Here are just a few of the things I enjoyed as a child more than riding the bus.

If you expect your patriarchal blessing to make wild or unusual promises and predictions, you may be misunderstanding what a patriarchal blessing is. Your patriarchal blessing isn’t a fortune cookie, and the patriarch isn’t a fortuneteller.[1] The patriarch is a prophet, called to convey God’s words and will to you. He is only authorized to pronounce the promises he is prompted by the Holy Ghost to give. Patriarchs are counseled by their leaders to avoid making sensational or extravagant promises in the blessings they pronounce, even if the Spirit shows them rather remarkable things about the blessing’s recipient. President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972), tenth President of the Church, explained, “I know of one or two cases … where a brother has been blessed by the patriarch and told that he would become a member of the Council of the Twelve [Apostles]. Usually [the patriarchs] don’t say that … even if the patriarch felt that the chances are [very good] that a man will be called to the leading councils of the Church.” President Smith added, “Patriarchs should be very careful in giving their blessings not to make extravagant expressions and to be conservative in what they say.”[2] Thus, you should not expect extravagant things to be mentioned in your blessing. Patriarchs generally avoid, for example, talking about things like the timing of the Second Coming when they give a blessing. While the young man or young woman being blessed may live to see the second coming of Christ, most patriarchs simply wouldn’t mention that in the blessing. President Smith further explained:

The beginnings of the Church were not always so harmonious. In 1841, Elder Orson Hyde was on his way to dedicate Palestine to the preaching of the gospel when he stopped in Vienna. Although he felt prompted to preach the word among the people there, he was not commissioned to dedicate the land, and the country of Austria had to wait 25 more years for Orson Pratt and William W. Ritter to arrive and begin the missionary work there.

The transition to becoming an empty nester can be a positive change for many parents. It is a time to refocus, improve one’s relationship with one’s spouse, and enjoy additional time for work and service outside the home.

What inspired you to start writing your new historical fiction series, Fire and Steel?

Take a step back in history and read the accounts of courageous men and women who contributed to the unfolding of the restoration of the gospel. Be inspired by the testimonies of living prophets and countless men and women who trusted in God and labored faithfully amidst trial and heartache.

The messages and stories Church leaders shared in the wake of the devastation on 9/11 are ones we can apply in times of division, darkness, and even in times of prosperity. They are messages to live by that remind us what is most important in a world filled with death, destruction, hate, and also love.

When the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve this past year, my family celebrated in typical fashion with Chinese food, watching the ball drop in Times Square on television, and tromping around in the snow while banging pots and pans outside, despite the frigid temperature. The year 2020 promised to be a good one. Not only was it a nice, even number, but it brought in a new decade, and new hope in addition to a new year.

Compared with a once-soulful experience of prayer and scripture study, many of us know what it’s like to find spiritual practices becoming impoverished, superficial, and thin. Although it’s easy to conclude that prayer or scriptures themselves are somehow limited, it would be shortsighted not to also consider ways in which larger tendencies toward distractedness, stressful busyness, and an accelerating pace of life might be playing a role.

This story originally ran on LDS Living in December 2017.