Third Hour

Satan's New Scheme: Parasite Pornography Satan’s at it again! He’s come up with a new scheme to confuse the world and to distort God’s purposes, but this time he’s using you...or at least someone who looks exactly like you, to do it. Parasite Porn is his weapon of choice and your face is at the forefront. Parasite porn is a new porn trend in which photo editing technology is used to steal your photos from social media platforms and then superimpose your face (or the faces of your loved ones) onto explicit and pornographic material. These modified images of “you” are then distributed to various internet porn websites and are available to anyone with internet access. The extra trouble is that these modified photos also get tied to the original internet profiles they were stolen from — such as Facebook, Instagram, and Linked-In. This tricky tactic ties your name and face together in the eyes of any viewer (like a future employer) as an internet porn star. It Can Happen to Anyone The... View the full article

This article is the third in a series on infidelity in marriage and how to heal. Here are the links to Part I, Your Spouse Cheated, Now What? and Part II, The Two Sides of Marital Infidelity. In my experience working with marriages rocked by a partner’s adultery, I see patterns. Emotions, expectations, questions, and struggles that show up time after time. The most frequent pattern among Latter-day Saint couples in this circumstance involves a cheating spouse who confesses to priesthood authority, undergoes a disciplinary council, “faces the music” so to speak, and goes through (or is going through) the steps to have their blessings restored to them. In case after case, they feel they’ve done the work to be forgiven and can’t understand why their partner can’t “just let it go.” The Lord has forgiven me, they reason, so why can’t my spouse? For the betrayed partner, the wrestle may be with themselves, seeing the logic of their spouse’s argument and not knowing why they struggle to forgive. Or... View the full article

Opinion Before you charge at me with your torch and pitchforks, please just take a moment, read this article, and try to understand where this opinion about the popular hymn, "Praise to the Man" is coming from, even if you still disagree with it by the end. But before I get into my reasons, I want you to know that I love this hymn just as much as the next Latter-day Saint! It's undeniably powerful. I oftentimes feel the Spirit when I sing it (and maybe that's evidence enough that it's OK!). It's undoubtedly one of the more rousing hymns that are available to us during our Sunday worship. This is bound to be a polarizing opinion piece, but don't misunderstand, I'm not out picketing against "Praise to the Man" on the corner of Temple Square. In fact, I'm totally open to having my mind changed on this. But as of right now, I think the cost/benefit analysis is not in favor of "Praise to the Man." Seeing it go would... View the full article

I've been a writer basically all my life, so I feel some shame in sharing the following secret with you: I am, and always have been, a terrible journaler. A few years ago, I found a journal I had bought with some allowance money when I was 8 or so. In it, I think there's one entry recorded in the month of May. I didn't write about my day or what was happening in class; I wrote about my birthday. FROM SEVEN MONTHS AGO. (October babies, where you at?!) I had gotten a Barbie I really liked and my grandma had made me my favorite breakfast dish, so I guess I felt like that trumped all recent events. My journal entires since that time have been sporadic at best... And sadly, since I never journal, when I do, I still have to write about important events from months before (although hopefully I've grown a little bit, since I don't typically include what I ate for breakfast all those weeks ago). Yet in... View the full article

Anyone who knows me knows that I love superheroes. They are my absolute favorite. And I was driving home one day when a thought occurred to me: Are there any superheroines that could represent the Young Women’s values? My first thought was duh, Wonder Woman. She is all of them. But I decided to not take the obvious route and find a different heroine for each Young Women’s value. Faith/The Invisible Woman This one was harder than I expected. Faith is a “hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21). So I decided to go with the Invisible Woman. Get it? You can’t see her! But more than that, Susan Storm (the Invisible Woman) has had to exercise a lot of faith in her life. When her husband, Reed Richards (a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic), is transported into the Negative Zone, everyone believes he is dead. But Susan never gives up. She keeps searching for Reed even when others tell her to move on. She never gives up hope and... View the full article

Elders Kole Brodowski and David Gaag have been detained in a Russian prison for almost three weeks. Missionary work in Russia has been outlawed in Russia since 2016. The Church quickly complied with the restrictions and the missionaries became volunteers. The missionaries were allegedly detained for teaching English without a license, but the missionaries claim they were simply holding a regular game night in English. However, Elders Kole Brodowski and David Gaag have been released from prison. Both missionaries are doing well and have been in contact with their families. The missionaries had regular contact with their mission president, President Ottesen, and his wife during their incarceration. Elder Brodowski was near the end of his missionary service and will be returning to his family in California. Elder Gaag will be reassigned to another mission to complete his service. In a Facebook post, Brodowski’s father wrote, “It’s finally over!” Kyle Brodowski wrote. “Kole is headed home, and his companion will receive another call. I want to thank the thousands of people worldwide that... View the full article

