This article was originally published by LDS Living in May 2019. Find more from Elder Craig A. Cardon in his new book Growing Up Unto the Lord: Recognizing and Responding to the Voice of the Spirit, Living in Peace, and Blessing Generations.

At noon on the Ides of March, 1493, a small wooden ship rode the rising tide up the Río Tinto and into the harbor of Palos, Spain. She wasn’t much of a ship—her deck was only about 55 feet long. She was weathered but solidly built and appeared to be newly caulked. She was named the Santa Clara, but was usually called the Niña after her owner, Juan Niño of Moguer. The Niña had last been seen in Palos on August 3, 1492, sailing down the ebb tide with two other ships, the Santa María and the Pinta as part of an attempt to reach the Orient by sailing west across the uncharted waters.

Ashley Mae (Ashmae) Hoiland received a BFA in painting and an MFA in creative writing from Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. She is the author of 100 Birds Taught Me to Fly and the illustrator of Mother’s Milk: Poems Searching for Heavenly Mother. A writer at the By Common Consent blog, she lives in Santa Cruz, California, with her three children and husband

Everyone had a distinct, life-altering experience that day, offering us something to remember when we hear the admonishing phrase to “never forget” September 11.

Frances Beverly Johnson Monson, in the words of her husband, Thomas S. Monson

How much love does a cookie hold? Ten friends who will celebrate their 40th year of exchanging Christmas cookies can tell you. For them, the baking, packaging, and sharing of cookies each December is a reminder that time cannot diminish the love shared by friends through a cookie! Don't forget to look through all the pages for all their favorite cookie recipes.

Can one choose to love, or is love something you fall into? Is agency involved, or is love something that just happens to you? If love is something you fall in, how can you act rather than be acted upon?

On June 11, 1997, Michael Jordan played his celebrated “flu game” as three Nike execs and a grieving teenager watched from the upper bowl.

“What bravery! They died with their boots on,” remarked one of the Zapatista executioners [1]. He was reflecting almost respectfully on the surreal way that Mormon leaders Rafael Monroy and Vicente Morales had stood to receive the fusillade that pierced their bodies on the evening of 17 July 1915. The terror of facing an execution squad notwithstanding, no cowering, no begging, and no hysterics marred their calm and stalwart resolution to not repudiate their faith. The Zapatista commander had given them that option. The men responded by affirming their religious convictions, emphasizing that the only arms they possessed were not the clandestine military weapons they were accused of hiding in the Monroy family store but rather their sacred texts—the Bible and the Book of Mormon—which Monroy carried with him nearly all the time. Monroy was president of the San Marcos Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Vincente Morales, Monroy’s employee, was also his first counselor.

Marie’s story of rescue began, not ended, when she finally stepped outside the prison fence. Only Jesus Christ and the covenants she would make with Him could truly set her free.