Thoughts and stories, by Pal

  The Privilege of Asking for Angelic Help By  Anne Hinton Pratt  · January 26, 2022 Cover image:  “Looking for something” ©Brian T. Kershisnik, 2016. Used with permission. There are times in our lives that we need more help than our natural world can offer.  At these defining moments, we can ask for angelic help, and at times receive remarkable assistance.  Angels are a critical part of the Lord’s team, which he generously employs for us in amazing ways… “I Felt the Burning of Angels” Jill Vanikiotis shared a truly remarkable experience with me, where she absolutely knew that angels helped her.  She was moving from Utah to Virginia in 2020. She was pulling a much too heavy trailer for her vehicle, which was loaded down with all her food storage and tools. She writes, “I needed a good amount of momentum built up in order to get over the three mountains in Wyoming known as the three sisters. Just as I was up to speed in my ascent over the last and bigge...

  The Parable of the Purple Pig: What Have you Stopped Noticing? By  Joni Hilton  · January 26, 2022 In many ways, life is like The Parable of the Purple Pig. In this story, a man who owns a gas station in the Midwest comes across a garage sale in a nearby state, where they’re selling a sculpture of a pig. Nearly twice the size of a real one, the man thinks it would be a hilarious prank to buy it and put it in a friend’s pig farm. He loads it into his pickup truck. But on the way home, he gets an even better idea. He’ll spray paint the whole thing purple and put it in front of his gas station. It will draw attention, maybe increase business. So, he does this. Only people find it an eyesore. Opinion letters appear in the local paper. The local radio station bemoans his poor taste. Disgruntled drivers tell him to take it down. This offends him and he stubbornly vows to keep it up as long as he’s alive, by golly. The ruckus finally dies down as people realize it’s simply goi...

  From an unstable childhood to a confident missionary: Why 1 young man is determined to share the joy he’s found with others By  Danielle Christensen   January 18, 2022 02:08 PM MST Twitter Pinterest Email Print Elder Gutierrez was baptized in June 2019 and is serving as a full-time missionary in the Texas San Antonio Mission. Courtesy of Elder Gutierrez Dominic Gutierrez remembers the first time he felt God’s love like it was yesterday. As a teenager in Safford, Arizona, childhood memories of abuse and homelessness had caught up with him, and his feelings of loneliness seemed inescapable. He didn’t think he had a purpose and didn’t believe that God existed. But then one day, he remembered something that would change his life forever. Previously, his friend had given him a copy of the Book of Mormon, which Dominic stored away in his room. But on this occasion, he decided to crack open the cover and turned to the introduction. Seven words in, he felt something he never ha...

  This is so awe-inspiring, and faith promoting in our God, Heavenly Father! “Be in Awe, and Know That I am God” By  Robert Allen  · January 16, 2022 Just a little history. In March of 1830, almost 200 years ago, a young man named Joseph Smith, published a book that changed the world of a lot of people— The Book of Mormon . A month later he organized  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints . He was just 24 years old. Two months later, in June 1830, he received by revelation “a vision of Moses”. It’s an amazing revelation.  I quote from Moses chapter one: And he  saw  God  face  to face, and he  talked  with him…saying: Behold, I am the Lord God  Almighty , and …thou art my son; wherefore  look , and I will show thee the  workmanship  of mine  hands ; but not all, for my works are without end ….And  worlds  without number have I created ;  (Moses 1: 2,3,4,33) Think of it. Worlds w...