Each year the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) releases their “Dirty Dozen List.” The list names and shames the top companies and organizations in the United States who profit from sexual exploitation. But a big corporation can be pretty far removed from the individual, though, right? So what’s the purpose of the list then? According to the NCOSE’s website, the list is “an activism tool that gives back power to individuals who want a voice in the culture.” “Activism tool” might sound extreme to some. If you barely have time to juggle your day-to-day responsibilities then you're not exactly signing up to join an activist group are you? Well, maybe you should be. NCOSE’s site says it perfectly: “In today’s world, corporations drive our culture. They influence how people communicate, how they dress and what information they receive. When a company makes a positive change to stop promoting sexploitation, it has a ripple effect that influences countless lives.” And if you don’t want to take the word of experts on the... View the full article

We all remember David Archuleta, right? You know, the 16-year-old kid from Utah that got 2nd place on the 7th season of American Idol? Well, it looks like another Latter-day Saint is going to sing her way to the top spot in this year’s season of the popular singing competition. “You could win this whole thing.” When all the judges turn and look at each other, you might think you did something wrong. But then Luke Bryan starts pumping his fist and you know you are doing something right. When Ashley Hess started singing Norah Jones’ “Don’t Know Why,” the judges were awestruck. Bryan had Hess stop so that all the judges could congregate around her piano. “How could you just come in here all casually, ‘Yeah, I was going to be a dental hygienist’?” said Katy Perry. She then went on to tell Hess that she “could win this whole thing.” Believe in yourself Hess is 27-years-old and originally from Freemont, California. She says that she got a late start to music because she just... View the full article

Every year in March I hear things about Lent. Ash Wednesday, fasting, giving something up. But what is Lent? Why is it important to many Christian denominations? And, more importantly, what can members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (still getting used to that mouthful) learn from Lent? The History The observation of Lent probably goes back to apostolic times, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. It was formalized during the First Council of Nicaea in 325 BC. Lent typically begins 40 days before Easter to symbolize Christ’s journey into the wilderness and His 40-day fast to prepare for His ministry. The last week of Lent is Holy Week, which commemorates Christ’s last week. Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday, includes Good Friday, and ends with Easter—the day Christ was resurrected. Traditions According to Wikipedia, “The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and denial of ego.” This typically involves periods of fasting and many give up a luxury... View the full article

A hush fell over the crowd of more than 700 people seated at the large conference room in a Salt Lake City hotel. Becky Borden speaks at North Star International's 2019 Conference Becky Borden, a board member of North Star International, was about to debut the long-awaited and unprecedented music video project that she hoped, in its short five minutes, would succeed in encapsulizing the mission of the non-profit organization. The first few words of the video were projected onto the screen: "I am a Latter-day Saint. I am LGBTQ. And this is what I know." Several different scenes portrayed by LGBTQ actors flashed across the screen, all accompanied by a beautiful rendition of the faith-affirming hymn, "I Know that My Redeemer Lives." The audience was visibly touched — almost too overwhelmed to react — as the video ended. The room was completely silent. After a few moments, the hushed crowd rose to its feet in a standing ovation among tears and cheers of joy. The video obviously resonated with so many of the struggles... View the full article

There's something I've been thinking about a lot lately, and while it's not doctrine (so don't quote me on this!), I've come to a conclusion: it's okay to be angry at God. Well, kind of. Here's the thing: God doesn't NEED you to be His friend. He doesn't need you to be happy with Him or to condone His actions. Your permission isn't a requirement for Him, because He is omniscient and has an eternal perspective that we often lack. Because of that — because of our limited, finite understanding — there are going to be times when we don't understand His plan or why He allows certain things to happen. And that lack of understanding (and the frustration it produces) may lead us to feel defeated and angry at God. Recently, I've taken some new steps to get my health (i.e. my very painful stomach problems) under control. It involves a several-month, extremely restrictive doctor-suggested diet and lifestyle change, and it's expensive. Before starting it, I felt so good about it, like... View the full article

I had doubted, shortly after being excommunicated, that I would seek to be readmitted to the Church through baptism. In all honesty, I knew I could go to Church, sit with my family, and be a part of the Church community without having to enter into that covenant. I had felt the forgiveness from the Lord, I had begun to repair things with my family as we sought healing together, and the Lord helped me escape behavior that I didn’t think was possible to abandon. So why would I need to rejoin the Church? Maybe it would be easier to remain in the world, loosely connected to the Church. I put the question to my stake president who reminded me that “the first fruits of repentance is baptism…” and that it wouldn’t be long before I would have the strongest desire to be baptized and receive the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. I was reminded of a lesson I learned years ago but had forgotten over time. In reading Joseph... View the full article

