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World and Church History Connections You Didn’t Learn in School

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!

Latter-day Saint Life

6 Ways to Rise Up to the Calling of Ministering

By Richard Anderson

Shortly after the special announcement by President Russell M. Nelson that we would now be “ministering” instead of “home teaching” and “visiting teaching,” a concern came over me that the words “minister” and “ministering” may become commonplace, no longer representing a depth of sacred spirituality. Those terms have always brought feelings of reverence and sacredness within me. In my mind, these terms represent the greatest of all ministers—our Savior—and His miraculous work. I began to review my life for what I had learned of ministering and how these acts draw us upward toward a life in Christ.

Latter-day Saint Life

Improving Our Relationships Through Christ-Centered Connection

By James T. Skeen

One evening in a counseling session, I asked a couple who was struggling with financial differences to create a budget together. I gave them an outline of a budget and told them they had 15 minutes to work it out while I left the room.

Lesson Helps

Old Testament Lesson 46: "A Kingdom Which Shall Never Be Destroyed"

By Ted L. Gibbons

When I was young and silly, my parents used to take me to southern Utah to visit relatives almost every summer. We would spend a week or two in Kanab and I would devote hours each day to roaming the red hills and canyons in the area with my cousins. One of the activities in which we sometimes engaged was rock rolling. We would climb the K-hill, a small table-top mountain northeast of town and roll rocks down the side. It was awesome to see the largest boulders we could move crashing down the hillside, gathering momentum and speed, dislodging other great rocks and debris which joined the mad cascade to the bottom. There were times when it seemed as if the whole mountain was moving.

D&C Lesson 32: "To Seal the Testimony"

By Ted L. Gibbons

INTRODUCTION: Consider the following people: John the Baptist, 1000+ Anti-Nephi-Lehies, Abinadi, and Joseph Smith. What do these have in common? They were martyred because of their commitment to the truth. Can you identify other martyrs from scriptural and church history? (Answers might include Abel (Moses 5:32), James (the brother of John—Acts 12:2)), Hyrum Smith (D&C 135:1, etc.) According to D&C 135:3, why do so many of “the Lord’s anointed” die at the hands of their enemies? (See also D&C 136:5,6)

Lesson Helps

FHE: Forgiveness

By Carly M. Springer

Thought:

‘We wanted to be with Dad’: President Oaks’s family shares insights about their father

By Richard E. Turley Jr.

As the father of six, grandfather of twenty-nine, and great-grandfather of more than sixty, Dallin H. Oaks loves the family. This has been one of the most frequent themes of his apostolic ministry. In his first year as an Apostle, he spoke at a fireside for parents on “parental leadership in the home.” “We cannot overstate the importance of parenthood and the family,” he said. “The basis of the government of God is the eternal family.” He affirmed “that the gospel plan originated in the council of an eternal family, it is implemented through our earthly families, and it has its destiny in our eternal families.”1 These principles were reflected in his family teachings, priorities, and practices.

Latter-day Saint Life

5 ways angels communicate with us

By Donald W. Parry

This excerpt was originally published by LDS Living in August 2018 and is being shared again in honor of the anniversary of the night the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith.

Fun

22 Times Dumbledore Taught Doctrine

By Danielle B. Wagner

Whimsical. Endearing. Magical. Mysterious. These are a few among a host of words that can describe the famous Albus Dumbledore, but among the most accurate is wise. Like many children born in the '90s, I was raised on the Harry Potter books and the words of Albus Dumbledore, who taught me what true bravery and power look like.

Latter-day Saint Life

22 Items That Will Help You and Your Family Create Spiritual Habits in 2020

By LDS Living

If you want to improve your family gospel study: