So much has changed in the last month! President Hinckley passed away after our February issue was already printed, and now that time seems like a world away.

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I love a happy ending. And when a happy ending is also a wonderful beginning, so much the better. So it is for most weddings. A young couple has survived the slings, arrows and disappointments of single life, and found someone with whom to build a life. They cast off their “old” lives and start a new one together as husband and wife. When these steps are taken in obedience to eternal law and the marriage is solemnized in The House of the Lord, a unique and wonderful partnership is formed.

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Welcome to a brand new year and another chance to start fresh. This year, rather than the normal list of resolutions, my personal list involves just one: my heart condition.

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Amazingly, it’s Christmastime again. I never imagined that I would be this young and repeating clichés about the speed of time. Yet I am!

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I was so touched by last month’s general conference.

In addition to wonderful addresses, we saw the great principle of succession displayed. Elder Eyring and Elder Cook will serve honorably and with distinction.

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You will, I’m sure, be happy to join with me in a prayer of thanks that we have survived another desert summer heat wave. This is the time of year that we desert rats emerge from our summer hibernation in the air conditioning, greet our neighbors, go to the park, and rejuvenate our suffering yards. In another week or so, we’ll remember why we live here. That memory will sustain us until next July, when we again consider packing it in and moving to some cooler clime.

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These summer months pass so quickly. My daughter Hattie was baptized this month, and my nephew Chris is heading out on his mission. The forward progress of life happens so quickly it’s hard to believe.

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This morning as I put my makeup on, my three-year-old daughter Tessa came to visit me. With each new compact and brush I pulled out, she asked, “What’s that for, Mom?” As I explained each item, she asked, “Can I have some too?”

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For the better part of six years, Desert Saints Magazine has brought the members and friends of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints great content to inform, uplift and entertain. During those years we have had a small presence in Southern Utah.

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How grateful I am for righteous men! Whether in our family circle, in our wards or neighborhoods, or just business associates, the world is blessed every day by righteous men. We celebrate both the anniversary of the priesthood restoration and Father’s Day in this fantastic issue.

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As I write this letter, my kids are off on an adventure with one of their grandmas. She took the four oldest and planned to be gone for five hours. Rumor was they were going to make cookies and then go see a movie. Brave soul, that grandma! Yesterday, they got to have an adventure with their other grandma. They went to the park with a picnic lunch and popcorn for the ducks. That trip ended early for reasons that shall remain nameless. But they certainly created plenty of fun memories!

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Spring is my favorite season. I love the whole process of rebirth in nature. It seems a fitting time to remember the death and resurrection of the Savior. One of the most poignant remembrances of that truth was a story I read in a magazine long ago.

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Let’s get right to it: last month’s cover. I have fielded several phone calls and emails a day all month from people upset by the cover, featuring a lovely bride in a short sleeve dress.

We apologize for running a photo where the sleeve appeared too short to be appropriate.

All of us who looked at it saw it as a cap sleeve. In fact, as you can see from a different photo of the same bride, it is. More to the point, this beautiful, temple-worthy bride was married in the Newport Beach Temple, in this dress.

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Once upon a time…

So begin the great fairy tales and love stories. Two people fall in love and suddenly all the world is hearts and flowers and valentines. And as the schoolyard version goes, “first comes love, then comes marriage.” So you’re planning a wedding…

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When I asked for articles to print in this month’s issue, I had several topics. By far the most popular was New Year’s Resolutions. Hope springs eternal for all of us every January.

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