About 70 years after Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, Persia took over Babylon and allowed the Jews to resettle Jerusalem. During this time, a Jew named Nehemiah served in the court of a Persian king as a professional food taster, which was a position of great trust. When some of Nehemiah’s friends from Jerusalem visited him, Nehemiah asked how things were going in the holy city. Unfortunately, the news was not good: among other problems, Nehemiah learned that the wall had been... Read more
“He would have walked right here,” I tell those with me. I’ve been blessed to introduce groups of people to the Holy Land. Some came specifically “to walk where Jesus walked.” At these sacred places, I love teaching them about what happened and still happens there. I‘m glad to walk with groups of students or church leaders to places where walking took Jesus to heal and teach individuals with needs and faith. But regardless of where we are, we... Read more
It is hard to choose a favorite scripture, but if I had to it would be “I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell” (2 Nephi 33:6). Maybe it is the personal nature of this scripture—my Jesus? Or is it the simple power of relying completely on Christ to find peace and redemption? It is both. We mortals tend to make things more complicated than needed. When... Read more
At 3:31 a.m. on February 27, 2010, our Santiago, Chile world was in turmoil, shaken by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake. Everything around us was hurled about, smashed, or overturned. The entire city went dark. When the quaking stopped, shock waves beneath the ocean formed a tsunami, pounding the country’s costal areas and forcing residents to flee inward and upward. As we think of the traumas of that eventful day, we sometimes think of how mental, emotional, and spiritual survival—as well... Read more
I have a large wooden sign in my bedroom, which continually reminds me, “Just enough grace for today.” When I saw it out of the corner of my eye in a home goods store, I knew it was for me. I had not asked for a sign—literal or figurative—but I was blessed with one. All my life I had been what I call a “rusher”: from early childhood being valued for working hard and accomplishing what was expected. God knew... Read more
Many wonder how the Sea of Galilee, a lake one can see across, produces storms so violent they can cause shipwrecks. These storms come because the lake is below sea level, leading toward the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. But the Sea of Galilee is surrounded by mountains—like a bowl—so when hot air rises up, cold air gushes in, bringing on violent storms. By its very nature and location, the sea was made for storms. Mortality is like... Read more
Amid life’s journeys we might sometimes find ourselves trusting in God, whereas other times we trust in ourselves. In some instances, we might work hard to achieve valuable outcomes, whereas other times we can be a little bit lazy. For me, the Trust Matrix is a helpful way of thinking about where I am at any given point in time. On the Trust Matrix, The Y-axis indicates our level of effort in solving a problem, and the X-axis measures the... Read more
My wife and I were blessed to go with our 17-year-old son, Jordan, on a trip to the Holy Land to honor him as he completed school. This visit was the trip of a lifetime, as we saw and walked in places where our Savior Jesus Christ lived during his time on this earth. Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and the cities near the Sea of Galilee were places of interest and excitement. But we were quickly to learn that although physical,... Read more
Christ was exhausted from Roman/Jewish persecution—in addition to suffering for the sins, sicknesses, and sorrows of everyone who had lived, was living, or would yet live in His Father’s kingdom. When He stumbled under the heavy crossbeam, impatient Roman soldiers, “found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; him they compelled to bear his cross” (Matthew 27:32). Simon had not volunteered, but when compelled he did not refuse. Simon’s service, a simple everyday gesture, gave him the opportunity to give... Read more
“Touch is my reality,” wrote the adult Helen Keller, who had lost her vision and hearing when less than two years old. Four years of living in total darkness and silence, communicating only with vague gestures, left her willful, angry, and terrified. At age six, she was blessed with a teacher who helped her understand what language is and taught her how to use a finger-spelling alphabet-language that brought her into human communication—giving and receiving messages from hand to hand.... Read more
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