Third Hour

Mormons love Jell-O™. It's indisputable fact, supported by the 2001 state resolution that named Jell-O Utah's official state snack. Jell-O is so ingrained in the Mormon image that Utah has been dubbed the "Jell-O belt" of America. Which is all fine and dandy. We can make a mean Jell-O salad for the ward potluck. But in spite of Utah's firm hold on the first place spot in Jell-O sales in the past, Jell-O has captured the heart of the American people for over a century. Are you prepared for the wiggly, jiggly history of Mormons and Jell-O? It's not what you think. 1897: Jell-O brand created by Pearle Bixby Waite Original flavors included strawberry, raspberry, orange, and lemon. Waite sold his new company after 2 years to Orater Frank Woodward, owner of Genesee Pure Foods Company. 1904: Jell-O advertising campaign of the Century via Pinterest Jell-O launched an extensive advertising campaign designed to brand Jell-O as "America's Most Famous Dessert." Advertisements like this one drawn by Norman Rockwell branded Jell-O as the food of... View the full article

When Lin Manuel Miranda's Broadway musical "Hamilton" hit the stage, it was an immediate success. I'm a huge fan, and I've almost memorized the entire musical. Yeah. But some lyrics stood out to me as especially well written, and after some thought I realized it was because they echoed the things I know to be true on a grander scale. So here are 7 eternal truths in Hamilton. Warning: I'm reading these lyrics at a textual level only. Any connotations beyond that are not part of this bit of thinking. "You keep out of trouble and you double your choices." My Shot From very young ages, Latter-day Saints are taught that their choices have consequences. If you choose to do something wrong, you are going to face the consequences of that choice whether you like it or not. A bad choice might have consequences that take away a part of all of your ability to think and choose for yourself. Making good choices and staying away from "trouble" allows you to have freedom... View the full article

The General Authorities of the Church have given advice on just about everything. Spiritual growth, repentance and applying the Atonement, improving our relationships, keeping the commandments, etc. And guess what? They give great advice about love, too! Here are some of our very favorite quotes from General Authorities about love: 1. Celestial Love is Romantic Love “Romantic love is not only a part of life, but literally a dominating influence of it. It is deeply and significantly religious. There is no abundant life without it. Indeed, the highest degree of the celestial kingdom is unattainable in the absence of it.” -Boyd K. Packer 2. Love your Choice "Choose your love; love your choice." -Thomas S. Monson 3. Care for Each Other "Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children." -The Family: A Proclamation to the World 4. Cleanliness, Progress, Sacrifice, and Selflessness "Love is cleanliness and progress and sacrifice and selflessness. This kind of love never tires nor wanes, but lives through sickness and sorrow, poverty and privation, accomplishment and disappointment,... View the full article

We scoured streaming services for all of your favorite Mormon Movies. Here are where Mormon movies are streaming. Films are listed alphabetically, and next to each streaming service we list if the film is available as part of a subscription service, to be rented, or free (usually with commercials.) If we missed your favorite film, let us know in the comments. 16 Stones A brother and sister set off on a journey through hostile Missouri to find one of the Brother of Jared's glowing stones in this 2014 film. Where can I stream it? Amazon Prime [Subscription], LuminTV [Subscription], Amazon [Rent], iTunes [Rent] Beauty and the Beast: A Latter-day Tale This 2007 retelling of beauty and the beast slots a brash millionaire as the beast and a young Mormon as the beauty. Where can I stream it? LuminTV [Subscription] Brigham City This Wilford Brimley murder mystery from 2001 is one of the most taut and thoughtful entrants in Mormon cinema. Where can I stream it? YouTube [Free] The Cokeville Miracle This 2015 based-on-a-true-story look at the 1986 hostage crisis examines the nature of belief... View the full article

Being Mormon and single can be rough. Especially on Valentine's Day. As if you're not already being asked on the daily about your dating life, there's also a whole day to rub your singledom in your face. You're not alone, my friend. Here are some memes that are totally on point about how we feel on Valentine's Day (and just about every other day of the year): Dating in Provo/Singles Ward=The Hunger Games IRL. May the odds be ever in your favor. But they probably won't be, just fyi. 2. Thank goodness for Gimli's optimism. And people ask me why I'm still single. 3. My Valentine's Day Plans. Same. *fist bump w/ the Boy-Who-Lived* 4. PREACH, BATMAN. PREACH. "Now, just one word to those of our single brethren who follow the deception that they first have to find the “perfect woman”... may I remind you, if there were a perfect woman, do you really think she would be that interested in you?" -Pres. Uchtdorf aka The Silver Fox #slay 5. Oh heyyyy Elder Rogers ;) Yeah but it's not just how we see them,... View the full article

