Our emotional state is often tied to what we eat and how we feel about ourselves. Self-image and self-confidence are also important parts of the package. As I embarked on book tours with various media, I found myself on a path I never dreamed would be possible for me. On the outside I looked attractive and presentable. I had graduated from BYU, had three successful years of teaching, and was now a successful author and professional speaker.

But underneath, all was not well. My self-esteem suffered because I had always struggled with school. My parents even drove from Salt Lake City to Provo many weekends to read to me as I struggled to complete my university courses. Because I did not do well in school, I sometimes questioned how smart I was.

Success and newfound fame gave me a shot of confidence, and I wanted more and more of it. …

Some people may have never heard the term self-government. Others may not really see why they should care about the term at all. Lots of the those people are children.

Why should a person care about about learning self-government principles and skills? Simple. If a person is able to self-govern then that person has more happiness and more freedom.

Happiness occurs when a person feels like they are in control of their lives, and when they feel like they are understood and taken care of. The best way to be understood and cared for is to know how to communicate your needs to other people. When a person shows respect to another person and the role that person has and communicates calmly and assertively then the person gets more of what they want. Also, they remain in control of themselves and the tone of all their relationships. Self-government leads to …

This past week, Jewish adherents celebrated Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles, or Feast of Booths), one of three biblically mandated festivals, requiring pilgrimages to Jerusalem. “According to the prophet Zechariah, in the messianic era [the millennium], Sukkot will become a universal festival and all nations will make pilgrimages annually to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast there. (Zech 14:16-19).” [1]

Sukkot is a harvest festival, usually occurring in late September (15^th day of the lunar month Tishrei, during the Fall equinox), and lasts seven to eight days. Anciently, families gathered together in small booths or tabernacles (sukkah) for the final harvest. Today, meals are eaten outside under small enclosures covered with leafy green tree limbs or palm leaves, reminiscent of the temporary structures Israel lived in during their 40 years of wandering journey in the wilderness enroute towards the promised land.

“During the holiday, some Jews recite the …

Ephraim’s Rescue, writer/director T.C. Christensen’s follow up to his acclaimed 17 Miracles, is an even better film than that one, for reasons I enumerated in my review. Released this week on Bluray and DVD, Rescue tells the story of true-life pioneer hero Ephraim Hanks (Darin Southam, The Last Mans on Earth), a man who developed a tremendous spiritual gift of healing through faith and obedience. Hanks responded without hesitation to Brigham Young’s call to save starving and dying members of the Willie & Martin Handcart companies.

Katherine Nelson (Emma Smith: My Story) and James Gaisford (The Letter Writer) contribute profoundly touching supporting performances as an English mother and her son making the journey across the plains, facing bitter cold, frostbite, starvation, and death on all sides. Mia Selway gets many of the best lines as Gaisford’s feisty love interest. The script draws …

Lehi did say.…

SALT LAKE CITY – More than 100,000 Church members, friends and invited guests are expected to attend the 183^rd Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions more will watch or listen to conference via television, radio, satellite and Internet broadcasts. Five sessions will be held Saturday and Sunday, 5 – 6 October 2013, in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.

Tickets are required to enter the Conference Center, where attendees will need to pass through a security check. Cameras, recording devices, weapons, food, backpacks, packages and large bags will not be allowed. A stand-by line for those without tickets will begin at the north gate of Temple Square.

Overflow seating will be available in the Tabernacle, the North Visitors’ Center on Temple Square and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for all sessions. Overflow seating will also be available in the Conference Center …

The Church History Library presents Treasures of the Collection, an open house featuring presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This event will showcase various items from the lives of the church presidents and will run from September 26 to October 11, 2013.

Each president of the Church has left a legacy of faith. This exhibit will display documents, artifacts, information and photographs that provide glimpses into the lives and work of these men. Items from every Church president will be displayed including treasures ranging from their young lives to leading up to their presidency of the Church.

In addition to directing the daily affairs of the Church, these presidents have dealt with mob violence, colonizing the Mountain West, political and social issues, the finances of the Church, two world wars, missionary work, temple building and an expanding worldwide Church. Along with leading the Church, traveling the …

Are you sharing Emergency Preparation articles? Last month we talked about evacuation and this month there have been dozens of evacuations due to floods and fires. Do you know anyone who was evacuated? Were they prepared? Did they have things they regretted after evacuating? Share what you learn, you never know who may need it.

As floodwaters recede in Utah, Colorado and the Midwest, the Southeast watches anxiously for a new hurricane season. Now is a good time to be better informed about the huge task of clean up that follows the flooding of your home. Floods can and do happen everywhere from time-to-time, so nobody is immune to that risk. Floodwater is both dangerous and destructive after the initial threat has passed. Starting clean up immediately is the key to preserving health and saving property.

When homes flood, the water can wreak havoc on the structure of your home, …

“Dad, I would really like to go on the band trip to the amusement park this year,” my daughter informed me. I looked at our budget and it was squeezed so tight that I didn’t think we could get one more cent out of it. With the number of children we have, myself on a teaching salary, the concept of free education is a misnomer. If my daughter signed up for band it was only free if she didn’t play an instrument or go on any of the band trips. If my son played football it was only free as long as he didn’t need any pads or gear. If my daughter signed up for track it was only free if she wore her own shoes while everyone else wore cleats. And thus the list went on and on.

Every fall we would start out with hundreds of dollars in …

This article is adapted from Rescuing Wayward Children. Click here to learn more.

Because of their fallen nature, some children do not arrive at the testimony of Jesus Christ and His redeeming gospel easily. They may struggle with spiritual concepts and more readily adopt portions of the prevailing anti-Christ philosophy:

• To discount prophetic teachings and warnings as foolish, and to embrace vain traditions and false hopes that are enslaving
• To view religion as the effect of a frenzied, deranged, or unenlightened mind
• To embrace the idea that men, independently of God, succeed or fail according to individual management, prosper according to individual initiative and genius, and conquer according to individual strength

Our children might imagine that pursuing this philosophy is natural, and thus no crime against man or God.[i]

The Effects of the Fall

Whereas they were born pure and innocent, “whole . . . even from the …