Video Review: Iron Giant
by Karl Bowman and Jonathan Walker

He found out he had a soul.

Many years before the First Vision, the Lord was speaking to the Prophet Joseph’s Father.

Dreams and Visions
Often times the Lord communicates with His children through dreams and visions. Joseph of Nazareth, husband of Mary, was taught and warned in dreams, however, the Prophet Joseph changed all the references to ‘dreams’ of this Joseph to ‘visions.’ “Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a vision, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” (Compare Matthew 1:20 with JST Matthew 2:3) “Then Joseph, awaking out of his vision, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him…” (Compare Matthew 1:24 with JST Matthew 2:7) “And when they [the wise men]

An excerpt from A Voice of Warning

Parley Parker Pratt

Editor’s Note: Parley Parker Pratt (1807-1857) was prolific in writing, preaching, traveling, and exhorting the Saints to faithfulness to truth. He served in the Quorum of the Twelve for twenty-two years, and spent over ninety percent of his time in the Church on missions. He wrote more than fifty hymns and hundreds of unpublished poems. His understanding of the Gospel plan seemed unbounded. With the coming Church curriculum year (2000) being a study of the Book of Mormon, Meridian Magazine offers the following small excerpt from A Voice of Warning dated 1837, to be helpful in beginning anew your studies and thoughts on the Book of Mormon. Other classic talks and writings concerning the Book of Mormon will be given to you in weeks to follow.

Poetic Introduction
Ye gloomy scenes, far

Joseph F. Smith: The Legacy of a Name
by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel

Joseph F. Smith inherited not only his uncle’s name, but his legacy of having his name known for “good and evil.”

Joseph F. Smith, the sixth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was born into the caldron of intense persecution on 13 November 1838 at Far West, Missouri. Named after his uncle (Joseph Smith the Prophet) and after his mother (Mary Fielding Smith), Joseph Fielding Smith was known as Joseph F. Smith during his lifetime.

Morality Beyond the Excuses
by Marianne M. Jennings

The enemies to morality in the culture war somehow infiltrated my home.

My son Sam’s enthusiasm often carries him away in his classroom into the gray mass of annoying behavior. During second grade, his teacher used a system of putting the children’s names on the board as a disciplinary process. Name on the board was the warning, a check was a loss of recess, and three checks warranted a visit to the principal. We instituted a system at home to accompany the chalk board judicial system: get your name on the board and you can’t play that day. If you get your name on the board and don’t tell us, you can’t play for two days. Sam made remarkable progress in second grade with the board reporting behavioral modification system.

When the third grade began, I asked Sam each day after school

For the New Year: Renewal, not Resolutions
by   H. Wallace Goddard

It’s not about fixing ourselves, but being renewed by Him.

It is the time of year when our accumulated failures commonly move us to lofty resolutions. We plan to fellowship our neighbors, consume less than 30% of our calories in fats, budget more carefully . . . the opportunities for improvement are endless. We yearn for change and renewal.

But there is a danger in this very sensible process of making resolutions. If we are not careful, we map out our lives and form a resolve that makes us less available to God. What right do we have to take charge of our lives if we have previously given ourselves to Him?

Jesus warns us against covetousness. He provided the example of the wealthy man who tore down his barns so that he could build more spacious ones. It