Thoughts and stories, by Pal

  Dealing with the Collateral Damage of Divorce   By  Jeff Teichert  · May 31, 2022 As you may know by now, we released our long-awaited book, “Intentional Courtship: a Mid-Singles Guide to Peace, Progress, and Pairing up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” on November 5 th  2021, just over six months ago. Intentional Courtship contains a lot of counsel and information about coping with loss and recovery from pain and trauma through the power of intention. One of the most unanticipated and difficult consequences of divorce is the impact it has on our relationships with in-laws and mutual friends. Some families and friends handle this well, but most do not. In the church, we have such a dim view of divorce that we tend to subconsciously believe that giving compassion or support to someone getting divorced is condoning divorce. Often this motivates people to stay away or to try to determine who was at fault in the divorce and then take the ot...

What Helaman 5:12 teaches us about relationships and 3 other insights from this week’s ‘Come, Follow Me’ by Morgan Jones  | Aug. 18, 2020 I’ll never forget someone showing me the triangle graphic. You’ve likely seen it yourself. The idea was simple but for some reason it has never left me. If a married couple (both positioned in the bottom two corners of a triangle) are both focused on drawing closer to God (the top point of a triangle), they will ultimately draw closer to one another. I’ve found that the same is true of many other relationships in our lives. Whether it be a friendship, a mission companionship, or a parent-child relationship, if two people are trying to draw closer to God, their relationship with each other will also benefit. During my time as a missionary, it struck me that a similar concept is true of a scripture we all know in  Helaman 5:12 —and arguably the most well-known verse in this week’s  Come, Fo...

This has helped me understand small ways the Spirit is part of daily life! Seeing God in Your Everyday Life By  Wallace Goddard  · May 4, 2020 Joseph was soul weary. He was tired of contention about religion and he was burdened by his own shortcomings. He was spiritually hungry. He responded to James’ invitation to seek wisdom and went into a grove to get some heavenly guidance for his life. In a stand of trees near the Smith’s humble home, Joseph got the biggest surprise in the history of this world. He did not get what he expected—a subtle impression in answer to his spiritual questions. He did not simply get comfort and assurance to keep plodding along. Nope. Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son made a personal visit and called young Joseph to be the answer to his own dilemma. He was to partner with Them in launching the most glorious of dispensations. It took years for young Joseph to make sense of that experience. It was a lot to take in....

This is a picture of my mother and father, Ruth and Orson Pratt Miles, both the most charitable people I have ever known!  The article below tells a very touching story about charity, and how important it is to forgive others.  It helps both you and them!  They were married on Christmas Day, 84 years ago -- 1933.  Mother was a school teacher, and the only time they could have a little honeymoon was over the Christmas vacation!  The problem with that is that they got so busy with Christmas that they didn't get to celebrate their anniversary often! 35. Sacrificing for others, like Jesus! Charity and Forgiveness!   Today I really liked this  article in the Meridian Magazine, Dec. 13, 2013.  At this Christmas I hope we can make peace with anyone with whom we may not have a "Godly Relationship."  What better time to forgive others, and show charity?  Jesus's life was always the example we want to follow. I have condensed t...

This is such a fun article!  Check out if you are remotely related to your spouse, or a friend, or famous person! RelativeFinder: Are You Related to Your Spouse? By Maurine Proctor  · August 31, 2017 Sign up for Meridian’s Free Newsletter, please  CLICK HERE This summer, my husband Scot and I led a British Church History tour. Many of the people who came on that tour had British ancestry and clutched their family trees and pedigree charts to them with great glee, particularly if we came close to the winding byways of their ancestral homes where ancient homes still stand. We told them that being in the land of your forebears makes your genes “jump around” with mysterious excitement, and it was true. It’s the DNA dance. You just feel something when you are in the places your great, great grandparents came from. The history belongs to you and you can almost feel the passion and drama of their lives as they played in scenes across time. Some o...