Misperceptions about Latter-day Saints in the academy have dissipated on campuses across America. This will continue as Mormons themselves increasingly become respected colleagues and productive participants within academic life.

Dear Dave,

Elizabeth Marquardt still hasn't found a congregation where she fits in. The 42-year-old married mother of two, whose parents divorced when she was a toddler, could be ministering over a congregation. She holds a divinity degree, reads the Bible every day, believes in God and as a researcher, has surveyed thousands of youth and adults whose faith was either shaken or steeled by their parents splitting up.

Surely everyone wants to finish their missions looking “fabulous.” Most missionaries dream of that moment when the airport doors slide open, and they reveal their new and improved selves to family and the . . . more-than-just-friends.

It was 1980 and a coup d’état had just occurred in South Korea. An official from Washington was sent out to meet with General Chun Doo-Hwan, who now ran the country and would be president for seven years. Chun asked me to facilitate communication at the meeting.

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There are many reasons why Jesus came to earth, and our word Atonement has come to embody them all, but I think, if I had to be specific, I would say that the essence of His life centered on forgiveness. In the great hymn of the Restoration, Joseph Smith caught that spirit when he wrote, “Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven” (D&C 128:19). The Savior is the incarnation, the personification, the grand architect of forgiveness and mercy. It is inherent in almost every act of His life. It is the one single most significant quality of the Father that Jesus came to teach us with His words and show us by His example. Indeed, the most beautiful words He spoke during those last agonizing hours of His life are, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Whenever I feel the difficulty of forgiving in my own life, I read those words and the feeling of forgiveness moves into my soul.

One of the most amusing, albeit occasionally frustrating, aspects of travel takes place at border crossings. You never know quite what you will find—opportunities for laughter are always anticipated, as well as an invitation in multi-cultural discovery. When we approach the border, I hold my breath, set my patience meter on high, turn my hope dial up to its highest frequency and wait for what humanity will bring me. I am so rarely disappointed…...

Marie Osmond, singer and performer, and husband, Steve Craig, former BYU basketball player