The language of Mormon culture, like that of most other cultures, is fraught with contradictions. All faiths have their intemperate zealots, and even the wisest and best men and women can say uninspired, ridiculous, and even reprehensible things. The religious scholar Krister Stendahl has suggested that in evaluating religions, it is only fair to characterize a faith group in terms of its best, not its worst, manifestations.1

It isn't an easy task to narrow down the list of books written by prophets, apostles, and historians about the Church. The topics are varied and the viewpoints are many. However, there are certain books that have risen to the top and have stayed extremely relevant to readers over the years. We'd like to introduce our ultimate list of must-read LDS classics:

"Saturday of April conference of 1984 has been circled on our calendar for many years, for that date was targeted as the first time in my life that our only son would be old enough to attend general priesthood meeting with me," President Russell M. Nelson said the first time he stood at the pulpit in general conference as an apostle. "Brothers and sisters, little did we know that on that day my name would be presented as a member of the Council of the Twelve."

Check out these helpful study tips and book recommendations to deepen personal learning about temple worship, our covenants, and the temple garment.

Even if you have questions, you can have a firm testimony if you know these five things.

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.