Enter a search term below. If searching by episode number be sure to include the comma, for example 4,707
Convincing evidence and lived experience tell us that our emotions are linked to our well-being. And while common sense is not always common practice, it’s clear that improving our attitudes and perspectives can have a positive influence on our overall health. One of the best ways to lift our emotional and physical outlook is through […]
Boomerangs have been used for generations both as a weapon and for sport. Most of us are familiar with how these wooden, angular objects, when thrown correctly, fly right back to the thrower. But boomerangs aren’t the only things in life that behave this way. One of Aesop’s fables tells of an ant who falls […]
It was a pity that such a beautiful block of marble would be wasted. It was immense; the size of three men. Artists had eyed the stone before, and one had even started to carve it, but he had damaged it to the point that it appeared nothing could be done to salvage it. And […]
On January 5, 2006, mine foreman Martin Toler and 11 fellow miners, trapped in a West Virginia mine, crouched together hoping to escape poisonous gasses released by an unexplained explosion. In his final minutes, Martin scrawled a note on the back of an insurance form. The message was simple: “Tell all—I [will] see them on […]
Gardeners know that pruning is one of the best things you can do for your plants, if it’s done the right way. Plants and trees may need to be pruned to remove diseased or damaged branches or to ensure that nutrients from the roots go to producing fruit. Too much pruning, however, can harm or […]
Too often we measure success by the outcome: a goal achieved, a task accomplished, a journey completed. But perhaps a better measure of success might be what happens along the way: the strength revealed, the lessons taught, the sacrifices made. For some, however, great efforts don’t always produce desired outcomes. Even while demonstrating courage and […]
On a hot summer afternoon eight decades ago, a young announcer climbed a ladder in the Tabernacle on Temple Square and spoke into a borrowed microphone the opening lines of a new radio program from “the Crossroads of the West.” The broadcast that became known as Music and the Spoken Word was on the air. […]
One summer, a woman set off on an adventure to live in a rustic house on an island off the coast of Maine. For several weeks, she used rainwater instead of plumbing and propane instead of electricity. Because the island’s store was an hour’s walk away, she made only occasional and well-planned shopping trips. “With […]
In 1776, 56 men signed a document that put at risk their “Lives, [their] Fortunes, and [their] sacred Honor.” This document, the Declaration of Independence, boldly proposed a remarkable idea: that the king was made for the people, not the people for the king. This was, indeed, a revolutionary document, for, throughout most of recorded […]
We live in a world where awards seem to be freely given and freely received. In fact, sometimes the award becomes such a strong incentive for good work and behavior that it overshadows the more subtle rewards that might be enjoyed along the way. Especially with today’s youth, awards are often larger-than-life motivations. Children work […]
Nature is often a theater for some of our most meaningful experiences. Many of us can tell of a time when we have been comforted, inspired, or awed while basking in the majesty of the beauties of the earth. The settings vary—from sunrise to sunset, from sea to desert, from valley to lofty mountain peaks—but […]
Life is a series of turning points. Some are gradual and almost imperceptible, except in hindsight. Others are abrupt and jarring. But either way, the longer we live, the more we realize that life is not a straight line—it’s full of pivotal moments that redirect and refocus our lives. Graduating from school, starting a new […]
Striving to be of service is the best way to lead a truly meaningful life. None of us walks alone—we follow trails blazed by those who went before, and countless others will come after us. When we take the time to make the journey a little easier for future travelers, we build bridges that span […]
Flowers speak to our souls. Instinctively, children pick them; sweethearts give and receive them; poets write about them; and with much anticipation, everyone waits for them to bloom. Somehow they tell of love, of beauty, and of hope in a way that nothing else does. In every culture, in every corner of the world, flowers […]
In the comfort and security of our lives, we sometimes forget the debt we owe to those who left behind their own comfort and security and paid the ultimate price that we might live free. When the United States entered World War I, David Endicott Putnam was a freshman at Harvard University. Too young to […]
A family gathers for dinner, and the father announces a new rule of etiquette: “No texting at the table.” Two teenagers sigh and reluctantly set aside their cell phones. Such a rule was not needed just a few years ago, but we live in a different world now. A steady stream of information swirls around […]
Mother Teresa, known the world over for her great compassion, was once asked what she considered the most significant honor she had ever received. There were many to choose from, including the Nobel Peace Prize. But she surprised her questioner when she replied, “The title of Mother.”1 No two mothers are alike, but they share […]
Something deep within us wants to connect with those who went before us: our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and other family members. When we know who they are—their life stories, their triumphs and failures, their strengths and weaknesses—we gain a better sense of who we are. In a sense, their stories become our stories. We not […]
Ella Wheeler Wilcox probably wrote from personal experience when she said: One great truth in life I’ve found, . . . The only folks we really wound Are those we love the best.1 It seems ironic, but it is true that by a careless word or a thoughtless or selfish act we do the most […]
“Humility is the realization that not everything that happens in life is all about you,” said Rabbi Harold Kushner. “True humility, grounded in a view of life that has taught us to keep in mind that we are not the only ones hurting, would have us think, All right, . . . things like this […]
A world-renowned anthropologist who spent several years among the natives of the upper Amazon in South America once described leading a rapid march through the jungle to the nearest settlement. The group pushed through the undergrowth for two days with great success, but the third morning, rather than preparing to start, the natives, it was […]
Home can be the most inviting place we know: the cozy place where we love, the warm place where we rest, the happy place where we laugh, the comforting place where we learn, the welcoming place where we know we really belong. In so many ways, home is more a feeling than a place. When […]
Anyone who has lived a few years has learned that life can change in an instant. One day all seems well and good, and then, the next day—the next instant—the whole world can change. Not long ago a family lived through one of those moments. A mother was driving in a snowstorm when another car, […]
A medical journal recently reported something that probably all of us have experienced: happiness is contagious. Tracking more than 4,700 people as part of a 20-year study, researchers found that “people pass on their good cheer [to others,] even to total strangers.”1 “Happiness is like a stampede,” a professor at Harvard and one of the […]
Throughout our lives we interact with many people who form their own opinions about us. But at the end of the day, we are alone with ourselves, deciding who we really are and who we really want to be. No matter our circumstances, we can choose to live honorably and compassionately—or not. We can choose […]
Henry J. Kaiser was a problem solver. Born to a German shoemaker in upstate New York, he eventually became the father of American shipbuilding. Along the way, he learned to see a problem not as a roadblock but as a chance to learn something or to create a new way of doing things. “Problems,” he […]
Deep contentment can come from choosing not to spend money that we don’t have. At first that seems obvious, but in a day when slick marketing campaigns entice us to define ourselves by what we purchase, it’s easy to see how people fall into the trap of “buy now, pay later.” Purchasing and consuming may […]
At some time in our lives, every one of us has been wounded by the actions or words of another. Those wounds can leave us brokenhearted, resentful, angry, and perhaps revengeful. To forgive such mistakes—or even intentional wrongdoing—is one of the hardest things we will ever do. But it can also lead to the sweetest […]
Abraham Lincoln believed that music can restore the soul. And during the turbulent years of his presidency, his soul often needed restoring. He regularly attended concerts, operas, and musical theater, seeking comfort and inspiration. A Civil War music scholar noted that President Lincoln “would not always listen to what was being played or even be […]
A long time ago, unknown artists came up with words and a melody that resound in our hearts today: He’s got the whole world in His hands. . . .He’s got the wind and the rain in His hands. . . .He’s got the little bitty baby in His hands. . . .He’s got you […]