Thoughts and stories, by Pal

  This is a very insightful article, and can be very consoling to each of us! LATTER-DAY SAINT LIFE How can I know that I have been forgiven? This parable holds the answer By  S. Michael Wilcox   March 16, 2022 07:55 AM MDT Twitter Pinterest Email Print Shutterstock The September 2020 pick for  LDS Living Book Club  is  What Seek Ye?   by S. Michael Wilcox. Follow the LDS Living Book Club  Instagram  for more insights with the author. The most common inquiry I receive from members of the Church is, “How do I get answers to my prayers?” The next most common is, “How can I know I have been forgiven?” Or, in other words, “How can I be assured I have been made whole in this area?” Sometimes the question is, “How can I be confident of my standing before the Lord?” At times, we tend to believe that the Savior’s mercy covers just about everyone but ourselves. I wrestle with this as much as anyone. Much of our anguish over our own failings comes not ...

This article is the most honest, true, and understandable when it comes to attraction, marriage, commitment, or avoiding a divorce, or "finding the right one" -- for either a man or woman.  IT IS WORTH READING!  What’s Hijacking so Many Beautiful Relationships? By  Jacob Z. Hess  · February 15, 2022 The following first appeared  in Public S quare Magazine . After a hopeful beginning, another marriage crumbles. After feeling  sure  this could really be “the one,” another dating couple breaks up. … Even after two people experience wonderful sweetness and affection together, it’s remarkable how quickly things can disintegrate in heartbreaking fashion. One single man told me:  I have strong feelings initially—buying her flowers, saying sweet nothings, dedicating songs to her, wanting to put a smile on her face all the time, wanting to help her be happier … then, the next minute there is nothing. It’s off immediately, like a light switch. It’s weird, I...

  This is a tender true love story, appropriate for Valentine's Day! An Almost Tragic Love Story from Church History By  Maurine Proctor  · February 13, 2022 In Lucy Mack Smith’s biography of her son Joseph Smith, she tells a poignant—and nearly tragic love story. If you were to write it up as a novel, a publisher might say, “This is too contrived. Surely this would never happen. Can two people be that much in love, that shattered because of love?” But in this case it did happen and they were. The story is about Lucy’s brother Jason Mack. She said: My oldest brother, Jason, was a studious and manly boy. Before he attained his sixteenth year, he became what is termed a seeker, a believer in the power of God manifest through the medium of prayer and faith. He held that there was no church in existence which contained the pure principles of the gospel enjoyed by the ancient disciples of Christ, and he labored incessantly to convince the people that, by an exercise of prayer,...

 This is so appropriate and pertinent to our world today!  We love all people, but it won't help them or us to stoop and not aspire to what we all can become! Are We More or Less Compassionate When We Lower Our Nation’s Expectations? By  Tad R. Callister  · December 17, 2021 There seems to be a concerted movement among some to lower national expectations under the guise of compassion and equity. These sentiments often affect educational standards, welfare qualifications, consequences of crime, and various character traits. Of course, we do need to be loving, patient, and understanding, and when needed to provide special help. But that raises the following questions: “How should compassion influence our expectations? And what constitutes true compassion in these circumstances?” For the answer to these questions there is no better starting point than the scriptures—the ultimate guide for determining correct moral values and responses. In other words, how did the Savior...