One December, I saw a clever sign on the marquee of a Christian church: “Christmas is not your birthday!” I got their point, but I still had to disagree because I was born right on December 25th. When I was younger, my parents were afraid my birthday would get overlooked in the holiday rush, so they made a big banner that hung in our home: “Happy Birthday to Jesus and Brad!” They also started a tradition of putting up two trees—one for Jesus and one for me. The idea was that my brothers would put a present for me under each tree—a plan that worked well until my older brother bought me a pair of mittens. He placed one mitten under the Christmas tree and the other under the birthday tree, and everything went downhill from there. These days, most of my gifts come with a “Merry Birthday” card to cover both occasions. Here’s one I received from my cousin:

Oftentimes, as a practicing mental health professional, I am asked: when should a person see a clinical professional, seek the help of friends and family, or seek help from priesthood leadership in regards to medical mental health issues? I can say that from both a personal perspective and as a mental health counselor such questions are very complex, and it is important to be sensitive both to individual needs and the situation. Having said that, there are some very clear directives when mental health assistance should be considered. All of us at various times in our lives will face complex and difficult life situations that can bring sadness, loss, anxiety, confusion, and concern into our lives. More often than not, such situations and feelings are part of this mortal existence and can be worked through by the guidance, direction, and comfort from family, friends, and Church leadership.

MR says: What an exciting day as members of the Tongan royal family and Church members alike met during this week-long celebration.

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presided at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Abidjan Cȏte d’Ivoire Temple on Thursday.

The following is part of a transcript for the Deseret News podcast "Therefor, what?" Listen to the podcast below or view the full transcript on deseretnews.com.

It was just more than a year ago that Amazon.com announced that electronic book (e-book) sales had surpassed paperback book sales on its website. It stated that for every 100 paperback books sold, 105 e-books were purchased. Joining the e-book revolution, Deseret Book launched Deseret Bookshelf in June 2011. It's a free e-reader app for Apple and Android mobile devices that not only allows you to read e-books, but also access Deseret Book's library of nearly 1,500 digital titles for purchase.

"I was sitting in a lesson at church and the teacher said that all people with tattoos are bad people." Unfortunately, this is the kind of email Latter-day Saint author Al Fox Carraway receives too often. But it also opens up room for discussion on how we should include all members, ink or no.

Elder Hartman Rector Jr., convert to the Church, emeritus General Authority Seventy, and former member of the Presidency of the Seventy, passed away on Nov. 6, 2018, in Orem, Utah. He was 94.

Do you think you're pretty darn funny? Have a side-splittingly funny story to share? As part of the buildup to the launch of the popular web series Pretty Darn Funny, the producers of the show held an online video contest to submit your funniest experience in two minutes or less. And while, unfortunately, you can't enter the contest anymore, you can view the hilarious results.

Manual 3; Supplement from "May You Have Courage" by President Thomas S. Monson