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The following is an excerpt from theChurch's new groundbreaking history, Saints: The Standard of Truth. Read it for free through the Gospel Library app and at saints.lds.org or buy a hard copy to own at Deseret Book. Get more insights into Church history with theSaints podcast.

My oldest son is a senior in high school and a prototypical quarterback. He is an athletic 6’4, stands tall in the pocket, and has a beautiful left-handed throw that looks effortless. He throws hard, accurate, commands the huddle, reads the defense, has heart, and is an outstanding leader. Perhaps his best quality is that he is very coachable. In short, I look at him from a coaching perspective and salivate that I would have such a quarterback.

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You’re going to the temple! How exciting! The day you’ve been preparing for is nearing, and chances are you’re feeling intimidated, confused, or overwhelmed. You certainly won’t be able to understand everything before going to the temple for the first time (or even after you’ve been going for several years), but being prepared can help calm your nerves and help you understand the covenants you’ll be making. Here are just a few of our favorite books that will help you learn to love serving in the temple.

When I think of a “typical” Latter-day Saint, I think of a pregnant mom pulling out of her driveway in her SUV, five kids in the back seat, and a delicious dinner already cooking in the Crock-Pot. Maybe they’re on their way to soccer practice, piano lessons, or playdates, and they might even have little stickers on their back windshield representing each member of the family. Bonus points if the stickers are wearing Mickey Mouse ears.

My initial reaction to hearing about the social media fast was reluctant. Social media is a large part of my job, and I knew it would be impractical and difficult to stay away from it for 10 days. I soon realized that the reason I felt this was the negative commentary also appearing on my social media feeds. I hadn’t even had a chance to listen to the talk myself, yet I was allowing others to determine its effect on me. So I decided to participate — if not for the sake of obedience, then for my own sanity and mental health.

The temple and its ordinances were the pinnacles of Joseph Smith’s revelatory teachings and prophetic career, desiring each member to be “endowed with power from on high” (D&C 38:38). Your endowment is to receive the power and capacity to one day enter the presence of God and receive a fullness of his blessings. The presentation of the endowment ceremony replicates a metaphorical journey. It takes a fallen person and cleanses them, blesses them, teaches them, and brings them to a celestial redemption in the presence of God. Whether you are going for the first time or hundredth, how can you get the most out of this wondrous and unique temple experience? How do you make the endowment ceremony personally meaningful and spiritually impactful? How do you let it teach you how to come unto God’s exalting presence through his divine Son? One approach that can help is based on a divine pattern of spiritual learning summarized as KNOW, FEEL, and DO.

Emotionally and physically exhausted, President Heber J. Grant worried over his 7-year-old son— who lay seriously ill and in excruciating pain. President Grant was terrified at the idea of losing another child, having already lost one son, but then an other-worldly dream comforted his breaking heart, preparing him for the pain which was to come.

The following is part of former NFL player Chad Lewis's 2012 BYU Women's Conferenceaddress "Mormon’s Warning: Arming Your Home and Family." During his address, Lewis shared how his parents taught him how to strengthen his home and family through a tragedy that happened just months before his mission.