You may have seen the adorable video that recently went viral of young cancer patient and Utah Jazz player-for- a-day, 5-year-old JP Gibson. Now, hear from his sweet mother, Megan, about the heartache and struggles of being a cancer Mom along with heavenly blessings found, lessons learned and talents and gifts revealed.

When I was growing up in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, Church books were a big thing in our house. We lived in Oklahoma, so there weren’t many other Mormons, and there wasn’t an Internet, so we didn’t have Blogs, Facebook, or Amazon. Books from Deseret and Bookcraft, and inspirational tapes from Covenant, were one of our main sources of connection to the mother ship.

On September 12, 2004, Nathan Pacheco wasn’t a Billboard chart-topping artist. He hadn’t yet been on tour with Yanni or performed with the Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square. In 2004, he was just a senior at Brigham Young University who had a dream of pursuing a career in music. The classically trained tenor was sitting in the nosebleeds of the Marriott Center at a Church Educational System fireside when Elder Jeffrey R. Holland made a statement that served as the catalyst Pacheco needed to have faith to chase his dreams.

As the 19th season of American Idol begins, the show once again includes contestants who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here are a few contestants to look for as the show enters into Hollywood Week.

I was fuming.

Just because a blessing is a blessing doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. And it’s OK if, right now, you see the difficulty more than the blessing.

“Mark never thought he had Down syndrome. He never thought he had any disability,” Stacey Anderson said. “He just thought he could do anything. He didn’t think he was limited, and I think it was by the way people treated him in the community. … Everyone treated him so good that he thought he could do it all.”

My experience as a Mormon missionary in Germany was unforgettable. In addition to the spiritual experiences I had and the people I served, I had the pleasure of meeting a self-proclaimed vampire (complete with filed teeth) and a man who was convinced he was Jesus. I was spat on, yelled at and received death threats. So overall, it was a pretty warm welcome to the real world for someone who grew up in a tightly knit religious community. Mormon missionaries don’t get paid for what they do. In fact, my parents paid for much of my two-year mission. The local mission office took care of the apartment and travel expenses, and I received a monthly stipend to cover groceries and whatever other expenses came up. As a 19-year-old dude fresh out of high school, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into, so there were a lot of things I had to learn the hard way.

I have a sad secret to share. Come a little closer because I don’t want the whole world to hear.

MR says: What an inspiring story of overcoming an addiction of something we are also dependent on: food. For more information on overcoming food addiction through the gospel, click here.