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Elder Kim B. Clark, Elder Dallin H. Oaks and President Clark G. Gilbert attended a press conference on February 7, 2017, at 10 a.m., where it was announced that the Church Education System was going to start BYU Pathway Worldwide, according to a Mormon Newsroom livestream. The news conference was held in the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City. President Gilbert, currently the president of BYU-Idaho, will be the commissioner overseeing the BYU-Pathway Worldwide school, and this program will be located in Utah. The institution will have responsibility for all online certificate and degree programs offered by the Church Educational System. Pathway Worldwide is a new global higher-education program, and it will expand it to the Church's system of private universities. A very successful Pathway program was spearheaded by BYU-Idaho. An estimated 37,000 students are currently enrolled, with that number expected to increase greatly, President Uchtdorf said. The program will continue to be organized and conducted in LDS institutes and meetinghouses, providing an environment of faith based in the gospel of... View the full article

(WARNING: HUGE SPOILERS. DO NOT READ IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR FAVORITE POLY PRINCESS)* *But let's be honest, if you haven't seen this movie by now... YOU CRAZY. I have a confession to make. Moana had me in tears multiple times. And by “multiple times,” I mean I was blubbering like a baby for a good portion of the movie. But this wasn't the same kind the ugly crying that is basically a package deal with any Nicholas Sparks movie. No, no. These are the tears shed whilst being inspired, the ones that stream down your cheeks as you live vicariously through the protagonist in their moments of self-realization, growth and ultimate triumph. Being someone who gets wayyyy too emotionally invested in movies, books or shows—which explains my frequent Netflix binges—I'm a regular at this vicariously-living-through-fictional-characters-lives thing. Bearing that in mind, and with the reminder that I’m an overly sentimental, cheesy RM, I invite you to join me in re-living Moana’s journey with these LDS gospel-related gems. 1. "The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn" Moana's Wayfinding Ancestors “And he shall... View the full article

Every first Sunday of the month, Latter-day Saints have the chance to stand at the pulpit and bear their testimonies. Sometimes it's easier said than done. Bearing your testimony can be a difficult thing, whether it's the anxiety of everyone looking at you, or simply wondering what you should say. We've come up with some tips to help you know what to do and what not to do to make bearing testimony easy. DO NOT: Introduce your testimony: Tell me if this sounds familiar: "I wasn't going to bear my testimony unless XXXX did, and then he had to go and get up," or "I didn't want to get up here, but I had a feeling that I just had to stand." We've all heard it before. Take the advice my mom gave me for my first sacrament meeting talk, and just start! Go into a rant: Speaking from personal experience, rants are better when found online or a soap box, not erupting from behind the pulpit. Remember your 5 minutes in front... View the full article

Menlo F. Smith, the founder of a non-profit organization called Mentors International, once said, “It’s very important that you don’t let the people you try to help become tragedies of your compassion.” The first time I read this quote, I honestly thought to myself "What on earth does he mean by "tragedies of compassion"? It wasn’t until after I watched a documentary called Poverty, Inc., that I better understood what our friend Menlo was talking about. Here’s the main gist of the film: The current system in which foreign humanitarian aid functions is broken. And it is within that system, in which we act upon our compassion, that we are making tragedies out of the poor. Now, you and I both know that there are good people out there in the world doing their best to make a difference. A desire to give to those in need is part of our nature. However, understanding how to do that effectively may not come quite so easy. In Poverty, Inc., Michael Fairbanks of Harvard University says “Having a heart for the poor isn’t... View the full article

