace Amidst Fear and Confusion

By Jannalee Sandau

September 19, 2016 08:23 PM MDT

Putting faith before fear isn’t always easy. As I heard about the bombings in the New York area today, I was reminded of a different experience I had while in New York City a year ago.

2 Min Read

Notorious American Train Robber Butch Cassidy, a Mormon?

By Kelsey Berteaux

September 13, 2016 01:00 PM MDT

A Mormon outlaw? It seems like it should be an oxymoron. Latter-day Saints take pride in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, and virtuous, and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. Cassidy may have struggled with that last bit, but small things in his mild manner like a commitment not to drink alcohol or gamble ring familiar to practicing Mormons. He may have left the Church, but the influence of his Mormon upbringing never completely left him.

2 Min Read

10 Secrets about LDS Life Mormons Have Shared on the App Whisper

By Kelsey Berteaux

August 05, 2016 02:32 PM MDT

You might think that an app designed to allow users to share secrets anonymously could only end in terrible misfortune. On the whole, you’d be right. But, as with all technology, if used correctly it can be a tool for good.

1 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Does Your Ward Beat Out This One Crazy Stake in Utah?

By Kelsey Berteaux

May 20, 2016 05:53 PM MDT

It’s commonly held that Utah is the “home” of the Church—which is why it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s also “home” to one distinctive Stake of Zion where I have had the pleasure of spending the past two years.

2 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Dissenting Votes at Conference: Everything You Need to Know

By Kelsey Berteaux

April 02, 2016 06:09 PM MDT

Church members participating in the Saturday afternoon session of The 186th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints witnessed a sustaining vote that was not unanimous. Here's what you need to know:

5 Min Read