Finding My Ancestors

Last updated on: February 27, 2025 at 4:52 pm By Abby Christianson

Editors Note: This article is written in conjunction with RootsTech’s “World’s Largest Family Discovery Event,” which will be held March 6-8. Learn more about it here. Family Search, which is sponsoring the event, invites anyone who is interested in researching their family history to participate in free online sessions. I’ve been a member of the church my whole life. As I was growing up, my ancestors were just stories. But then a few years ago we moved to Utah for my husband’s job,... Read more

4 Scriptures That Guide My Home Life

Last updated on: February 21, 2025 at 7:09 pm By Abby Christianson

0 Comments

I was asked recently what my favorite scriptures are that guide my home life. Wow! That is deep. Well, the first thing that came to my mind are the 10 commandments. My sarcastic side remembers how often I wanted to kill my family growing up. But clearly, that is laid out in the top 10 instructions from God- ‘thou shalt not kill’. And teenage me was constantly chanting that to myself when dealing with my 3 teenage, stinky brothers. Love... Read more

The Power of Prayer: Trusting God’s Timing for Blessings

Last updated on: February 21, 2025 at 6:22 pm By Abby Christianson

0 Comments

Prayer Brings Blessings I have recently been praying for the world more than usual. And in my personal study I came across a Conference talk that triggered a memory that I want to share about the power of prayer, and the blessings it brings in my life. Not only that, but the blessings prayer will bring to your life. The talk was given by Elder Jeffery R Holland in 1999. And it’s called “An High Priest of Good Things to... Read more

Inside Out 2 Review- What It Got Right And Wrong

Last updated on: June 14, 2024 at 8:42 am By Abby Christianson

0 Comments

I have been looking forward to Inside Out 2 for weeks! My family loved Inside Out so much that my son had us watching it daily until I memorized large portions of it. I can still sing the Bing Bong song at the drop of a hat. And in the preview, when Anxiety asks where to put her things and holds up all that baggage? I laughed my head off because my anxiety comes with SO much baggage! But when... Read more

The Importance Of Education In The LDS Church

Last updated on: April 21, 2024 at 10:49 pm By Abby Christianson

0 Comments

April 25th is National Take Your Kids To Work Day. When I was a kid, I got to go to work with my Dad a few times. He was a research food chemist before he retired. His education was in the food sciences. He worked at NutraSweet at the time. I loved seeing all the cool machines, and the labs. They had a sample food processing plant where they tested things before taking them to the full processing plant. They... Read more

Parenting an Autistic Teen with Prayer

Last updated on: March 6, 2024 at 1:42 am By Abby Christianson

0 Comments

When I was a young mother, I was physically exhausted. I was sure that parenting would get easier as my son got older. But nobody told me that teens are way harder than babies to parent. You go from physically exhausted to emotionally exhausted. And there is so much drama! One kid is trying to make another look bad to make them look good. And as a parent, there is nothing you can do about the mess except try to... Read more

My Epiphany About Grace

Last updated on: March 4, 2024 at 12:36 am By Abby Christianson

0 Comments

Grace is a concept that I have recently been studying. To be honest I have always struggled with it. Grace is defined as the spontaneous, unmerited gift of Divine favor in the salvation of sinners, and the divine influence operating in individuals for their sanctification. What? I always thought you had to get God’s attention to be blessed. Like with your parents, the good kids got extra rewards and affection. I saw grace as God’s version of affection. But since... Read more

Living More Holy In 2024

Last updated on: December 31, 2023 at 4:20 pm By Abby Christianson

0 Comments

I’ve recently started reading a book by Wendy Watson Nelson called “What Would a Holy Woman Do?”. At the beginning of her book, she talks about inviting some friends to do an experiment. She asked them to take three days and choose one area to focus on living as a holy woman would and report back. It was so moving reading about their experiences that I decided that I would accept her challenge and spend the next three days trying... Read more

How I’ve Come To Appreciate Other Religions

Last updated on: December 12, 2023 at 11:53 pm By Abby Christianson

0 Comments

Until I was twelve, we lived in the Bible Belt, in southern Illinois along the border of Kentucky. There were so many different religions that all felt like they were the only ones who were right. But kids don’t see barriers like that. We loved playing with some friends down the block. Their Dad was a Pastor and their church was literally in their backyard. It was well-manicured, and a beautiful place to play. One day, when I was 8,... Read more

Mark Rober: The Web’s Favorite Engineer

Last updated on: December 15, 2023 at 5:04 pm By Abby Christianson

0 Comments

This past weekend my son introduced my father-in-law to his favorite YouTuber- Mark Rober. My father-in-law is not an internet-savvy guy and had never heard of the epic backyard squirrel obstacle courses. And he had never heard of elephant toothpaste. My Mom was eager to tell him all about her favorite Mark Rober prank- the porch pirate-deterring glitter bombs. And as he watched, thanks to Mark Rober, he (and all of you too) got a great laugh and learned something... Read more