When I was fourteen, I decided it was time I received my own testimony of the Book of Mormon. I began to read it, but as I read, I was filled with doubt about its truthfulness. I was frightened by my feelings, but I shared them with no one. One day after a particularly distressing day of reading, I decided to go into the willows by the river and pray until God gave me an answer. I begged God to take away the dark feelings and tell me if the Book of Mormon was true. “If you are really there and you love me, you will tell me,” I prayed. For hours I stayed in the willows. Night came on, and yet I continued to pray. This had worked for Enos, so I prayed and prayed. Finally, hungry and cold, I left the willows and went to bed. I heard no voice. I felt no lightening of my load. I received no witness, no calm burning in the heart. I had demanded an answer on my terms, according to my time line, corresponding to my needs. I had jumped from the pinnacle.

“Is this a prank?” Steve “Dusty” Smith wondered. He was surprised—and confused—but then-President Uchtdorf had just one question for Smith: would he share his story?

This is an excerpt from the book Refuge and Reality: The Blessings of the Temple by John H. Groberg.

The war chapters—sounds kind of like a PBS documentary, don't you think? Well with all the contention, tactics, wins, and losses, Alma 43–52 would make an epic war movie. So why would Mormon choose to include these stories about battles and intrigue in the Book of Mormon? Join us in this week's study group as we dig into the scriptures to discover how the war chapters apply to our day and why we might actually grow to love them and their message to us.

Think of a time you were on the verge of starting a new chapter in your life. Were you nervous? Excited? Afraid? Maybe a combination of all three? Now imagine how the children of Israel felt as they finally crossed over the Jordan River into the promised land. Their emotions had to be off the charts with each step they took toward their new lives. And as we study Joshua chapters 1–8 and 23–24, we’ll see how they followed God’s counsel to be “strong and of a good courage” in the face of the unknown.

This excerpt originally ran on LDS Living in December 2019.

"They would ask me a lot, ‘Why are you being so positive?’ ‘What makes you so happy?’ and it was cool to just be able to say, ‘I definitely am the person I am and the happiness I have is because of my belief in God and the redeeming power of the Atonement,'" LDS mom Bryan McKinnon says about her experience on the Great American Baking Show.

Do you remember a day in your life that was simply the greatest? A day that was so perfect, you will always remember it? Well April 6, 1830—the day the Church was organized in the last dispensation—was unforgettable for early Latter-day Saints. This week as we study Doctrine and Covenants 20–22, we’ll discover important truths about the organization of the Church and how it blesses our lives today.

In these latter days, the Lord has issued a special call for “warriors” who are willing to fight for their faith no matter what. Elder Holland stated in the General Priesthood Session of the October 2011 Semi-Annual General Conference: