Third Hour

In 2018, I got a chance to go on a night tour in the Great Mosque of Cordoba. It was a fantastic experience. During its lifetime, this Mosque/Cathedral has passed from the Visigoths to the Arabs and then to the Spaniards. Anyone who has studied Spanish history knows that relations between the different groups of people in Spain were not always the best. Despite that, there are lessons of collaboration and understanding to be gleaned from this building. So, here are some life lessons from this amazing structure! Life lesson #1: Build on what others have built before One of the first life lessons the Mosque of Cordoba has to teach us is the importance of relying on others. Are you always focusing on being original, different, unique? Do you feel like you have to build yourself from the ground up? Don't be afraid to rely on others. Sure, times change. Sometimes the mechanics of the matter are different than they were twenty, thirty, fifty years ago. Nevertheless, people continue to... View the full article

Though not known for content that favors The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Daily Beast just published a compilation of interviews with several teenage beauty Youtubers. What do they have in common (other than millions of subscribers and a knack for modest fashion)? They're all members of the Church. The article first focuses on Summer McKeen, a 20-year-old vlogger who performs makeup tutorials, answers beauty questions, and frequently takes her virtual audience with her to Starbucks. Notably, McKeen never orders coffee, a decision she credits to her religion which encourages her to "stay away from addictive substances" and "try to be clean." Next, readers learn about Brooklyn, Bailey, and Kamri McNight, sisters who started their Youtube careers on their mother's channel "Cute Girls Hairstyles." The sisters discuss how their personal religious standards translate to maintaining a consistent and family-friendly brand. "They never curse or partner with brands that aren’t “clean," The Daily Beast writes. The article then quotes Brooklyn, who says, "I don't want my brand to be... View the full article

Everyone has favorites. Favorite flavors of ice cream, favorite athletes, favorite movies, the list goes on. Although personal preferences dominate nearly all aspects of our lives, one area that we, as members of the Church, simply won't tolerate is the churchy one. There seems to be a certain value threshold that dictates whether it is proper to declare something a favorite. Kids, bishops, apostles, etc. The only exceptions when it comes to having a favorite churchy thing are hymns and scriptures. We can have favorite scriptures: we put them on our missionary plaques and paint them on the walls of our homes. If we have favorite scriptures it is logical to assume that we also have least-favorite scriptures. For our purposes, we looked at the frequency that scriptures were referenced by general authorities, not counting verses that have never been referenced. This doesn't let us know the exact verses that may be held in (mild) derision by members but rather paints a cultural picture as to where we (don't) place... View the full article

On June 24, 2019, President M. Russell Ballard, acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke to outgoing mission presidents and their companions at the Missionary Training Center. He gave insightful instruction regarding how missionaries are to invite people to baptism. His primary counsel suggested that anytime a missionary extends an invitation to someone they are teaching, especially for baptism, it should be "Spirit-led." While the idea of following the Spirit while performing missionary work isn't new, a few of his comments following his introduction made some waves by encouraging us to reconsider how we approach missionary work—particularly in inviting to baptism. Traditionally, missions throughout the world have preached the importance of an invitation to baptism very early on in the teaching process—perhaps the first lesson, or even first contact—but President Ballard instructed that this is not the standard we should set. It was never our intention to invite people to be baptized before they had learned something about the gospel, felt the Holy Ghost, and had been properly prepared to accept... View the full article

If you never had the childhood dream of jumping into a pool filled with Jell-O (or lemonade or orange soda or anything else delicious), you seriously missed out on some prime-time imagination — but 39-year-old Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer and BYU alum, is actually LIVING that dream. You may have heard of Rober before — after all, his YouTube channel has over 7 million subscribers, after one look at any of his videos, it's obvious why. His channel is dedicated to creative science experiments, including the infamous glitter bomb he showcased in December 2018. A little background if you've never heard about Rober's glitter bomb experiment: Rober was sick of having packages stolen off of his front porch, so in an effort to teach the thieves a lesson, he set out a decoy package that was actually filled with ultra-fine glitter. When the thief opened the package (which Rober put a camera in), the glitter "bomb" detonated all over them. It was hilariously satisfying, so it was no surprise... View the full article

This article is more of a public service announcement than anything else, so let's get right down to business. Understanding the language of the Holy Ghost is a challenging thing—especially because he speaks to each person slightly (or extremely) differently. We do know, however, that some of the fruits of the Spirit are "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance." In other words, the Spirit is very involved with our feelings. Some people might interpret this to mean that when you feel the Spirit, you get emotional, and you oftentimes shed a few tears. But that's not always true. A dangerous assumption Of course, many people cry when they feel the Spirit, and that's great, but it's not a requirement. And there's a danger in assuming that feeling the Spirit should equate with feeling emotional or crying. For example, each and every Latter-day Saint is striving to build a Spirit-based testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. We want to have spiritual experiences. We want the constant... View the full article

Opinion The American continent was a promised land to Nephi and his seed. Before them, it was the place where Adam walked with God and where a great city of Zion was led by Enoch. To us today it is still a promised land. The government of America is exceptional in that its constitution still stands some two hundred years after its adoption. The average constitution has lasted less than twenty years. Such preservation surely has come at the hands of a merciful God. He is quick to tell us (especially in the Book of Mormon) that if a nation does not go forth in His strength, then they will quickly fall. On this anniversary of the Declaration of Independence serious questions about the efficacy of traditional patriotism are beginning to rear their ugly head. Cowards insist that dastardly deeds committed by our forebearers are reason enough to forsake a culture of patriotism; America isn’t worth celebrating some say. With the devaluing of the country comes a decline in associated stewardship.... View the full article

First, let's start with a few things you probably do know about Latter-day Saint temple baptismal fonts. For instance, they're absolutely beautiful. They're used to perform vicarious baptisms for our deceased ancestors who never had the opportunity to be baptized. They almost always stand on top of twelve oxen, symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel and reminiscent of the "brazen sea" associated with Old Testament temples. Now here are a few things you might not have realized about temple baptismal fonts: A view from above Take a look at this baptismal font from the Memphis Tennessee Temple (or most any other temple font in the world): Notice anything about the font's actual shape? Try to imagine you're above the font, looking down. Can you spot any interesting symbolism? To me, from above, most temple baptismal fonts look a little something like this: Coincidence? Probably. But whether it's intentional or not, I think the symbolism is still pretty awesome. Truly, baptism is the ordinance that unlocks the door to the covenant path. Especially in... View the full article

I've loved the gospel since I was a little girl. Growing up, I loved reading my illustrated Book of Mormon, coloring in pictures of Jesus, and praying for my family members. But because it's always been such a huge part of my life, sometimes I find myself taking my testimony for granted. When I came home from my mission, I was positive I was going to stick to the scripture study schedule I had applied as a missionary. If I didn't have time to read my scriptures for an hour every day, I told myself, I would at least read for thirty minutes. I'd kneel for my morning and nightly prayers, take meticulous notes in Sunday services, and go to the temple every week when possible. Unfortunately, that bubble was burst pretty quickly. Pretty soon, I was distracted by all the fun things that life had to offer: texting my friends, watching movies and television, reading romance novels (don't judge me), and a million other things. The gospel was quickly taking a... View the full article

A topic usually reserved for hushed conversations among missionaries trying to show off, demonic possession is not common fare for members of the Church, and for good reason. The most sacred experiences are often extreme cases of being rescued by the Savior. Satan tries to influence people away from receiving salvation by convincing us that he and his followers are not real, that spirits are inherently mystical, or that Christ cannot prevail over them. Let's debunk each of these ideas. 1) They Are Real Let's be honest, everyone out there has a friend of a friend's cousin's penpal that served a mission and tells a miraculous story about casting out an evil spirit. Hearing so many of these stories or reading them online may cause many to feel that they are entirely fabricated and unrealistic. While we obviously cannot attest to the validity of all of these accounts, it does seem rather hasty to cast each of them out without any consideration. As we will discuss in our next point, the scriptures... View the full article

We love to believe as members of The Church. We have a song called “I Believe in Christ”. We have articles of faith that all start with “We Believe.” Our beliefs are comforting and follow a certain kind of logic; they feel right. If you start snooping around the belief market you will start to see that there are a wide range of things people believe in, also claiming a certain kind of logic and the accompanying feelings that make the belief seem right. What are some of the strangest things people believe in? Strange Beliefs The accompanying percentages represent the amount of Americans that profess belief in a given idea. Atlantis-60% Bigfoot-25% Witches/Spells-20% Extrasensory perception, or ESP-41% That houses can be haunted-37% Ghosts/the spirits of dead people-32% Telepathy-31% Clairvoyance-26% Astrology- 25% Channeling/allowing a 'spirit-being' to temporarily assume control of body-9% Traditional Religion 75% of Americans believe in some sort of superstition. How does that compare with indicators related to traditional religious worship? Religion is a big deal-50% Religion can answer important questions-49% Apparently, people are more likely to believe in something like Atlantis than religion. Though... View the full article

Have you ever thought of Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ as having vulnerability? When we think of our celestial relatives, we often speak of their power over death, sin, and other ailments that plague us in our mortal existence. The word "vulnerability" means to be susceptible to physical or mental harm. Although we view our Heavenly Father as being very powerful (because He is), He too suffers. How is our Father, a being so powerful, susceptible to harm? God, an example of vulnerability Simply stated, God's vulnerability is in His love for us. His love (and the fact that we too should love) is outlined in 1 John 4:8. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. The most painful experience for Him and for Christ was the Atonement. Although They knew it was for a great purpose, the Atonement was a cause for great suffering. Christ's love for us was the reason why He was willing to be susceptible to suffering. In Ephesians 2 it explains this. But God, who... View the full article

Not many people can say with confidence that their birthday celebration is going to be the party of the century — but our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, (almost) can! On September 9th, there will be 95 candles on the prophet's cake, just five short of a century's-worth of life lived — and this monumental birthday party is NOT going to disappoint. The celebration honoring President Nelson's life of service will take place on Friday, September 6, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. MST at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah — and many Latter-day Saint celebrities will be joining in the fun. (Information about acquiring tickets can be found at the end of this article.) Joining The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square will be acclaimed violinist Jenny Oaks Baker and her children (Jenny Oaks Baker & Family Four), The Bonner Family, GENTRI, Nathan Pacheco, and Donny Osmond. The program will be emceed by former sportscaster and Oilers quarterback Elder S. Gifford Nielsen (of the Seventy) and former television news... View the full article

Let's be honest, in today's world, there's a lot of fake stuff out there. Fake meat. Fake AirPods. Fake eyelashes. Fake social media accounts. Fake babies. You name it. And while something being fake doesn't make it inherently evil or wrong—I personally enjoy drinking out of my fake Hydro Flask and seeing our beautiful, fake Christmas tree go up each year—there is a danger when we adopt the "fake is better" societal construct into our own lives and character. But don't take my word for it. The Potemkin Villages In Our Lives In a recent General Conference address, Elder (then President) Ucthdorf told the illustrative story of Potemkin villages. Summarized, A Russian Governor named Grigory Potemkin once wanted to impress Catherine the Great as she toured his area of governance. While floating down the river, the governor was quick to point out prosperous villages and their happy inhabitants along the shore. Sadly, these were merely pasteboard facades which were then transported to the next bend around the river as Catherine and her... View the full article

Today is a historic day in the history of The Church—exactly 175 years ago the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred at Carthage jail in Carthage, Illinois. What was Joseph's legacy? Why do we remember this Prophet nearly two centuries after his work was completed? Elder McConkie said, In 1829 the Lord gave information of unsurpassed importance to the people of our time when he said to Joseph Smith, his latter-day seer, “This generation shall have my word through you” (D&C 5:10). Indeed, Joseph Smith was at the forefront of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days. Resultingly, families can be sealed together, the gift of the Holy Ghost can be received, the Priesthood is available to bless families, and the darkness of apostasy has given way to a glorious flood of light and truth. Today, it can be easy to cast aside the magnitude and validity of Joseph's impact due to an endless stream of information available seeking to discount his prophetic... View the full article

How many Latter-day Saint Musicians are there? Make your guess and hold on to it. You might be surprised that LatterdaySaintMusicians.com has bios for over 350 Latter-day Saint musicians, and more talent shows up every day. Are you looking for a website where you can learn about some of your favorite Latter-day Saint music artists and many more you haven't yet heard of, watch some of their videos, or even submit a cover song yourself? Latter-day Saint Musicians is the website that you have been looking for! With the first article being published on the website on 26 March 2015, MormonMusic.org became a household name. Ranked #25 out of 100 top LDS websites and blogs by Feedspot.com, it is an invaluable resource for people wanting to stay in the know about the LDS music scene. Now, according to the counsel from the prophet, the site has become LatterdaySaintMusicians.com. Rave Reviews from Musicians and Their Fans Kate Myrup, a visitor to the website from Lexington, Kentucky, wrote, “It [Latter-day Saint Musicians] is a... View the full article

Here's the thing about interpretations: They're subjective. There's probably a conclusive, correct answer in each of the cases we'll be looking at below, but unfortunately Mormon isn't here to give us the thumbs-up. That said, take a look at the following examples and give the alternate interpretations some serious consideration. Who knows, you might like them. 1. Is sexual sin really almost as bad as murder? The idea that sexual sin is akin to murder comes straight from Alma's encounter with his missionary son, Corianton, in Alma 39:3-5: And this is not all, my son. Thou didst do that which was grievous unto me; for thou didst forsake the ministry, and did go over into the land of Siron among the borders of the Lamanites, after the harlot Isabel. Yea, she did steal away the hearts of many; but this was no excuse for thee, my son. Thou shouldst have tended to the ministry wherewith thou wast entrusted. Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above... View the full article

Get ready to breakdance: the new hymnal is coming on... Well, we don't actually know when. ...and it probably won't include any crunk songs, so I guess you can just forgot what I said about breakdancing. But while we don't know the exact date of the new hymnbook's arrival, there are lots of things we do know, too — and the first thing is that submissions are due JULY 1! Quick Facts This hymnbook is going to be the same across the world (although obviously languages will vary), so no national anthems will be included. You don't have to submit music — you can also provide feedback on songs you'd like in the new hymnbook, songs you'd like taken out, and general commentary on the current hymnal. The new hymnal is being compiled/revised by committees working "under the direction of General Authorities and General Auxiliary Leaders. The committees are composed of Church employees and called members with expertise in a variety of areas, including music, education, literature, world cultures, and Church... View the full article

I was walking out of the temple. There were two ladies waiting just outside the main gate. They hollered at me and asked something to the effect of, "We understand your church has a bonafide prophet. What does he teach?" As I recall I gave some boring and rote answer. Looking back, the answer I gave wasn't necessarily incorrect, but I cringed at my lack of preparation. I believe that the Lord speaks to His children through a living prophet and yet I was unable to relay those messages with any specificity. From that point on I made sure that I always held in remembrance the words that I had received from the living prophet. The following are crucial lines pulled from each of President Nelson's conference addresses from the last ten years. 2009 "Our prayers follow patterns and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. He taught us how to pray. From His prayers we can learn many important lessons. We can begin with the Lord’s Prayer and add lessons from other... View the full article

Ah, the 1800s. Back when the air was clear and cholera patients were treated with tobacco enemas. Good times. But I digress. This article is about Joseph Smith. An angel once said Joseph's name "should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people." And it's true. To some people, Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. To others, he's something else entirely. But ... if not a prophet, what exactly is he? Joseph's antagonists have come up with a variety of naturalistic means by which Joseph could have accomplished his many feats. This article explores some of the things Joseph would have had to have known and/or done in order to pull off what would easily be considered one of the greatest hoaxes of all time. Joseph the Metallurgist Either Joseph Smith had the gold-colored plates or he didn't. The eleven official witnesses of The Book of Mormon all testified throughout their lives (even after some... View the full article