This is part of an ongoing series on Healing From Infidelity. You can read the first article in this series here. Can your husband or wife’s infidelity lead to post-traumatic stress disorder? For some, the question seems overly-the-top. “Surely it’s heartbreaking,” they say, “but PTSD is for police, attack victims, firefighters, and military veterans.” However, as Dr. Shirley Glass explains in her seminal book Not Just Friends: Rebuilding Trust and Recovering Your Sanity After Infidelity, victims of affairs often meet criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. After all, their sense of security, stability, and safety was shaken. Their view of the world they live in and their relationships were upended. They no longer feel safe. If your spouse had an affair, while you may or may not fully meet the criteria for PTSD, there is a component of trauma (often called betrayal trauma) which no doubt affects your emotional health and your relationships every single day. If you cheated, understanding trauma and its effects will go a long way towards helping you... View the full article

Perfectionism is a common ailment in the world today. It goes hand-in-hand with anxiety and depression. We all strive to craft a perfect life (or the perception of a perfect life) until we can’t anymore. There comes a point where we stop trying to look perfect and accept our flaws . . . until the next wave of perfectionism washes over us. Now, this isn’t to say that we shouldn’t do our best or strive to be perfect. What I am trying to say is that there was only ever one perfect person on this earth (Christ) and it isn’t you. Feeling like you need to be perfect is crippling, and we all have enough problems in our lives, we don’t need more. So here is my list of some imperfect and amazing people! Nephi I think a lot of Latter-day Saints put Nephi on a pedestal. He was so great, he started the Book of Mormon, he got the plates. But he also failed. Nephi and his brothers went to get the plates from Laban... View the full article

Depression rates in the U.S. have been on the rise in recent decades with a 33 percent increase between 2013 to 2016. Many people point fingers at social media and the FOMO and culture of comparison that comes along with it as the source of increased rates of depression. However, a new study suggests that a lack of religion and spiritually is really to blame for the increase. The study used brain imaging to observe individuals who were determined to be at risk for major depressive disorder based on their family history. The researchers then concluded that religious or spiritual beliefs may affect the brain on a microstructural level and that these structural differences made the individuals more resilient to depression. Sure people tell you going to church is good, but what about it makes you more resilient when it comes to depression? The answer is two-fold. First, religion gives individuals a sense of purpose. Researchers from the University of Gdansk in Poland have found that having a... View the full article

A recent announcement from LDS Living invites members to celebrate the birthday of President Russell M. Nelson, the current president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The celebration will be held September 6, 7:00 p.m. MDT at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency stated that “These types of celebrations, … give us inspiring insight into the lives of those chosen by God to serve as His prophets.” The celebration will invite audience members to learn about the man who has served as president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since January 14, 2018. A combination of music, tributes, and insights will let people see how the Lord has prepared this man to lead His church in these days. More information about the performance will come in the following weeks. Tickets will become available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org on July 30, 10:00 a.m. MDT. Tickets will be free and limited to two per individual. More... View the full article

If you don't like being told what to do, you probably shouldn't continue reading, because I'm about to do exactly that. But hopefully you'll find comfort in the fact that as I tell you what to do, I'm really telling me what to do, because I need these reminders just as much as the next guy (if not a little more). Writing them out helps me internalize them. You're just along for the ride. And while I write to a Latter-day Saint audience, this stuff really does apply to everyone, Latter-day Saint or not. Ready? Of course you are, you're a star. Here we go. 1. Love people. Love God, love thy neighbor, and even love thy enemies. No strings attached. None of this, "I'll only love you, if," junk. If you treat love like a currency, you're doing it wrong. Love is not a weapon of manipulation. It's not a bargaining chip. It's not something you should be holding ransom, especially towards those that need it most. Christ’s perfect love overcomes temptations to... View the full article

Did you that there are different types of perfectionism? I didn’t—at least not before attending a conference in which Dr. Matthew Draper presented a paper on perfectionism. He told a story of a girl he was treated for heroin addiction. The root of her problem: perfectionism. Apparently, she suffered from more than one type of perfectionism—which, to this point, I hadn’t known was a thing. Dr. Draper, in his address, discussed three types of perfectionism. Upon further research, I have learned that there are more types and names for perfectionism, but I will mainly discuss the three Dr. Draper touched on: self-oriented, other-oriented, and projected. Self-Oriented Perfectionism In self-oriented perfectionism, we have an idea in mind for ourselves, and if we don't live up to it, we feel shame. When I think of perfectionism, this is what comes to mind. Psychology Today describes this type of perfectionism in the following thoughts: I strive to be as perfect as I can be. It makes me uneasy to see an error in my... View the full article

