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There is much to celebrate this time of year as we look back on the day America gained its independence. And for LDS musician and Utah ambassador for refugees Alex Boyé, this season has an extra special meaning.

“What the Church did to come in and help the community was incredible. . . because if they hadn’t, I can tell you thousands of people would have been put back for months and months, not only financially, but with a place to live," Astros senior vice president over corporate partnerships Matt Brand said at the June 18 game honoring Mormon Helping Hands volunteers.

Maybe you feel your prayers aren’t being answered—or even heard. Perhaps you feel you have strayed beyond the Father’s ability to forgive. Maybe you’re struggling to trust that the Atonement of Jesus Christ really works in your life. Perhaps you are awash in fear, grappling to stay on top of adversity. Maybe you have been betrayed in the deepest way by one who should have treasured you. Or maybe you’re just trying to be patient, waiting for promised blessings and starting to lose faith that they will come.

When I was fourteen, I decided it was time I received my own testimony of the Book of Mormon. I began to read it, but as I read, I was filled with doubt about its truthfulness. I was frightened by my feelings, but I shared them with no one. One day after a particularly distressing day of reading, I decided to go into the willows by the river and pray until God gave me an answer. I begged God to take away the dark feelings and tell me if the Book of Mormon was true. “If you are really there and you love me, you will tell me,” I prayed. For hours I stayed in the willows. Night came on, and yet I continued to pray. This had worked for Enos, so I prayed and prayed. Finally, hungry and cold, I left the willows and went to bed. I heard no voice. I felt no lightening of my load. I received no witness, no calm burning in the heart. I had demanded an answer on my terms, according to my time line, corresponding to my needs. I had jumped from the pinnacle.

Addressing an audience at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London, England, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called on non-governmental organisations (NGOs), governments and faith groups to refocus their efforts in responding to the personal and family crises suffered by refugees and internally displaced people.

We each have our own “favorite sins” that, for some reason, we can’t seem to shake. So when we lose hope and feel like change is impossible, how do we conquer the weaknesses that hold us back?

Of all the explanations critics give for the creation of the Book of Mormon, the least credible is Joseph writing the manuscript. He could not have written nor translated the Book of Mormon in the way humans have long translated.

"The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache," Sister Marjorie Hinckley told a writer with the Liahona."If we can’t laugh at life, we are in big trouble."

Shortly after arriving in Vietnam as an Air Force pilot, Larry Chesley looked around at the other airmen in his unit, his eyes stopping on a young man. “And the Spirit said, ‘He’s not coming home.’ And I dismissed it and I looked around the room and my eyes stopped on another man, and the Spirit said, ‘He’s not coming home.’