Building your child's knowledge of Christ and His gospel is essential, especially during their teen years. We are counseled to "seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith" (D&C 88:118). As your teens find good books to read, they will grow in the gospel. Here are seven books and CDs that will help your teen's testimony grow:

Funeral services were held Monday, October 8, 2018, in Salt Lake City for Sister Barbara Bowen Ballard, wife of  President M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the  Quorum of the Twelve Apostles  of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sister Ballard died at home at the age of 86, Monday, October 1, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s and other health issues.

Conference Talk:

During the Saturday morning session of the October 2018 general conference, President Russell M. Nelson announced a change to the Church schedule with the aim of strengthening families through a home-centered and Church-supported plan. Although the announced schedule is new, the desire for home-centered and Church-supported gospel learning may not be as new as you think.

"Repentance is a divine gift, and there should be a smile on our faces when we speak of it. It points us to freedom, confidence, and peace."

In the New Testament, the Savior asks a question that David Butler says seems “ridiculous” on the first read. Jesus asks, “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” (Luke 15:4). It wasn’t until Butler found himself separated from his son at Disneyland that he began to understand what the Savior meant.

With new temples announced and messages of hope, kindness, inclusion, and strong foundations, we are excited to study the important topics discussed during general conference and refocus our personal lives and actions. Here are just a few of the themes we picked up on alongside some great resources to help further your personal studies of the topics covered.

Over one in three women and nearly one in four men have experienced sexual assault at some point in their lives, according to the CDC. About one in four girls and one in 13 boys experience sexual abuse at some point in childhood. The statistics are staggering, but we may feel paralyzed by our inexperience and unfamiliarity with the topic. But is it possible that, simply by mentioning it as something someone in the room may have encountered, we could aid in the healing of sexual abuse victims?

“There comes to us from the voice of the Book echoes as from some word that we have heard long since and have well understood; they are the whisperings to us of familiar truths. We recognize them, for they are attested by the reasoning of the mind and the sanction of the spirit within us. They tell us that the end of life is that we shall be born again (Mos. 27:25), redeemed and become the sons and daughters of God; that there is no happiness in sin, and that obedience is the way to joy (Alma 41:10; 2 Nephi 2:25). It teaches that an element of faith is a recognition of God's superior knowledge (Mos. 4:6 12), and how that faith is nurtured and grows in the heart of man (Alma 26:22); and how it may become so powerful that nothing can be held from it (3 Nephi 7:18; Ether 12:19). That spiritual gifts to man cease only because of his wickedness (Mormon 1:14), and that God to be unchangeable must be a God of miracles (Mormon 9:19). It gives full light on the comprehensiveness of the plans of the Almighty (2 Nephi 27:7 10), and shows that all men have been alike to him from the beginning of creation, and that his atonement applied as well before as subsequent to his coming in the flesh (Mos. 3:13). That baptism, necessary now, was always necessary (2 Nephi 31:9; Mos. 2:22; 3 Nephi 11:38 39). That the mission of all prophets has been to testify of the Christ (Jacob 7:11). It teaches that purity of heart alone gives access to God (Jacob 3:1). And with unanswerable authority is given again, by the Lord himself, the essence of his Gospel” (3 Nephi 27:13 16) (John A. Widtsoe and Franklin S. Harris, Jr., Seven Claims of the Book of Mormon, pp.167,168).

His words make us giggle, his words make us cry. There's no place for doubt, he's one terrific guy. But whether you're a Who or a Jiggle Micpuff, his words mean much more than the regular stuff. They help us to see worlds out way far into space and remind us of principles from a heavenly place. So, we hope you enjoy and we hope you will grow from that famous Dr. Seuss who says much more than you know.