I think I really started to believe that the Church was true when I was finishing reading the Book of Mormon for the first time. When I read the scriptures, the words about prayer really stood out to me. I could see there were people who truly had conversations with God. After I completely read through the Book of Mormon, I saw Moroni’s challenge to pray and ask God yourself. His words were so convincing. Moroni already knew this was true, but he challenged people at the end of the Book of Mormon to ask for themselves if this book was true and see if God would give them an answer. It was humbling to read what he had to say and to take on that challenge. I had to get up enough courage to ask God if this was real and if it was true. And the great thing is that I did learn for myself that the Book of Mormon is true!

If you would like to help displaced members and residents of Paradise affected by the Camp Fire, donations of travel trailers (not motorhomes) are being collected at Stewart's RV in American Fork, Utah.

Mother and artist Kate Lee is one of the newest faces at Deseret Book. Her unique watercolor artwork is a beautiful display of her testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and her love of family. We recently asked Lee about the inspiration behind her work and why she loves it.

It can be easy to just let life happen instead of taking control. Here are five habits Latter-day Saint families might have—and why they should stop doing them right now.

In 1960, I was living near Hamburg in West Germany and was called to be the mission YMMIA president. Half of the members of our mission lived in East Germany, which necessitated having counterpart Young Men’s and Young Ladies’ presidents serving in the same capacity in East Germany. Because the Church members were scattered over a large area, we made a special effort to plan as many activities as possible that could be attended by all the youth of the mission. This presented some problems peculiar to our mission, since half the mission was in West Germany and West Berlin, and the other half was behind the Iron Curtain. It was impossible to hold any activities in the eastern sector, so we scheduled all of our programs in West Berlin so that the East Germans could also attend. They could easily board a subway in East Berlin, ride across the border into West Berlin and attend the meeting, then return to their homes without difficulty.

At age twelve, Walter Maschmeyer traversed Germany amid the turmoil of World War II. Traveling only with his mother, Maschmeyer saw miles of German countryside during 1945 as they used whatever transportation was available to find a safe place in the war-torn nation. With Maschmeyer’s father on the German front and the Soviet army fast approaching, this journey was both frightening and essential. Only upon the arrival of American soldiers did the Maschmeyer family reunite and settle again into a peaceful life.

I have only three memories of my grandfather Wilbur Yelvington. One was that he was going to bald. If I stood on my tiptoes, I could see the back of his head when he relaxed in his favorite chair after work. Yup. There was the bald spot.

More than 50 million remarried people currently live in the United States alone. Two of those people are my parents. In just over 14 months, they went from a couple of 25 years to divorcés to members of new blended families. I and my four adult siblings quite suddenly found ourselves with a stepfather, a stepmother, and five new stepsiblings. And for a long time, I wasn’t really sure where I fit.

I was baptized 10 years ago. During these 10 years, my journey has not been easy. But being baptized has made it easier. The gospel, the Church, and my membership in the Church have truly enriched my life.

On June 7, 1950, the Brigham Young University men’s basketball team boarded a United Airlines DC-3 in Salt Lake City. Fifty-six hours and five layovers later, the team arrived in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Their mission: bring exposure to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and BYU by playing basketball games at night and hosting clinics and Church firesides in the afternoon. And wear their sweat suits to identify themselves, which had been tailored to read “Mormons” instead of “Cougars.”