Individual
The Worth of a Soul
The worth of a soul must, indeed, be great. See how hard Satan works to win one. And our Savior died for mine. He gave His life for yours. What is the worth of a soul?
Perhaps we could judge its worth by asking, “What is the destiny of a soul?”
What Has Jesus Christ Done For Me?
The most pervasive problem in the world is ignorance—ignorance about Jesus Christ. The most important knowledge that people should possess is the knowledge of who the Savior is and why following Him is crucial. Most people give Him no thought, and ask, “What has Jesus Christ done for me?” ignorantly thinking that He has had, or should have, no influence on their lives.
Read MoreNephi the Builder
Nephi was amazing. He knew, that with the Lord’s help, he could do anything. With that help he accomplished amazing things.
He made a bow and an arrow. How did he know how to do that? And how did he do it so fast? Making a bow is a complicated undertaking, one that I haven’t had the courage to try. The family group was starving. He didn’t have days to work at it, or to perfect his technique. They needed food now! He and they were weak from hunger. As the other men in the group sat around bitterly complaining and expecting to die, he went to work. The others might have gone out with their slings hoping to find some game close to camp, but they had already determined that the hunt would be futile, and so it was.
I Have Enough
As I sat waiting for the endowment session to begin, I thanked the Lord for providing three temples within a range that makes it possible for us to attend weekly. The closest is a two-and-a-quarter hours’ drive away. The farthest of the three is a two-and-a-half hours’ drive.
Read MoreWorld Class Expert
Last evening Marjorie and I read “To Become a World-Class Expert” on page 196 of I Have No Greater Joy. The point of the article is that 10,000 hours of practice is necessary to make one an expert in anything. Ten-thousand hours is a long time. I got to wondering if Marjorie qualifies as an expert piano player.
Read MoreA Has Been
In his declining years my father was fond of saying, “I’m a has been. I has been a better man.” Similarly it occurs to me that I has been a lot of things in the nearly 56 years of my church membership.
Read MoreWho Art Thou?
King Lamoni, in the Book of Mormon, asked a question of Ammon which we all need to ask and to answer of ourselves. Ammon had just done an astonishing thing, and Lamoni wasn’t sure whether Ammon was a man or a god. Ammon was brought before the astonished king who nervously asked him, “Who art thou?” (Alma 18:18).
Read MoreWhat’s In A Name? #2
My name is James Elwin Kerns. I value my name because “James” and “Elwin” are the given names of my grandfathers. I consider it an honor to bear those names.
Where do names come from? My oldest brother, Tom McCornack Kerns, got our father’s name, and the maiden name of our mother. My other brother, Tim Lorance Kerns, got a name that our parents liked, plus our father’s middle name, Lorance. “Lorance” was given to our dad by his mother, whose name was Lora. Our youngest sister, Ellen Lora Kerns, got the name Lora, plus the name of our illustrious and honored great grandmother, Ellen Condon McCornack. The middle name of our eldest sister, Jean Bernice Kerns, was our mother’s middle name which in turn was the first name of our mother’s mother. Our grandmother’s name was pronounced “Bur’-nuss,” but our mother’s middle name, though spelled the same, was pronounced “Bur-neese’ .”
The Restoration Was For Me
The Restoration is an individual thing. Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, “The revelations of the First Vision were not for Joseph Smith alone but are offered as light and truth for any who ‘lack wisdom.'” (Ensign, May 2020, 110).
Read MoreDifferent Wavelengths
Mac’s three siblings went to see him at his home on 18 September 2020 instead of going for the traditional Friday morning walk. He had just gotten out of the hospital, and was not up to a hike. His son, Wesley, was there, and reported on his father’s condition on a previous occasion as he was getting out of the hospital. Wes said, “On my way there to get him, I took note of a road sign that warned, ‘6% grade for next 6 miles.’ I wondered out loud how many feet drop in elevation that would amount to. Dad was groggy coming out of the hospital, but without any hesitation, he looked up and said, ‘1,200 feet.'”
Read MoreWe Are Living in the Future
We are a privileged people. We are living in the future that every prophet of the past looked forward to. Ancient prophets saw our day and longed to be here. We have comforts that no king of the past ever had. We have undreamed-of technology that is far more magical than anything that Pharaoh’s magicians were able to conjure up. Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men knew nothing in comparison to what you know.
