Christopher Jones is a father, husband, and historian. A graduate of Brigham Young University (BA, 2007; MA, 2009) and the College of William & Mary (PhD, 2016), he is currently an assistant professor of history at BYU, where he teaches a variety of courses, including Revolutionary America, African American Family History, Slavery and the Slave Trade, Family and Law in American History, and Missions and Missionaries in American History. His research focuses on religion, race, slavery, and family in early America and the Atlantic World, and his work has been published in Religion & American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation, the Journal of Mormon History, and BYU Studies Quarterly. He is currently completing two book projects - a study of Methodism in Revolutionary America and a co-edited volume on Protestant and Latter-day Saint missions in American History. Christopher lives in South Jordan, Utah with his wife, Karim—a content creator, author, and photographer—and their four children. As a family, they enjoy food (both cooking and eating), hiking, reading, travel, and sports.

Read the Provo Utah Temple dedicatory prayer written by President Joseph Fielding Smith and offered by President Harold B. Lee on February 9, 1972.

"The divine doctrine of eternal marriage is infused with ennobling and selflessly motivated duties and obligations," Elder Bednar said. "The covenant and responsibilities of marriage provide a sacred context within which we gradually turn from self-centeredness and selfishness to selflessness and service. In marriage, we live not exclusively for ourselves but for our spouses and children and posterity."

Isn’t it harder than ever to really disconnect, to escape the constant flood of information and social media and this and that and on and on? It is and the irony is that, in this state of constant connection, nonstop information, and Wi-Fi-enabled everything, we can still feel disconnected from the people and things that matter most. That’s why sometimes the best thing we can do is unplug from the distractions, disconnect from the buzz and static, get ourselves some wide-open spaces and some of that old reliable cure-all—fresh air—and reconnect.

Preparation: