Participating in the endowment takes over an hour. That longer time frame allows for several divinely designed learning experiences.

INTRODUCTION: If I were teaching this lesson, I might begin by pouring water into several different shaped containers and asking class members to comment on what we can learn from that activity about the qualities of water. Someone will probably say that water takes the shape of its environment. If you then ask for words that describe water, you might get words like these: Flimsy, unsound, mercurial, capricious, changeable, wobbly, fickle, erratic, unreliable, undependable, vacillating, untrustworthy, variable, mutable, impermanent, unsteady, uncertain, transitory, ephemeral, inconsistent, precarious, and unstable. I am amazed at how many words the English language has to describe this rather undesirable characteristic. But this lesson will require us to think about them, because we are going to talk about three people who were much like water (one was even compared to water), and one young man who was as unlike water as it is possible to be.

The cities of Spain have vivid histories filled with battling cultures, religious artwork, and impressive ruins covered in vines and sand. And while countless visitors come to experience Spain’s rich treasures and heritage, Church members in Spain know that their real treasures are the blessings of the gospel and that their true heritage comes from a divine source. Here are five things to know about the Church in this country.

INTRODUCTION: Life is a test. Richard G. Scott said,

The following is an excerpt from No Other Success: The Parenting Practices of David O. McKay by Mark D. Ogletree.

In 2015, my New Year’s resolution took an unexpected spiritual turn. For once in my life, I wanted to make a resolution that counted—one that I wouldn’t forget in two months and that could impact me for eternity. I decided to prepare to enter the temple.

Life is a test. Richard G. Scott said:

The delegation of power to rule in the earthly kingdom of Jesus Christ will be necessary during the Millennium because He will not always be physically present on the earth. “Christ and the resurrected Saints will reign over the earth, but not dwell on the earth,” said Joseph Smith. They will rather “visit it when they please or when [it is] necessary to govern it.”1 Likewise, the Prophet taught the following: “That Jesus will be a resident on the earth a thousand [years] with the Saints is not the case. But [He] will reign over the Saints and come down and instruct [them] as He did the five hundred brethren [after His resurrection (see 1 Cor. 15:6)]. And those of the first resurrection will also reign with Him over the Saints.”2

Between the garland and holly, the cinnamon and turkey, there's something about Christmas that makes it more magical and memorable than any other time of the year. With family and friends gathered around, we share recollections of the past and create new stories to recount for years to come.

Have you ever been asked a question about being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but you weren't quite sure how to answer it? Check out a few of the most commonly asked questions, and read some scripture-based answers that you can use the next time you're asked one of them.