Years ago, before the Church instituted the three-hour block schedule for our Sunday meetings, we used to go to the chapel for meetings three times every Sunday—once in the morning for priesthood meeting, a second time for Sunday School opening exercises and classes, and finally a third time for a ninety-minute sacrament meeting. When I was a very young man, our ward’s Sunday School superintendent, Brother Marchant, came to our class one Sunday to ask for volunteers who would be willing to give the prayer, the 2½-minute talks, and the sacrament gem (a verse of scripture shared before the sacrament was passed) in the following week’s Sunday School opening exercises. My strategy was to quickly volunteer to say either the prayer or the sacrament gem. I was motivated by the desire to avoid having to give a talk at all costs! Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t the only person in the class with that strategy, and I missed out on my first choice, the prayer. I was quick enough, however, to score the sacrament gem assignment. Given the other alternative, I felt lucky.

Consider this quote from Brigham Young on the necessity of the gifts of the Spirit in the Church:

The following is an excerpt from No Other Success: The Parenting Practices of David O. McKay by Mark D. Ogletree.

Calling all Church history buffs!

What is it like to be on the gospel path with your spouse—attending church together, serving faithfully in your callings, and raising your children with the gospel as your guide—only to have them announce abruptly, or over time, that he or she no longer believes?

Throughout history, the people of God have suffered from bad memories. Our recollection of the most amazing blessings will disappear from our memories if we are not attentive. Moses had seen this reality in his people a lot of times. They had memory spans roughly equivalent to a box of corn flakes. Miracles and divine demonstrations were forgotten more quickly than the IRS’s phone number. Much of Deuteronomy was given and written to help the covenant people remember the important things.

History classes for most of us were all about world events or the history of the country we lived in while church history was only learned, well, in church. But we never really put them together. When you place these two timelines side by side, you may be surprised to find out that Brigham Young sent the first transcontinental telegraph message the same year that the Civil War started, or that the first latter-day Quorum of the 12 was organized the same year famous author Mark Twain was born. Let us know your favorite set of events, or any we left out, in the comments at the end!

INTRODUCTION: Throughout history the people of God have suffered from bad memories. Our recollection of the most amazing blessings will disappear from our memories if we are not attentive. Moses had seen this reality in his people a lot of times. They had memory spans roughly equivalent to a box of corn flakes. Miracles and divine demonstrations were forgotten more quickly than the IRS’s phone number. Much of Deuteronomy was given and written to help the covenant people remember the important things.