Our little boy, Joshua, was born on June 21, 2013, in Provo, Utah. He is the youngest of our five children and the only boy. When he was born, his coloring did not improve over time like most babies. He wasn’t getting the oxygen he needed. The nurses assured us that he likely just needed a little help inflating his lungs. They told me that he would be back in our arms in about 20 minutes. He was quickly sent off to the NICU where the doctors inflated his lungs, but there was no improvement in his color. Discovering his diagnosis A pediatric cardiologist happened to overhear the doctors as they worked to figure out Joshua’s problem. The cardiologist immediately ordered an ultrasound to be done. They determined that the two main arteries to the heart (the aorta and the pulmonary) were crisscrossed where they connected to the heart (also known as transposition of the great arteries). Joshua’s blood was running in two separate circuits in his body. The blood flowing... View the full article

When it comes to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' leadership, it seems like the world focuses most of its attention on "Joe" Smith — was he really a prophet? Or was he a delusional cult leader? Did he actually see Deity or was he a conniving charlatan who was desperate to find money? In fact, they focus so much attention on him that sometimes the Church's second modern-day prophet, Brigham Young, slips through the cracks — at least until you hear something super offensive he's reported to have said. To be honest, when it comes to learning about Church history and the prophets, I've sometimes had less-than-cordial feelings toward Brigham Young. But that all changed when I wrote this article. If history paints Joseph Smith to be a conman, it paints Brigham Young to be a sexist, racist, condescending megalomaniac who was obsessed with having as many wives as possible. Certain splinter groups even claim that Brigham Young wasn't God's chosen prophet; that instead, the prophetic mantle either ended with... View the full article

The New York Times, the Washington Post and other major news outlets have just reported that President Nelson has met with the Pope, the first meeting of its kind. Although the papers report that details have not been released, MormonNewsroom.org has a lot more to say. President Nelson was accompanied by President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to the meeting inside the Vatican. After the meeting, which lasted a bit more than half an hour, President Nelson and President Ballard met with the press. "We had a most cordial, unforgettable experience. His Holiness, he was most gracious and warm and welcoming," said President Nelson. He continued, "What a sweet, wonderful man he is, and how fortunate the Catholic people are to have such a gracious, concerned, loving and capable leader." https://youtu.be/IoD5g53z5qc President Nelson said, "We talked about our mutual concern for the people who suffer throughout the world and want to relieve human suffering. We talked about the importance of religious liberty, the importance of the family, our mutual concern... View the full article

There may be nothing so destructive to a marriage as adultery. The eradicated trust, the deep wounds of betrayal, and the feelings of guilt create a perfect storm, wreaking havoc from which many never come back. If this is your current situation, know that through the pain there is hope. Some couples recover, rebuild, and are stronger than ever after infidelity. It may seem impossible now, but there is healing on the other side of this... if that's what you both want. Based on years of research, my experience as a licensed marriage counselor, and the doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, these 5 steps are crucial if your are to heal your home, hearts, and lives. STEP 1: SEEK COUNSELING image via marriage.com "Members [sometimes] expect too much from Church leaders and teachings—expecting them to be experts in subjects well beyond their duties and responsibilities... If you have a question that requires an expert, please take the time to find a thoughtful and qualified expert to help you.” - Elder M.... View the full article

Before you think I’m committing blasphemy, let’s set some things straight regarding the word feminist. To some, the word is synonymous with loud, man-hating radicals who rant about the patriarchy. To others, it evokes the image of someone who condemns motherhood or any other “traditional” feminine role. But those ideas are only what some people have painted feminism to be. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, the actual definition of feminism is: Organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests 2. The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes In other words, feminism isn’t the dirty word some people have made it out to be. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s delve into the question of whether or not God is a feminist by examining if God’s traits are consistent with the two definitions of a feminist. A Feminist: Someone who organizes activity on behalf of women's rights and interests Image via LDS.org If God’s Church doesn’t treat women equally to men, then God couldn’t be a... View the full article

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It is International Women's day! And while we should celebrate the women in our lives every day (and the people we love and appreciate in general), today we are going to be extra appreciative. So today I am sharing some awesome quotes about women that are not about motherhood. All mothers are women, but not all women are mothers (at least in the traditional sense). So here is to all the women! We all have so much in common As humans, we share similar struggles and dreams. As women, we have even more in common. I love hanging out with my husband, but sometimes you just need some time with your girls. We are a sisterhood Moving is hard. But there is something nice about knowing that wherever you move, you will have sisters. I loved meeting the sisters of the Relief Society in every ward I served in on my mission. They were always so kind and helpful to me and my companion. Being a more permanent member of a Relief Society has... View the full article