On January 21st, 2017, cities were filled to the brim with women participating in the Women’s March. Women marched, holding hands, holding signs, and firmly grasping to their cause. To many women across the country, the sight of the protest was inspiring and moving. Yet, despite the initial purpose of the Women’s March being to protest President Trump’s election and inauguration and Women’s Rights in general, the spotlight seemed to shift to one issue in particular: abortion. The consequence of this focus was the exclusion of pro-life feminist groups, as they were denied opportunity to partner with or participate in the March. These events reveal a misunderstanding common among modern-day feminists, that one cannot be a feminist and pro-life. Mormon Hub has found a selection of articles that help debunk such a myth, in hopes of clarifying the stance of those who are pro-life feminists. Image from Christianity Today Just in case you're not quite sure what the Church's stance is on abortion, here's an article written by Angela Fallentine, a Co-Founder of Mormon Women Stand, titled "Abortion:... View the full article

Lets talk about mental illness. Take a look at these statistics complied by healthline.com. These numbers are staggering. Monumental. You'd think that people would be talking about this epidemic that has affected more people than the Black Death ever did. You'd think that scientists worldwide would be searching for a cure. Newspapers would be reporting the increasing numbers. Social figures would address it whenever they grace the television screen. But no one has really said anything. And depression is just the beginning. Mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and countless others affect a majority of the population. Odds are you know someone who takes medication or seeks counseling for any of these illnesses. Maybe you are fighting one yourself. It's as common as McDonalds on the corner, but no one seems to be able to talk about it. Confessions of "I have depression," or "I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder," are saved for late night conversations between trusted individuals. We hide our struggles from our friends and even family. We take comfort in the... View the full article

[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/284958773" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /] Mormon Mompreneur interview with Rosemary Card of Q.Noor Temple Dresses What is your message? I wish we could all stop using "I dont know" in all of its forms as a reason to not try or stop trying. When someone says "I can't because I don't know....." I want to say "Well duh! Of course you don't know. If you did know that would defeat the whole point." This life is about learning and developing. If we always did the things we knew or felt comfortable doing we would completely waste our time on this earth. We wouldn't fulfill our purpose of becoming like Christ. When we try new things, learn news skills, take risks and fail, we are, through the power of the atonement (cleaning and enabling), becoming more like Christ. If you come to an obstacle that is new or difficult, consider that a sign that you are on the right path towards Christ. Learn stuff that you'll be excited to tell... View the full article

Sometimes your bouncing baby boy or charming little girl is less than happy. Cue the screams. These lovely breakdowns usually happen at the worst times for parents, and most likely those parents just have to deal with it. However, after sacrament meeting, Latter-day Saint parents can drop off their writhing, sobbing child at Nursery for two hours of supervised fun and joy while they enjoy their chance for spiritual nourishment. It's a running joke that being called as a Nursery leader is one of the worst callings you can get. But here's five reasons why teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to two to three year olds is actually the best calling in the church. 1. Play Time via lds.org The majority of Nursery is spent playing with children. My personal experience involved a small slide, trains, cars, balls, Barbies, puzzles, and on one memorable occasion, a large cardboard box. I haven't had so much fun in a long time. Kids these days are very good at entertaining themselves, but there's nothing better... View the full article

This article by Jule de Azevedo Hanks first appeared at Meridian Magazine. The following is an excerpt. In the LDS Church, we have high expectations and high ideals. Leaders do not shy away from teaching a very specific ideal family constellation, sexual purity before marriage, and patterning our life after the Savior’s life in every possible way. There is nothing wrong with teaching ideals and one could argue that that is the primary job of religious institutions. However, in real life, holding up ideals often leaves members never feeling “good enough” because they have not achieved the ideal righteous Mormon life. Chronic feelings of “never good enough” because your life doesn’t look like an Ensign magazine cover, your child has left the Church, your spouse isn’t committed to church callings, you’re struggling with the word of wisdom, you’re having difficulty forgiving someone, you’re not a good provider, or you’re not an attentive mother or father, can erode our whole sense of self. What is shame? Shame is a universal emotion defined... View the full article

Opinion The 2016 presidential election is one for the history books. Election night was a nail-biter until well after midnight, and it seems like the surrounding controversy just won’t end. From the multi-state recount effort to petitioning Electoral College electors to change their votes to calling for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to cancel their performance at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, his detractors just won’t quit. Election drama is nothing new. Every four years, we have a presidential election. And every four years, one candidate wins and the other one loses. Sometimes the races are incredibly close, and five times since 1824 (when the popular vote was first recorded) the President-elect lost the popular vote but won the election because of the electoral college—this election being the latest. But this time around the attempts to overturn the election results have been downright disconcerting. As an American and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have a healthy respect for democracy and the Constitution and the... View the full article

