January is summertime at the South Pole, which means that the sun never sets and the air is 30 degrees Fahrenheit (or about 0 degrees Celsius) at the most. The wind howls incessantly, providing the only natural sounds in the Antarctic interior. There are no animals, plants, or smells—just white snow and ice and the occasional grey patch of earth under a blue sky.

"One of the things I most enjoy in writing fiction, particularly historical fiction, the creation of characters who become like actual people to me," writes beloved author Gerald Lund in the preface of his new book, "Only the Brave". "...I have come to learn that the characters should--perhaps even must--take on lives of their own if they are to be worth caring about."

As Latter-day Saints, we tend to assume that the heavens were sealed until the Sacred Grove appearance in 1820 and that the Restoration didn't really begin until Moroni tutored Joseph and subsequently gave him the plates in 1827. But that isn't entirely true.

The Alcantar family—mom Ange, dad Sal, and four of their five children aged 2 to 10—are three months into a two-year adventure around the world visiting as many LDS temples and historical sites as they can.



It is important for parents and others involved with the family to help the surviving children cope with the loss of their sibling. These children can possibly be forgotten or overlooked, even though they are experiencing pain as well. Even very young children are affected by the loss of a baby and deal with the loss in their own way.

It is a difficult thing to compare ourselves to the greatness of someone like Joseph Smith. He was a man with little formal education who accomplished things of such importance in his short lifetime that it boggles the mind. Yet, if we are commanded to follow the example of the Savior of the world, surely we can liken lessons learned from the Prophet Joseph’s life to our own. Let’s look what President Hunter says about Joseph Smith and see how we can apply some of those same attributes in our lives.

Brigham Young was lying in the bed of a wagon, having been severely ill for the last twelve days, when he saw the valley for the first time.1 He was forty-six years old, short and quite stocky, a carpenter by trade and physically robust; but “mountain fever” could put even the strongest men flat on their backs. Several diseases fell under that generic name because they all produced high fever, severe head and body aches, deep pain behind the eyes, chills, nausea, and vomiting. Colorado tick fever was one of the least severe of these illnesses, usually passing in a few days after the onset of the symptoms, but Brigham had been down for almost two weeks, suggesting that he may have contracted the more serious Rocky Mountain spotted fever. If so, it was remarkable that he was still alive. That strain persisted for weeks, and the fatality rate was high owing to the inflammation of the heart, lungs, and brain or the kidney failure it produced. The only known treatments were home-brewed remedies and rest, but sleep was hard to come by in a wagon on the plains. Summer days were bright and hot, and Brigham would have felt every bump in the road as the wooden wheels rolled over the uneven land. And he wasn’t alone in his suffering. Thirty-seven other Latter-day Saints traveling with him had also contracted the fever—a full quarter of the company. But they did not have the luxury of time to grant the sick much rest.2

“Every single human being is a gamble, and we love them anyway.” That's Latter-day Saint mother, writer, and artist Amy Webb's life philosophy—a philosophy formed over many years of unexpected twists and turns.

It was a discussion about the sacrament. A seminary student was sharing feelings about the sacredness of the ordinance when another student jumped in.