Read MoreAm I Essential to the Plan?
President Nelson has asked us as individuals to do several things this year. He has asked us to each read the Book of Mormon, and to ask ourselves questions as we do so; questions such as, what would my life be like without the Book of Mormon, or could Joseph Smith have written this book? We’re to come up with our own questions.
Read MoreA Lesson in Astronomy
Samuel the Lamanite made a one-of-its-kind prophecy. Matthew, half a world away, recorded the prophecy’s fulfillment. (Matthew 2). The prophecy was that at the time of Christ’s birth a new star would arise. (Helaman 14:5). The star was to be a sign that the event had happened. It was a sign looked for and anticipated by not only the Nephites, but by certain wise men who lived some-where far to the east of Jerusalem.
Read MoreEssential to the Plan
I read an article that I wrote several years ago about Zoram. ( See “Zoram” in I Have No Greater Joy). I ended the article with the statement that he was “essential to the plan.” I have been turning that statement over in my mind.
Read MoreSeeing Through a Glass Darkly
I’m impressed with how little we know. As Paul said, “We see through a glass darkly.” We’ve received some good hints about what life after mortality is like, and what life before mortality was like; but every time I read the scriptures I’m impressed with how little we really know. We have the fullness of the gospel, meaning that we’re in possession of all the knowledge necessary to get us back into the presence of God; but how much do we really even know about God? We don’t even know ourselves.
Read MoreWhat’s in a Name?
Cover of “In a Grove of Aspens”
Read MoreThe Purpose of Meetings
What is the purpose of stake priesthood leadership meetings? More particularly, what is the reasoning behind stake priesthood leadership meeting on stake conference weekend? The meeting happens twice a year, right in the middle of a busy Saturday afternoon. Everyone with anything at all to do must choose between 10 other worthy projects and attendance at priesthood leadership.
Read MoreIndividual Worth
A talk given at La Grande 5th Branch conference 17 November 1996.
Some years ago I had the opportunity of living in an Arabic country for 15 months. What I’m about to say is not fair because I never learned their language, was never invited into their homes, and never learned about their customs. But I formed an opinion of the people. My opinion was that they were surly, feisty, and humorless.
Coincidences
As an eighteen-year-old boy Don Crompton got a summer job working for the U.S. Forest Service outside Buhl, Idaho.
Read MoreAstronomical Questions and Numbers
1. How many people have lived upon the earth? The Population Reference Bureau says 107 billion.
Read MoreVast World, Vast Plans
It is a beautiful, cloudless day. In the east there is an area of sky that gets more and more orange…
Read MoreZoram—Essential to the Plan
As I begin another reading of the Book of Mormon my attention is drawn to Zoram and to the key role that he played in the saga.
Read MoreOne By One
Today (28 February 2016) I reached a milestone. Last fall, because of our mission, I was five conferences behind in my indexing…
Read MoreJust 300 Men
The story of Gideon is told in the 6th through 8th chapters of the Book of Judges. In the days of Gideon the Children of Israel were greatly afflicted by the Midianites and Amalekites.
Read MoreThe Worth of Souls
Fireside given to Lovutialau Branch
Objective: Each person will recognize his worth and value, and catch a glimpse of his potential.
The Influence of a Missionary
I am sitting at my window looking down on the mile-wide channel below my house. The bay is glassy-calm.
Read MoreJohn Baba
As late as the 1990’s it was the custom on the island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu to bury newborn babies with their mothers if the mothers passed away as the result of childbirth.
Read MoreMahit Family, Vanuatu
In 1976 the Church was brand new in a group of South Seas islands that would become the independent nation of Vanuatu four years later.
Read MoreThree Vanuatu Missionaries
The stories of three sister missionaries serving together in Vanuatu from the Pacific Island nations of Kiribati, Tonga, and Fiji
Read MoreGod’s Focus and Greatest Creation
In 1956 Harry de Leyer went to the auction to buy a horse for his children to ride. He got there too late. All the good horses had already been sold.
Read MoreJames Eli Kerns
Nineteen years ago things were tough. I was serving in the stake presidency, our second son was serving a mission in England, our eldest son was back from his mission and was in college, finances were tight, my wife was caring for her bedridden mother, our eldest daughter and her husband were expecting their second baby, and we were expecting, too. This baby would be our 10th.
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