8 Ways to Find the True Spirit of Christmas

What is the True Spirit of Christmas? December comes just once a year. If we’re not careful it can pass us by in a frenzied whirlwind of ribbons, packages, and parties. Or, for some, it may seem like a month just like any other. Nothing special. Neither of those scenarios sound like a fun Christmas!…

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Riverside Service Honors ‘Miracle of the Quails’

The Camp of the Poor Travel back with me 176 years. The year was 1846. The October morning was cold and biting. Imagine over 600 people camped out right here on this riverbank. They were sick and shivering. They didn’t even have blankets. Food was scarce. They were starving. This group of Saints included the…

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Battles with Grief: Then and Now

Memorial Service This summer my family and I participated in a memorial service at Smith Family Cemetery in Historic Nauvoo for the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith (June 27, 1844).1 The service included prayer, music, scriptures, and quotes all crafted into a dramatic retelling of that fateful June-day when…

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Mastering Mountains

Happy first anniversary to On this Day in Church History! I wrote my first post on this day one year ago. To celebrate, I took a look back at my posts from last year. Here are three stories that inspire us to master the mountains in our lives: Fearless Faith “Where is your faith? Where…

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Marvelous Light

Last weekend my family participated in what’s called the Nauvoo Exodus Commemoration. Hundreds of people met on this freezing Saturday morning to remember something remarkable—beginning in February 1846 thousands of Latter-day Saints began their journey west in search of religious freedom. At the event we all wore name tags honoring our ancestors whose footsteps led…

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