Jan 21, 2024

Come, Follow Me

“The armies of God are larger than the armies of Lucifer,” Elder Larry R. Lawrence said. “You may look around and think to yourself, ‘The world is becoming more and more wicked. Satan must be winning the war.’ Don’t be fooled. The truth is, we outnumber the enemy.”

Jan 14, 2024

Come, Follow Me

The Come, Follow Me manual for this week says, “Even if you have studied Lehi’s vision many times, this time think about it the way Lehi did—think of someone you love.” 

Jan 7, 2024

Come, Follow Me

Wilford Woodruff taught many lessons through his words and example about being obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. He once shared, “I have been blessed at times with certain gifts and graces, certain revelations and ministrations; but with them all I have never found anything that I could place more dependence upon than the still small voice of the Holy Ghost.”

Jan 2, 2024

Come, Follow Me

We have spent these past weeks immersed in the birth, life, and teachings of Jesus Christ. We love Him. We worship Him. We are immensely grateful for the gifts He has given us. Of these gifts, Phillips Brooks wrote, “How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given. So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.” This is the pattern of God’s gifts to us; they do indeed come quietly, without fanfare, often not even recognized.

Dec 25, 2023

Come, Follow Me

As the year comes to a close, I have been reflecting on my resolve this year to avoid focusing on the things of this world, symbolically portrayed in some cases as ancient Babylon.

Speaking of Babylon, John gave us this counsel: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). Coming out of Babylon has been described in modern times as being in the world but not of the world.

Dec 18, 2023

Come, Follow Me

On Christmas Day, 1865, Wilford Woodruff noted the following in his journal: “25 Christmass I spent the day at home & took supper then went to the Theater in the Evening."

This small and plain entry is very similar to other Christmas day entries throughout the 1860s. When first reading entries such as the one above, I was confused by how a man who loved and served Christ with all his heart could write so little on one of the holiest of days in the Christian calendar. Yet, as I read and reread the simple entries throughout the 1860s, a thought struck me. This simple entry, as well as its fellows scattered throughout Wilford Woodruff’s journals, contains a simple sermon that is profound and beautiful. His small entry reminded me of the importance of family during the Christmas season.

Dec 11, 2023

Come, Follow Me

Sitting on my bunk as a young marine, I decided to take a look at the Book of Mormon my mother had sent me. I honestly gave it my best, but try as I might, I could hardly understand a word of what I was reading. I soon gave up and set the book aside, not to touch it again for a number of years. When I did, I continued to read for days, looking for what I had been unable to understand before. Yet all of it now flowed so easily into my soul. The difference was the Spirit and my own readiness.

Nov 27, 2023

Come, Follow Me

On October 6, 1887, Wilford Woodruff helped pen an epistle to the Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA). Unable to attend the YMMIA’s conference, President Woodruff and fellow Apostles Joseph F. Smith and Moses Thatcher sent an epistle encouraging the young men of the Church and providing counsel and direction. They offered the young men this counsel for how to leave the conference:

Nov 20, 2023

Come, Follow Me

I love to hike. Whenever I have a chance, I hit the trail. I have lists of places that I want to hike and mountains I want to summit.

As I read in 1 Peter this week, I thought of cairns. A cairn is a manmade pile of rocks that is assembled to be a marker or a memorial. Often people make these cairns to mark a trail that could be difficult to find or as a guidepost to reassure hikers that they are on the right path. Cairns are also often built as memorials. For instance, they may be built at the top of an especially difficult mountain summit to memorialize the sacrifice and accomplishment of finishing the hike.

Nov 13, 2023

Come, Follow Me

We live in a world of immediate results. Lose weight fast. Get rich quick. Be successful now.

With the constant pressure to have it all immediately, James’s counsel to “let patience have her perfect work” seems a little unreasonable—but I love the promise that follows: “That ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:4).