By Marilyn Richardson

Pale and withered, 78-year-old Orval Bawden lay on the narrow bed in the nursing home. Just six months ago he had been a vigorous man who had continued to work past retirement age as an engineer for the state highway department. Now, diagnosed with inoperable cancer, he had been moved to a nursing home in Pleasant Grove, Utah to make it easier for his daughter, Jodie, the one who lived closest, to visit. In that same facility was a woman, also dying of cancer. The husband of this woman came to visit her daily. One day he stopped to see Orval.

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By Dave Ellis

It’s really no secret that I love to go to the grocery store, which really makes me different from most guys. In fact I prefer to shop, especially for the groceries and especially alone. Not that I don’t love my family, it’s just my kids ask for every item that they see. I know that this normal behavior has been going on for generations. It’s just that it’s different nowadays because it is annoying ME. People back in the day had more patience because they didn’t have microwaves.

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As the United States enters a period that I can only euphemistically call “interesting,” the timeless counsel of Church leaders rings in my ears. We have been counseled for decades to put our lives in order; put our homes in order; draw near to one another; draw near to the Lord. We have been warned that these days would come. And now they are truly “at our doors.”

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by Annette Lyon

Grudges are painfully easy to hold onto and are hard to let go. It’s not until you put down the burden and walk away that you realize just how heavy it was to begin with—and that the person you’ve been so angry with wasn’t being affected by the bitterness.

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by Annette Lyon

As parents, we know it’s important to teach our children the value of work. But even after teaching them to do the job, there’s the trick of getting them to actually do it—without nagging.

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By Danielle Ellis

The Home Storage Centers (canneries) around the west all recently started running out of wheat, as did supermarkets, grain dealers and bulk warehouse stores. (The Home Storage Centers will be restocked, but the supplies of stores are more uncertain.) People have begun snapping up whatever storable food they can find, and at any price. What is going on?

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By Nettie H. Francis

“Abracadabra…poof!” What if these magical words, said with the wave of a wand over your home, could instill good manners in your children, insure healthful eating habits and strengthen family ties? Most of us wouldn’t hesitate to cast such a spell. However, while we don’t have a magic wand, there is still a formula for enjoying these benefits: Have a regular family mealtime. Studies show that families who eat together on a consistent basis enjoy nutritional, academic, social and emotional advantages. In addition, recent talks by general authorities of the church have stressed this vital family tradition.

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What is “Help 4 LDS Parents”?

As parents and leaders of children/youth in the Church, we’ve found there are certain issues and topics that should be addressed with all young people in order to give them the proper guidance they need to get along in this world. As parents, we have been commanded “to bring up your children in light and truth” (D&C 93:40). But the world is moving farther and farther away from the standards we value as Latter-day Saints, and we struggle to raise our kids “in the world but not of the world.”

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By LaRae Kerr

Why is genealogy so important to you?” asked reader D.A. “What is this drive to dig up info on your ancestors? You refer to this information as ‘useful.’ Useful for what? Perhaps…you could give particulars.”

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By Alison Palmer

Scripture: Amos 3:7

Song: “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet,” Hymns #19.

Preparation: Gather the items listed in the lesson, or another similar item that can be used to represent the needed information.

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by Debbie Tretiak

Question: How did I get to where prescription drugs are controlling my life?

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Although he has a great tenor voice and sings with the Grammy award winning choir, the Saints Unified Voices directed by Gladys Knight, it is not his voice that has his patients singing his praises. At the Orthodontic office of Dr. Rick Neilson, it is the professional staff, fun atmosphere, and state of the art treatment that lead to beautiful smiles for patients and their families. Indeed, smiles are his specialty!

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We are about to enter into that magical time of year so beloved by flower shops and tuxedo rental stores: Prom Night. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I just could never see the logic in spending all that time, grief and money on some other guy’s future wife. A nostalgic look back in the old Yearbook from my Senior year confirms my suspicion – not one couple at the dance ended up staying together.
Take it from a bishop and father of four daughters: the whole boyfriend/girlfriend, going steady, high school romance thing is way over-rated.

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Using an engaging, story telling style that inspired thousands of readers with the bestseller The Peacegiver, author James Ferrell has produced another modern-day parable that brings to life the importance of loving holy and sacred things in The Holy Secret (Deseret Book, $23.95, hardcover).

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