Thoughts and stories, by Pal

This may help any of you who have children with anxiety or depression, or simply having stresses during growing up!  (Who doesn't?)   Seven Tips for Reducing Stress and Anxiety in Children By  Nicholeen Peck  · October 17, 2022 Families are concerned about their children who are struggling with stress and anxiety. Why are stress and anxiety so prevalent nowadays, and what can families do to help in loving ways? Understanding Stress and Anxiety Stress and anxiety are real feelings that many children suffer with daily. According to Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center For Children And Families, “By 2020, 5.6 million [U.S.] kids (9.2%) had been diagnosed with anxiety problems and 2.4 million (4.0%) had been diagnosed with depression.” This staggering number was gathered pre-COVID shutdowns. Parents tell me regularly that “since COVID” their child has experienced anxiety, stress and/or depression that led to not wanting to try new things or step out of co...

  This is such a timely article, it should be read by everyone!  We don't want to dwell on Satan, but even little children need to be taught about him, and recognize when he is trying to influence them away from truth! Why Learn More About Satan? By  Daniel Ortner  · October 12, 2022 I never imagined that I would write very much about Satan. I grew up in a somewhat secular Jewish household and I had no conception of a devil.  My mother was a very spiritual woman, but she didn’t believe that God demanded that we obey specific commandments. One of her favorite sayings was “God does not have an IBM computer” meaning that God did not closely monitor our actions and compliance with his commandments. My father was an agnostic or an atheist depending on how cynical he felt on a given day. Perhaps my only exposure to Satan was on the show South Park where he is depicted as misunderstood and at least partially well-intentioned. When I was a teenager, I first began to lea...

  General Conference by the Numbers: President Russell M. Nelson By  Scott Brown  · September 29, 2022 Cover image via Gospel Media Library. President Russell M. Nelson has had an outsized impact on the Church in the short time that he has been President.  Some of his most impactful accomplishments as President of the Church include: His consistent message that the gathering of Israel is the most important work on the face of the earth. He has taught that the gathering is taking place on both sides of the veil. The  Come Follow Me  program of home-centered, church-supported gospel learning Emphasis on temple work and the construction of new temples Calling the church by its correct name Urging members of the Church to keep their covenants and to  Let God Prevail  in their lives. Gathering Israel on both sides of the veil Throughout his service as a general authority, President Nelson has taught the importance of the gathering of Israel [i] . ...

  What are the Characteristics of Spirit?  By  Larry Barkdull  · August 16, 2022 Before he died, Larry Barkdull had written a substantial part of an unfinished manuscript  about the extraordinary power of faith,  particularly as a power that causes things to happen. This is faith on a higher level than we usually practice and understand it. With the permission of his wife, Buffie, Meridian will be running an excerpt from this new book every week. See earlier articles in this series  HERE  and  HERE  and  HERE . Faith, light, truth, priesthood  and  power— can we not see that they are interdependent and likely components of the same intelligent spiritual substance?  Spirit  with its various parts, is the power of the Gods to bring things to pass and deliver astounding blessings. We read, for instance, that when  Spirit  functions as the light of Christ, it becomes the agent of power for the Holy Gho...