Chances are, you know a single adult but you don't know how to talk about 'their situation.' In an effort to eliminate the seemingly inevitable awkwardness, I'm here to address your concerns. 1. You can ask me if I'm dating someone I take great joy in your clever tactics in asking me if I'm dating someone. "I heard that boys at your university have a hard time asking girls out. Is that true?" or "Are you getting a lot of your meals paid for by the opposite sex?" While these tactics are humorous, there is no need to beat around the bush. Feel free to ask me this question: "Are you dating anyone?" 2. I'm cool with set-ups I'll probably ask for his name and consequently stalk his Facebook page, but unless you're setting me up with a certified creep, I'm happy to get to know someone new. However, speaking of certified creeps, please don't set me up with someone just because you know that "he doesn't date much and just needs a date." If... View the full article

We’re Mormon. We know it, we live it, we love it. But what happens when you feel like you don’t know it? What happens when you’re struggling to live it and to love it? What happens when you’re part of a community of believers, but you are struggling to believe? And that leads us to the real kicker: what if you don’t feel like you fit in? Feelings of Inadequacy and Doubt Maybe you’ve felt this way. Maybe you’ve grappled with your faith and faced struggles before you were able to gain a testimony of your very own. Maybe you’re even facing these feelings at this very moment. Even if you’ve never struggled with your own faith, you likely know someone who has or is currently struggling with his or her beliefs and feelings of belonging. Truthfully, it’s a lot more common than you might think. Joseph Smith taught that “a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” Though that... View the full article

If Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year... then what is the day AFTER Christmas? To be perfectly honest, it's a little.... anti-climactic. There's so much hype leading up to December 25th: Christmas tunes non-stop for the last month (or longer, if you're one of THOSE people), advent calendars, cookies on cookies on cookies, and Christmas movies on every channel. And then in one day, it's just gone. Bye, Christmas. See ya again in 364. In the spirit of our old friend Mr. Scrouge, we've compiled a list of nine post-Christmas events that are just, to be delicate, really stinkin' annoying. 1. Holiday Weight Gain Raise your hand if you can resist sugar cookies decorated like Christmas trees or gingerbread men or the classic chocolate chip cookie. Unless you have a super power that I'm incredibly envious of, you've probably fallen victim to eating one too many treats this holiday season.... And inevitably put on a pound or two. Now you couldn't pay me enough money to give up Christmas cookies (although I'm willing... View the full article

I'm so glad that we can join with other Christians who believe in Christ as we celebrate Christmas. I heard a member of the Church quip that she hopes to not hear anything about Joseph Smith this month to allow us to focus on the love of Jesus Christ we share with so many of our neighbors. But she doesn't understand. The restored Gospel made Jesus Christ accessible to mankind again. It is the only reason I have a Christmas worth celebrating. The Atonement in Our Lives The pinnacle of Christ's ministry was His atonement. To understand how the restored Gospel helps us find Christ, we must understand what the atonement is and how we connect to it. The atonement of Christ allows humankind to live happy, fulfilling, and productive lives here and into eternity. Old Testament prophets, Christ Himself, and His apostles, all taught that the atonement should work for us three different ways. Unconditional forgiveness from Adam’s sin. This allows us to be “agents unto ourselves.” Forgiveness for our personal sins.... View the full article

Russell Stevenson interviews David Marsh, who has worked developing curriculum for the LDS Church for decades. Together they discuss the nitty gritty details of taking a teaching concept from its inception stage to the classroom. Who hasn't found their mind wandering during a Sunday School lesson or wondering why the manuals repeatedly emphasize the same basic principles? And who writes these manuals? Are they scholars, professional teachers, or members who are called to the task? What is Correlation? The answers to these questions may surprise you. Dr. Marsh walks us through the process of curriculum creation, which includes the following steps: Concept Development Text Prototype Manuscript Creation Feedback Revision Full Prototype with Images Translation Publicity Printing Manuals are reviewed by hundreds of people before they are distributed, including the managers and directors of curriculum development, executive directors, the Priesthood and Executive Committee, the General Auxiliary Presidencies (YW, YM, RS, SS, and Primary), and sometimes the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency. From his years teaching and writing curriculum, David Marsh dispenses wisdom... View the full article

