We are blessed to be in a Church with such wonderful story tellers! What tender reminders of the joy of this season from our beloved prophets and Church leaders.

Getting ready to serve a mission? We asked our Facebook readers what words of advice they had for future missionaries, and we got some great responses from former missionaries, converts, and even current investigators. Here are just a few of the great comments we received:

It's almost time to say goodbye to 2018 and hello to a new year. And what better time to reflect on the stories that brought us hope, made us laugh, and showed us the power of the gospel?

On September 12, 2004, Nathan Pacheco wasn’t a Billboard chart-topping artist. He hadn’t yet been on tour with Yanni or performed with the Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square. In 2004, he was just a senior at Brigham Young University who had a dream of pursuing a career in music. The classically trained tenor was sitting in the nosebleeds of the Marriott Center at a Church Educational System fireside when Elder Jeffrey R. Holland made a statement that served as the catalyst Pacheco needed to have faith to chase his dreams.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major factor that determines how long a person will live. Blood pressure is simply a measurement of the force against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood through your body. If your blood pressure is too high, it injures your arteries and causes them to harden. The heart has to then work harder to keep the blood flowing. It compensates by the heart muscle growing larger, but that makes it less efficient. The walls of the arteries also become weak and can even break or burst. If you also have high cholesterol, the high blood pressure causes fat to build up inside the wall of the arteries and restricts the blood flow. If your arteries are clogged, you can’t get proper nourishment to your organs and muscles, and they won’t get enough oxygen. You feel weak and fatigued and can’t function properly.

Multiple Surgeries & Much Pain

Preparation: Obtain a flannel board and cutout pictures of a pioneer boy, a pioneer mother, a pioneer man, a campfire, and a wagon from Primary Visual Aids Cutouts, Set 7—Pioneers and the Restoration; a man from Primary Visual Aids Cutouts, Set 2—People; some pine trees from Primary Visual Aids Cutouts, Set 3—Nature; and a horse from Primary Visual Aids Cutouts, Set 4—Domestic Animals. Put tape or flannel on the back of each picture. Print out a copy of the picture of a cord of wood. (Note: as an option, you could print pictures from the Internet that help illustrate the story.)

Do the virtues of social media outweigh the vices? That is a question asked by academics, religious leaders, and probably each of us as we watch yet another cooking tutorial we will likely never execute.

The following has been republished with permission from taylorhalverson.com.

There’s an electric, almost tangible buzz in the air around this time of year that settles over Temple Square and Latter-day Saint chapels throughout the world—and it has nothing to do with changing weather. It’s general conference time.