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Love is the most powerful force in the universe. Love blesses both giver and receiver and resounds in hearts forever. It’s true that we’re all born with differing interests and capacities, strengths and weaknesses. But one thing we all need is to receive and give love. We need it in order to grow into the […]
Announcer: “The dawning of a brighter day”—these words were sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on July 15, 1929, during the first broadcast of a new program originating from Temple Square in Salt Lake City. It was a program destined to make broadcasting history. Today, nearly 77 years later, we celebrate a remarkable landmark in […]
Nearly every day we see portrayed in the media innocent children suffering the violence of war, the ravages of nature, and the pain of disability. We see little ones wide-eyed with fear or glassy-eyed from hunger, clinging to desperate parents or crying alone. The world can be so cruel to those who deserve kindness the […]
In the early spring of 1912, students crowded into a Harvard classroom for the final lecture of renowned philosopher and poet George Santayana. Near the end of his remarks, the students hanging on his every word, Professor Santayana glanced out the window. His eyes caught sight of a forsythia blossoming in a patch of lingering […]
The good shepherd has long been a symbol of God’s love and watchful care. The shepherd knows his sheep and calls each one by name. The sheep are defenseless against the wolves of the desert. They need constant care. So night and day, the shepherd protects his sheep and guides them to green pastures and […]
When all is well and life is good, we tend to forget those who have made our present comforts possible: the teachers, parents, ancestors, and others who’ve sacrificed in our behalf. We drive on roads we didn’t build, or we eat food we didn’t grow—we all enjoy benefits and blessing that have come from the […]
The life of beloved poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is proof that good can come from sorrow and difficulty. He received great honors for his many successes, but, like all of us, he also knew his share of heartbreak and grief, including the tragic death of his wife. From the losses he suffered, however, Longfellow gained […]
How we choose to spend our time says a lot about us. It’s true that sometimes we don’t have any say over how our minutes, hours, and days are spent. No one really chooses to wait in long grocery lines, catch the flu, or get stuck in traffic. But what we do with the time […]
How we treat others says much about who we really are. Civility, mercy, sacrifice, and integrity hold our society together. Yet such qualities often seem in short supply. Too often, arrogance and indifference isolate us from one another and harden our hearts. So taught Fiorello LaGuardia, mayor of New York City at the time of […]
We all have moments in life that can change us forever. Somehow we’re never quite the same after certain experiences. And more often than not, such pivotal moments can be relatively simple and small.In the late 19th century, a young American of Scottish descent traveled to Scotland to live and work for a number of […]
Since the revival of the Olympic Games in 1896, thousands of athletes have dreamed about representing their country and becoming Olympic champions. During the 1912 games, a new horse-and-rider event called dressage was introduced. It was a competition in which only commissioned military officers—all of them men—were allowed to compete. It stayed that way for […]
People who travel to foreign lands usually go hoping to see exotic scenery and famous places. They thrill at the wonderful new sights, sounds, and smells. But if they are perceptive and sensitive, they also grow to understand other peoples in other cultures. They realize, as the poet Maya Angelou said, that “all people cry, […]
Everyone wants to love, and everyone wants to be loved. From our earliest years, we look for love. Some people travel far and wide in search of it, and others may not know love when they’ve found it. In day past, children left little paper hearts or small boxes of candy on the doorsteps of […]
Parents often tell their children that life isn’t fair. The harshness of this reality is somehow softened when it comes from loving parents. It’s usually not until children become adults that they realize how right their parents were and how painful some of life’s injustices can be. Life really can be unfair. But that doesn’t […]
Saying good-bye has never been easy—especially when we have concerns about where loved ones are going or how long they’ll be gone. But knowing that good-bye is really a pronouncement of the blessing “God be with you” can make the separation more bearable. The word good-bye was formed from the longer phrase “God be with […]
We’ve all heard the expressions “Bless your heart” and “All the best” and so many others. With these words we extend good wishes to those around us. Such expressions are like a prayer calling down heaven’s blessings upon those we care about. And we all need blessings. There are those who may say that these […]
Did you think to pray?” This simple question from a 19th-century hymn reminds us to offer thanks and seek divine guidance, comfort, and peace each day. Is there anyone who does not need such divine intervention?
At the beginning of each new year we feel a sense of renewal and a chance to start over. We put more energy into accomplishing some of the things we have been putting off. We call this a time of resolution. Resolutions are promises to ourselves. Unfortunately, sometimes even our most heartfelt resolutions go unfulfilled. […]
Good tidings of great joy”1 is the message of Christmas. Whenever we love andserve, whenever we forget ourselves and lift others, we feel that joy. Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile.”2 Real joy is the blessed reward of selfless living. Over a […]
During the first half of the past century, Edgar A. Guest became well-known as the“people’s poet.” Celebrated for his homespun, sentimental verse, he penned some 10,000 poems during his life, which were syndicated in hundreds of newspapers across the country and reprinted in several books, such as A Heap O’ Livin’ and Just Folks. One […]
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of […]
Long ago, in the dusty village of Bethlehem, a new life came into the world—a worldthat would be changed forever. On that silent night more than two thousand years ago, the light of a new star shone on the fields, the walkways, and stables of Bethlehem. Not everyone knew or recognized this radiant fulfillment of […]
We don’t miss what we’ve never known. But when people or things are an important part of our lives, we miss them dearly when they’re no longer with us. Yet, all too often, we take them for granted until they are taken away. For example, we often don’t appreciate health until we lose it; food, […]
In 1893 Katharine Lee Bates, an English professor from Massachusetts, visited theColorado Rockies. Her stay included an expedition, in a prairie wagon, to the 14,000-foot summit of Pike’s Peak. From that towering mountaintop, “the wonder of America,” with its “sea-like expanse,”1 spread before her. Returning to the hotel, she penned the words to “America the […]
It may be that we have more expressions about “home” than anything else. We’ve allheard “home is where the heart is,” “there’s no place like home,” and “home sweet home”— simple sayings that ring with truth and bear repeating. The hallmark of a happy home is not its size or location, but what goes on […]
In 1940, as the thunder and lightning of armed conflict erupted across Europe, WinstonChurchill stood at the head of a nation faced with the horrible reality of a calamitous war. “I have nothing to offer,” he told his countrymen, “but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”i In spite of the arduous road, Churchill was firm in […]
The great Irish tenor Ronan Tynan inspires audiences around the world with his abundant musical gifts. We admire his singing and performing, but just as impressive is his life story. Ronan was born with a lower-limb disability. Then, when he was 20 years old, both of his legs were amputated below the knee following a […]
From the timeless tale of the puppet brought to life comes the classic ballad “When You Wish upon a Star.” The little wooden Pinocchio, painstakingly carved by Gepetto, wished to be a real boy. He could move his arms and legs, he could sing and dance, but to achieve his ultimate dream he had to […]
One of the great opportunities in life is to gain a variety of experiences. It is important that we fill our days with a balance of meaningful events and activities that will stretch our minds and strengthen our relationships. Even everyday duties can provide a chance for us to improve our skills and share our […]
It’s one thing to write a song about rejoicing when all is well and the future looks bright. It’s quite another to sing of rejoicing while enduring violence and persecution—as did William W. Phelps in Missouri in 1833. He wrote “Now Let Us Rejoice” against a backdrop of “defeat, frustration, homelessness, suffering, privation, [and] hunger.”1 […]