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Okay, listen up: I have some major beefs with this phrase. Who exactly made up that “sticks and stones” quote? Because I have some questions for her (or him, but whatever). Was she having sticks and stones thrown at her? Things that seem like a bad idea to say when people are throwing things at you: “Sticks and stones may break my bones…” Uh, duh. That's probably exactly what they're trying to do, and now you're just adding fuel to their fire by taunting them. In all seriousness, though, my guess is that no one was throwing sticks or stones at anyone. My bet is that people were verbally attacking this quote’s creator and she (or he) wanted to prove that their words didn’t affect her. And maybe their words didn’t hurt her. I commend people who are able to brush off insults or hurtful comments easily. That’s such a wonderful quality to have and I wish I were... View the full article

Not gonna lie: I’m not a fan of Christmas. I confessed this to a complete stranger the other day when we were busy at a Festival of Trees charity event, and she unassumingly asked me if this experience got me in the “Christmas spirit.” “Eh, no.” “But don’t you just loooooove Christmas?” “Nope, no way, not in the very least. If anything it makes it worse. All the same twenty Christmas songs on repeat lathered with bells jingling and carolers singing: It’s maddening. You can take your pear tree and go fly a kite.” She stopped talking to me at that point, which didn’t give me a chance to explain why Christmas and I are no longer seeing each other: we simply wanted different things. This stance is not necessarily based on the over-consumerism of stuff you simply don’t need. Nor is it to take away the fraction of Christ’s birth. I love Jesus. It’s just a myriad of little things that have added up over the years to create a heaping pile of... View the full article

Much has recently been made about the phenomenon of "fake news." And while it has now infiltrated political news, Mormons have been dealing with fake news for much longer. While Facebook offers new ways for fake news to proliferate like never before, fake news has circulated through email chains, home teaching visits, and sacrament meeting talks for many years. Here are Mormon Hub's four ways to check if news, particularly LDS-related news, is trustworthy. Look at the Context When you see a piece of news online, you're going to want to look at the context of that article to get a good idea for how reliable it is. 1. Do a simple Google search with keywords from the story. If the story is only found on one site, that's one sign it isn't legitimate. Now, being the first news outlet to break a story is a sign of a good news operation, so that by itself isn't enough to say the story isn't legitimate, but it's a start. 2. Does the website have an... View the full article

There are few apps that I would give a five-star rating. As a 24-year-old, I'm a little embarrassed to admit the names of a few of them (*cough* Emoji Blitz *cough*), but one that I'm proud to shout to the world is the Gospel Library App. In this October's General Conference, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke about the benefits of technology. One of the greatest benefits, no doubt, is having endless gospel resources at our fingertips. And those resources? Thanks to the Gospel Library Update, they just got even better. The New Features via LDS.org The updated Gospel Library app has a variety of new features, but we're especially excited about the following improvements: New video tutorials Did you know there's a Tips section at the bottom of the Gospel Library app? If you click on that, you'll find tutorials informing you about new updates and how to get the most out of your experience with the Gospel Library app. It's more user-friendly To be honest, I didn't think the Gospel Library app could really... View the full article

With the weather getting colder, I've struggled to find activities for my dizzying toddler, Albus. While struggling to find something, I stumbled across an almost finished bottle of bubbles. I pulled them out, and immediately Albus began shouting for them. "Bubbles, bubbles. Yea, bubbles." He clawed at my legs, trying to get to the bubble bottle. "Hold on kiddo," I tried to calm him down. Finally, I got into the living room and into my seat. This is a bottle of "Frozen" Elsa Super Miracle Bubble solution. While I can find no discernable reason for these to be better than any other bubbles, they are. One blow on this bubble wand and you can produce dozens of solid-sized bubbles. The trouble, however, is that the wand comes in two parts and easily falls apart. While I tried to fish out the two parts and put them together Albus was not waiting. He started by simply calling for the bubbles. But soon he grew impatient and started getting closer to the bottle of... View the full article