3 Considerations When You Have Spiritual Questions, Doubts, and Confusion

Sometimes in life, events happen that shake our spiritual foundation and leave us with questions, doubts, confusion, or unresolved feelings. We might find ourselves at a crossroads or a standstill, not sure of what to do next. Here are three questions to ask yourself that will help sustain you in a world where it is becoming more and more difficult to discern the darkness from the light.

1. How’s My Vision?

In July of 1952, Florence Chadwick attempted to swim 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California shore. This was not her first attempt at a long-distance swim in open water, as she had already swum the English Channel twice. Small boats surrounded her, keeping her safe from sharks and ready to offer aid if needed. After about 15 hours of swimming, a thick fog emerged. She could not see the coast, the water was chilly, and fatigue crept in. When she asked to be pulled out of the water, her mother, in a boat alongside her, tried to reassure Florence that the shore was near. Still, the physical and emotional exhaustion was too much and she stopped swimming. Sitting in the boat, she realized that the shore was less than a mile away. In a news conference the next day she said, “All I could see was the fog…I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.” Two months later she attempted to swim the same channel. Again, a thick fog set in, but this time she kept a mental image of the shoreline and she was able to succeed in reaching the shore.1

3 Lessons For My Children to Learn From Their Pioneer Ancestors

I recently read this article from the Deseret News that encourages LDS Church members to honor their pioneer ancestors this year by telling better stories. It got me thinking about the experiences of some of mine and my wife's ancestors, the lessons they learned from them, and how I can apply them to my life today. Additionally, I want my children to know that their family members who lived years ago learned things that can help us today. Thanks to Family Search and the wonderful Memories feature attached to each person, I was able to find three stories from pioneer ancestors and identify lessons I hope that my children can learn from them someday.

"That I May Heal You": What a Broken-Down Car Taught Me about the Atonement

Having your car break down is never a fun experience. But it's especially challenging when it happens at 5:30 AM on a cold December morning along a snowy stretch of highway in Idaho.

I had noticed in the days previous to this incident that something was off with our car, but life was so full of to-do's that I ignored the warning signs and simply drove on -- until, that is, the vehicle became inoperable and I sat stranded on the side of a long and lonely highway.

Three Lessons Learned from Preach My Gospel That I Still Use Today

In 2004, the Church introduced Preach My Gospel as the main resource for missionaries to use and study during their service, and in doing so, changed how missionary work was done. 

President Gordon B. Hinckley said during a “Missionary Service,” Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting in 2002:

“[Missionaries] should master the concepts of the lessons. But they should … teach the concepts in their own words under the guiding influence of the Holy Spirit.”

This method of teaching was not new to the mission field, but teaching it as the foundation of how to teach, find, and baptize was new.