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15 inspiring quotes from President Gordon B. Hinckley



President Gordon B. Hinckley, the 15th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is fondly remembered for his quick wit and sense of humor. He also had a special way with words that inspired thousands of members around the world. Here are some of his most inspiring quotes to help lift you up when you're feeling down.

The Book of Mormon: 5 Simple Reasons I Believe


One of the most distinguishing features of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints is our acceptance of the Book of Mormon as a companion volume of scripture alongside the Bible. For millions of Latter-day Saints around the world, we revere the Book of Mormon as the word of God, a sacred scriptural text recorded by ancient prophets in the Western Hemisphere and preserved for our day as a second powerful witness to the Bible that Jesus is the Christ.

How the Book of Mormon came into existence is an incredible story: an uneducated farm boy in upstate New York, visitations from heavenly messengers, and plates of gold with engravings in an ancient language. Yet nearly 185 years after the first copies of the Book of Mormon rolled off the printing press in New York in 1830, no credible alternative explanation for the coming forth of the Book of Mormon has ever been offered. As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland once said, "The only thing more miraculous than an angel providing [Joseph Smith] with those plates and him translating them by divine inspiration would be that he sat down and wrote it with a ballpoint pen and a spiral notebook.”[1]


In pondering my own personal reasons for believing and defending the Book of Mormon as ancient scripture and a new witness for Christ, I have come up with 5 simple reasons I believe it with all my heart, mind, and soul.

5 Simple Ways to Keep Christ at the Center During the School Year




Ready or not, the school year is back! If you’re like most people, that means life is about to get a whole lot busier. Whether you’re a working parent trying to balance keeping food on the table, shuttling kids back and forth from their many activities, and keeping up with laundry, dishes, and everything else it takes to maintain a home; a young single adult trying to get through college courses and still have a social life; or a high school student navigating the awkward teenage years and going back and forth between the aforementioned activities that keep your parents’ heads spinning, the increase in secular activity during this time often makes it easy to let some of the seemingly less pressing spiritual aspects slip through the cracks. So how can we balance our various activities and obligations and still keep Christ at the center of our lives and homes during this busy time?

Elder Richard G Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles defines a Christ-centered home as one “where the gospel is taught, covenants are kept, and love abounds.”[i] Below are 5 simple things we can do during the school year to fulfill our many secular responsibilities while still successfully building this kind of home.

Hearing the music


Our local College Station congregation had a chance to hear from our stake president, the leader of a group of congregations, a few weeks ago, and he related an analogy that really struck me. 

He and his wife recently became "empty nesters" and realized that no one in their home can play the piano now. For years, he would sit in the living room and listen to each of his children practice and perform hymns, concertos, and other arrangements. But now, the music is gone and there is only silence. The piano that once brought joy and happiness into the home still remains, but the music and feelings of love that came with it are gone until the ivories are played again. 

Similarly, can we hear the music in our lives? What instruments bring you true happiness when played? Every day we are surrounded by these instruments (scriptures, prayer, etc.), but often they are left on the shelf to collect dust.

For me, I hear the music when I spend time with my family. When I put my wife, my daughters and their needs first. Or when I study the scriptures, or learn something new that I can directly apply to better my life.

We can all play an instrument. There are many different ones to be played, and each one gives a different tune. The important thing is that the music we play makes us better people and brings us closer to our Father in Heaven, so that we can be His instruments to do good.

Romans 6:12-13

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."

Are we hearing the music in our lives?

Leave a comment with what you do to keep the music playing in your life.