Even a serious fire won’t stop Jim and Sherry Andelin from using their zoo to share the light of Christ this Christmas.

“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).

Returned Missionary: Early to Home, Pt. 1 – Señor WritesThe following has been republished with permission from senorwrite.wordpress.com:

With just a click of a button, you can access a lot of, well, garbage on the Internet. Take a look at these 9 Mormon YouTubers who have graced the Internet for the better, and find out why their channels are so popular not only among Latter-day Saints but the world at large.

Martha Ann Jane Stevens Perkins Howell stood with dignity and determination as an African-American member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between the slave years and the beginning of the Civil Rights movement in the United States. Through her example of seeking education, demonstrating a firm commitment to morality, and readily offering her friendship, she raised her family to be Latter-day Saints even under race-based disadvantages, and she herself rose to some prominence when she accompanied her second husband on an unprecedented mission for the Church. Although most of her posterity left the faith, all were affected for good by Martha Ann’s strength in her beliefs.

There are two things Latter-day Saints get really excited about: general conference and Disney. So what happens when you put them together?

On Friday, April 17, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent a letter and two documents to the faith’s global leadership. A third document contained answers to questions not addressed in the First Presidency’s letter to leadership.

The Lord, in His loving kindness, gives us reassurances that would be impossible to dismiss as our own wishful thinking.

Over the years, apostles, general auxiliary leaders, and general authorities have shared countless stories and examples of valuable lessons they've learned from their parents or taught to their own children. Here are a few of our favorite stories and the inspiring parental advice each of them share.

The youthful prophet received many visions through the medium of “Urim and Thummim”—sometimes a seer stone and, more particularly, the Nephite interpreters. Both of these instruments apparently operated in much the same spiritual manner, and through them Joseph received an undetermined number of visions in addition to the translation of the Book of Mormon. The young prophet obtained a seer stone, described as dark brown in color, while digging a well for Willard Chase around 1822.1