Nothing beats a good pair of shoes when you’re serving a mission. But the number of steps missionaries put in now can’t even be compared to the thousands of miles the Apostle Paul walked in his day. In Acts 16–21, we’ll take a look at the Apostle’s many journeys across the ancient world as he followed the creed to spread the gospel. During his service, Paul was jailed, beaten, and persecuted. But in the end, he leaves us with a humble message that he gave everything he could, and that it's always better to give than to receive.

The following is an excerpt from the Rosemary Card's new book Model Mormon. To read more, you can order Model Mormon here.

If you’re like us, now that the new year has begun you might be experiencing holiday withdrawals. But what if we told you that Christmas can keep on going? Luckily, this week’s Come, Follow Me lets us revisit the story of the Savior’s birth in the second chapters of Luke and Matthew. In these verses, we learn of early witnesses of Christ from the shepherds to the wise men from afar who recognized that this baby boy was called to an important work. So let’s start out the new year by studying this miraculous story and bringing the Savior into the season and into our hearts once again.

Here's a little lesson for your Come, Follow Me this week: in Latin, the word beatus means fortunate, blessed, or happy. This means that the Beatitudes in Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount are the happy verses, because in Matthew 5 and Luke 6 you can substitute “blessed” with the word “happy” whenever you read it. Basically, these chapters have the recipe for a happy life—all you need is lots of light, a dash of salt, and a willing heart to follow the recipe as best as you can for a reward that won't disappoint.

The following has been published in full with permission from Nate Checketts.

Including the inspiring accounts of women leaders in the church as well as the real life, raw experiences of women facing illness, loss, and loneliness these 13 books remind all women just how strong and important they are no matter the storms they face in their lives.

1. The “preface” to the Doctrine and Covenants (section 1) was given only after William E. McLellin, Oliver Cowdery, and Sidney Rigdon attempted to write a preface themselves. Section 1 of the Doctrine and Covenants was revealed in November 1831 at a conference where Joseph Smith and other Church leaders decided to publish Joseph’s revelations as the Book of Commandments. According to William E. McLellin, he, Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery were appointed by the conference to write a preface for the publication. When they presented the draft to the conference, the conference participants “picked it all to pieces” and asked Joseph to request a preface from the Lord. Joseph and those at the conference then prayed, after which Joseph dictated the preface “by the Spirit” while “sitting by a window.” According to McLellin, “Joseph would deliver a few sentences and Sydney [Rigdon] would write them down then read them aloud, and if correct, then Joseph would proceed and deliver more.” In this way, McLellin declared, “the preface was given.” Section 1 served as the preface for both the Book of Commandments, whose printing was interrupted in July 1833 by mobs in Jackson County, Missouri, and the Doctrine and Covenants when it was first published in 1835.

The following excerpt originally ran on LDS Living in April 2017. Changed through His Grace is now available as a Pocket Gospel Classic.

Just for downloading the Deseret Book eBook app, called Deseret Bookshelf, you’ll get EIGHT FREE eBooks! Scroll to the bottom of this page to see the list of all eight. And they’re not throwaway books, either. Always wanted to read Jesus the Christ? Or Joseph Smith’s Lectures on Faith? Now’s your chance to do it for free.

Editor's note: “Resources to follow Him” curates study resources, teachings, and thoughts to deepen your study of this week's Come, Follow Me.