Category: Guest Contributor

It’s not always easy to understand why God says no to our most earnest prayers. My friend, Maryn, shares her story of loss as she struggled to understand why God wouldn’t allow her sweet baby girl to live. For months after my baby girl died, I struggled with prayer. I felt so hurt and betrayed that Heavenly Father hadn’t answered …

Without a firm belief in your abilities, you won't be able to harness valuable opportunities for growth. Learn how to build your confidence and feel more secure.

Why does God need to put us through a deconstruction process? Why can’t He simply remodel? It’s because we all need our lives rebuilt. And sometimes those of us with the fanciest, well-made spiritual houses need the most spiritual deconstruction before reconstruction can begin. There’s always this impression, and I’m not sure where it comes from, that if you do …

When I got married, my head was full of dreams and wishes! I was blissfully in love and ready to take on the world with my husband. I was not naive in thinking life would never be hard— it knew it would be — but I felt we were strong enough to handle whatever came our way. I imagined us …

In ancient times, the heart was considered the center of knowledge and thoughts.  There are 1,475 references to the heart in the scriptures, and 66 specifically mentioning a change of heart.   I personally see proof of the importance of the heart in the simple fact that the adversary is so interested in it! Shortly after Christ was born, the Nephites …

Life is interesting and full of unexpected changes. Regardless of our location along the path, I have learned experience increases my faith and improves my understanding of life. The power of the Holy Ghost and the love God has for each one of us is undeniable. Children have an incredible way of reminding us how to see and experience the …

Love comes so naturally in some cases.  In others, it doesn’t happen automatically so it must be learned.  This is true because we’re all different, just as we’re supposed to be. And that’s all well and good until we have to learn to love a difficult person. For me, it was in this learning process where realized how love is …

In the novel, Les Miserables, the bishop of Digne is faced with the decision of how to treat men who were despised in the community because of their past behavior.  Those of you familiar with the story will likely remember the mercy and empathy he demonstrated to the main character and former convict, Jean Valjean, even after he has betrayed the …

We have all heard the old saying “Forgive and Forget.”  As an adult I know it is not meant to be taken literally, but as a child that is what I thought should happen. It took me nearly 40 years of emotional turmoil to unravel such a simple concept and change my mindset to “Forgive and Grow.”   A Little …

I prided myself on being a person of integrity — doing what I am supposed to do. A person who never lets people down. However, I was thrown into an identity crisis when we were forced into foreclosure on our family’s first home. It was a time where, with God’s help, I conquered feelings of doubt and became stronger in …

When I was in junior high, there was a button craze.  We could buy little buttons (pins) with cute sayings on them.  We would wear them on our coats and become walking billboards for things we thought were clever or cute or funny.  I had a lot of buttons with humorous or sarcastic phrases (did I mention:  junior high school?), …

Life was good in March of 2003.  We finally got to bring our preemie baby girl home from the hospital to meet her brother and two sisters.  I was ready to leave the hospital behind and more than ready to get back to the normalcy of a stay at home mom with “littles.”  My baby was going to be OK, …