War has long been a difficult part of our human history. But you can find inspiration in these 11 books and DVDs that chronicle real-life and fictional characters and their search for faith, courage, and valor amidst some of the most difficult periods of history.

I am the father of five rambunctious, high-energy little boys, 9 years old and younger. Trying to get them to sit still, let alone listen, at Church is exhausting. During sacrament meeting, my wife and I sometimes feel like we are referees, calling penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct (throwing cereal and/or other objects, hitting, kicking, and pinching), offsides (one of the boys breaking through our tackles to escape down the aisle), and excessive celebration (screams, giggles, and laughs that echo throughout the cultural hall).

In the October 2012 general conference, President Thomas S. Monson announced that young men could now be recommended for missionary service at age 18, and young women could serve at age 19. At a press conference held between the Saturday morning and afternoon conference sessions, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland invited parents “to take a strong hand in this preparation and not expect that it is somehow the responsibility of local church leaders, or the missionary department of the church or MTC’s to provide and direct all of that.” Notice where Elder Holland placed the responsibility to train the future missionary force—not on local church units or missionary training centers but on mothers and fathers!

Every Christmas, my family reads the story of Jesus’ birth from the second chapter of Luke.

The following is an excerpt from His Majesty and Mission.

When I was just a baby, my father, because of concerns in his own life and challenges that he was having, left our family. Our mother alone, therefore, raised my sisters and me, and as I was growing up, my father had very little to do with us as children. I realize he was working with things in his own life, but his decisions created certain challenges and hardships for my mother, my sisters, and for me. At age fourteen or fifteen, if you were in my situation, and you knelt down and said: “Father in Heaven, help me find peace concerning my father leaving us and really having nothing to do with us for all these years. Help me forgive my father,” would you not think that was an appropriate prayer, one that deserved an answer? But no answer came at age fourteen and fifteen. Twenty, twenty-one comes, same prayers, still no answer. Twenty-five, twenty-six passes, same prayers, yet still no answer. Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-three, thirty-four all come and go. Surely I’m in the fourth watch by now, would you not agree?

King Benjamin’s speech in Mosiah 2–5 can well be called a masterpiece of oratory. Just one way in which this is so is in the unmistakable presence of chiasmus and other parallelisms in the speech’s structure. “A stunning array of literary structures appears in Benjamin’s speech, purposefully and skillfully organized,” noted John W. Welch. “Benjamin’s use of chiasmus, all types of parallelisms, and many other forms of repeating patterns adds focus and emphasis to the main messages and the persuasive qualities of this text.”

Both Women and Men Have Access to God's Highest Spiritual Blessings

Tom Christofferson, author of That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon's Perspective on Faith & Family, was recently interviewed by RadioWest's Doug Fabrizio, sharing moments from his life and insights into what it means to be a happy, gay Mormon.