Utah news outlets are reporting this morning that six male missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were held a gunpoint for over an hour by a man in West Valley City last night (June 20, 2019). You can watch the KSL news report by following this link. ABC4 News reports that according to officials, the missionaries were visiting a man in his trailer home at about 8:00 pm. Police say the man was intoxicated. He pulled a gun on the young missionaries and would not allow the missionaries to leave for over an hour. Eventually, the missionaries helped the man calm down and were permitted to leave. According to KSL.com, the missionaries contacted their mission president, followed by the police. ABC4 reports that officers found three guns at the residence. 46-year-old Paul Marquez "now faces charges for aggravated assault, kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a restricted person." Thankfully, police say none of the missionaries were injured. Utah news outlets will be updating this story as details unfold. View the full article

It's been a long wait (9 years to be exact), but Toy Story 4 will finally be released in theaters today. The final (supposedly?) installment in a wildly successful series, Toy Story has captured the inner-child of millions of Americans for the last couple of decades. In commemoration of the latest Toy Story film, we've compiled 10 of the best Toy Story Gifs that every Latter-day Saint should relate to. Enjoy. 1.That old lady in the ward who thinks she's your grandma. 2. BYU breakup after they've dated for 2 weeks. 3. Missionary reading his call letter to Idaho 4. When someone says they hate listening to the Piano Guys 5. New missionary door contacting for the first time 6. Anyone who has ever taught primary 7. Waking up after switching to 9 o'clock church 8. Recent converts to the missionaries 9. The ward temple and family history expert "teaching" you how to index for the first time. 10. Returned Missionary walking off the plane. View the full article

MedIf you ask someone who is not a member of the Church what comes to mind when they hear the word “ward” they will probably do a word association and respond with “psych ward.” Modern vernacular assigns the word 'ward' to a subdivision within a hospital. Why then does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints call its congregations wards? Let's go back to the very beginning. A very good place to start. Are Geographically Based Churches Outdated? You might recall that the early church spent some time in Nauvoo Illinois. It was at this point that “ward” became a religious term. In Illinois, "wards" were political subdivisions used to divide up the electorate. The boundaries of these divisions were used to break the early church up into more manageable sized groups of worshipers. Bishops were given responsibility and assignments over ward boundaries. When the Church moved to Utah this system was maintained. Catholics also worship according to geographic congregations. Polling reveals that the majority of Catholics believe that people... View the full article

We hear all the time about overcoming trials—but what about the trials that stay with us? The ones that won’t go away? In Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Audrey Hepburn’s character, Holly Golightly, tells Paul (George Peppard) that she has the mean reds. “You know those days when you get the means reds?” “Same as the blues?” “No,” Holly replies slowly. “The blues are because you’re getting fat and maybe it’s been raining too long; you’re just sad, that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid and you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?” I’ve had that feeling. I’ve had that feeling for as long as I can remember. When I was in elementary school, I would get incredibly nervous when we would have scheduled fire drills. It wasn't the sound—in fact, I was fine when I didn't know there would be a fire drill. I became anxious when I knew it was going to happen. It doesn't make much sense, but knowing what I... View the full article

Sometimes I think we get Heavenly Father and Dumbledore a little confused. I don't mean that we think He's a huge fan of "Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans" or that He has a pet phoenix named Fawkes — but I do think we sometimes imagine that He's in heaven waving a magic wand around to grant all our requests. But that's not how heaven works. There aren't magic wands and Heavenly Father doesn't typically grant wishes like a genie with no questions asked. Our Father in Heaven has the power to do everything for us, but He doesn't — because He wants us to become like Him. He didn't become God by having everything done for Him. He helps us to achieve our own desires, but He doesn't wave a magic wand and give us everything we've ever asked for. He wants so much better for us than simple wish fulfillment. God Wants Us To Help Ourselves I think of this principle kind of like teaching a child to clean up after themselves. If... View the full article