Dallin H. Oaks became the 18th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 14, 2025. To review some of his main speaking points, I decided to review his general conference talks. I had several topics pegged as “usual subjects” for Dallin H. Oaks. Looking back over his talks, I happily discovered an unexpected breadth of topics. President Dallin H. Oaks seemed to speak most often about the plan of salvation and its application in mortality... Read more
The Book of Mormon begins with rapid-fire stories of the Lord commanding His servants to act and the results of their actions. Nephi testified that the Lord gave commandments after preparing the way for them to be accomplished (1 Nephi 3:7). By 1 Nephi 17, the Lord led Nephi and his family out of danger, and they had been in the wilderness for eight years, being directed towards a promised land. In his retelling of their experience, Nephi pauses—or I... Read more
At age 54, I had never experienced a moose sighting! I’ve driven Canadian highways scanning for moose. I drove up and down the northeastern parts United States, hoping to catch a glimpse in Maine, even stopping for dinner one and overhearing tales of travelers who’d just seen moose on the road. I lived in Utah and scoured mountainous canyons for one moose sighting. It never happened. Contrast my fruitless searching to my brother-in-law, who saw moose, it seemed, every time... Read more
The Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Institute released the groundbreaking survey by Jean M. Twenge, Jenet Erickson, Wendy Wang, and Brad Wilcox called “In Pursuit: Marriage, Motherhood, and Women’s Well-Being.” You can read the survey’s summary findings here: In Pursuit: Marriage, Motherhood, and Women’s Well-Being. I shared initial thoughts about the survey here: Married Mothers Are Happiest a New Study Concludes The survey found that more married women with children report being ‘very happy’ than any other participant... Read more
Russell M. Nelson, our dear friend—because he was such a dear friend to all—graduated from mortality on September 27, 2025. Like millions of my fellow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I reflected on the life of this prophet of God and how his ministry impacted me personally. I shook the hand of then Elder Russell M. Nelson after one of his discourses at Brigham Young University. While I attended BYU, I made a goal to... Read more
What does enduring to the end mean? This phrase has bounced around my head in various ways: sometimes as an abstract plodding along until the Lord calls you home, sometimes as a holding fast to the iron rod. As I’ve really pondered how I define “enduring to the end,” I realized that I’ve often felt it was a passive phrase. I was wrong. While studying the Doctrine and Covenants recently, “endure to the end” suddenly became much more active to... Read more
After Nephi’s family crossed the sea and fled from Laman and Lemuel’s vengeance, they settled into the day-to-day routine of creating a life for themselves in a new land. In the midst of his family’s challenges to survive, Nephi made an incredible statement: And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness. In Pursuit: Marriage, Motherhood, and Women’s Well-Being A new study released today by The Institute for Family Studies and The Wheatley Institute called “In... Read more
The Tabernacle Choir performs its 5,000th episode of Music & the Spoken Word on July 13, 2025! What an incredible milestone. When asked how she feels about being a part of the 5,000th episode of Music & the Spoken Word, choir member Cheryl Utrera (Soprano) excitedly told me: I just stand here and think, “How did I get here?!” It’s humbling because you’re one piece in this big, giant mosiac, and it’s a special thing to be a part of. I... Read more
Today in our adult Institute class, Sister Jackie Poulsen challenged us to pray to the Lord and ask, “In what way is Zion not in me?” I recently read Neal A. Maxwell’s Of one heart : the glory of the City of Enoch, which includes fictional letters from Mahijah, a curious, then faithful, follower of Enoch, to his non-believing friend, Omner. Elder Maxwell’s deft way of exploring and explaining the cultural and philosophical basis of Enoch’s Zion had already challenged... Read more
Pentecost Sunday reminds us that the Holy Spirit filled those who gathered to hear the Apostles during the Feast of Firstfruits, or Pentecost. This celebration of the harvest occurred fifty days after Passover or fifty days after Jesus Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. It’s an amazing story in Acts 2. 1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and... Read more
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