There are nearly seven million Mormons in America. This is the number the Mormons themselves use. It's not huge. Seven million is barely 2 percent of the country's population. It is the number of people who subscribe to Better Homes and Gardens magazine. London boasts seven million people. So does San Francisco. It's a million more people than live in the state of Washington; a million less than in the state of Virginia. It's so few, it's the same number as were watching the January 24, 2012, Republican debate. In fact, worldwide, there are only about fourteen million Mormons. That's fourteen million among a global population just reaching seven billion. Fourteen million is the population of Cairo or Mali or Guatemala. It's approximately the number of people who tune in for the latest hit show on network television every week. Fourteen million Americans ate Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant in 2011. That's how few fourteen million is.

Sunset Beach on Oahu’s North Shore has long been home to some of the world’s best surfers, best waves and some of the world’s premier surfing competitions. Now it is also the home to a growing presence of Latter-day Saints in Hawaii.

Roger Nicholson was about to send an email, but hesitated. He was staring at his laptop computer screen in an airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, trying to decide what to do. Did he really want to send this?

Editor's note: Clayton Christensen is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and a member of the Deseret News' Editorial Advisory Board. The Deseret News recently asked Christensen, a Salt Lake City native and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to share this experience. For better or worse, the very language that we use when describing a situation affects how we understand the situation and hence guides our behavior. Consider the different responses that we might get from the following two sentences: "You need the church" and "The church needs you."

I’d never seen anything like it: Ten 5-year-old kids belting at the top of their lungs, “The cold never bothered me anyway!” and “Let the storm rage on!” — in a dance class, of all things. It may as well have been a kindergarten chorus performance.

Making and keeping promises is a highly valued trait in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In fact, the first official act of every member of the Church (sometimes inadvertently called “Mormons”) when we are baptized is to make a covenant—a two-way promise with our Heavenly Father—to live as He has directed through the example of His Son. In return, God promises that His Spirit will be with us always.

Outside of Utah, the membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – the Mormons – is in the minority. Inside of the state that trend is reversed. Newcomers to Utah suddenly find themselves in the minority if they are not a part of the dominant religion and its accompanying culture. To members of the LDS church, religious and cultural intolerance is nothing new. A quick run-through of the church’s early history in the American East and Midwest is full of tales of persecution and forced expulsion.

BYU students have many options when they choose classes to fulfill 14 required religion credits. Options range from classes that study world religions to Church history, temples, living prophets, and even missionary preparation. Missionary preparation is a two-credit class, in which students learn skills that will help them if they decide to serve a full-time mission, as well as be a member missionary for the rest of their lives.

Sweat dripped down my temples as I walked under the blazing African sun, 10,000 miles away from home. I reached into my back pocket, grabbed my handkerchief and patted my forehead dry. Elder Mohale and I guessed the temperature as we walked to our next appointment. The humidity and heat was all worth it because we were on our way to help a man with his smoking addiction.

Frank Anthony Phillips sits in his clean, organized office next to his wife, Marci. Midday rays pour through a window and bathe them both in flattering light. When Frank looks at his best friend, which he does often during our two-hour interview, his features soften and the Spirit draws a smile on his experienced face.