whom we choose to trust

Whom we choose to trust is one of life’s important decisions. King Benjamin instructed his people, “Believe in God; believe that he is … ; believe that he has all wisdom … ; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.”

Fortunately, we have the scriptures and guidance from living prophets to help us understand God’s truth. If clarification beyond what we have is needed, God provides it through His prophets. And He will respond to our sincere prayers through the Holy Ghost as we seek to understand truths we do not yet fully appreciate.

Elder Neil L. Andersen once taught that we should not be surprised “if at times [our] personal views are not initially in harmony with the teachings of the Lord’s prophet. These are moments of learning,” he said, “of humility, when we go to our knees in prayer. We walk forward in faith, trusting in God, knowing that with time we will receive more spiritual clarity from our Heavenly Father.”

At all times, it is helpful to remember Alma’s teaching that God gives His word according to the attention and effort we devote to it. If we heed God’s word, we will receive more; if we ignore His counsel, we will receive less and less until we have none. This loss of knowledge does not mean that the truth was wrong; rather, it shows that we have lost the capacity to understand it.

Karl D. Hirst

"God’s Favourite", General Conference October 2024

i’m not commanded to do anything but to love

Robert Krulwich: Here is for you the hardest thing. I was just trying to think about how difficult this must be. You have been… Your life has been saved by her. She is, in effect, your savior. And yet your belief is that unless she accepts Jesus, that in some sense she is outside of grace and you know, I don’t know what you believe about hell and heaven, but that she might be punished. So what do you do about this weird combination. She’s insisting nope, not for me and you’re insisting oh no, this is the way it is and oh my gosh… Is it hard for you?

Jim Munroe: No, not at all.

RK: Okay

JM: And I’ll tell you why because it’s not my place to do that. I am very sorry to everyone who listens to this who ever feels like they got judged by a Christian because it’s never their place to do that. And this is where I think most of the times and everybody listening to this podcast is placed as kind of positioned or pigeonholed Christians and what they don’t understand is that I’m not commanded to do anything but to love and to start conversations, right? I’m not the one. I’m not the one who was sent into the world to judge, alright? But what I… so… putting it like that - i know where you want to go with this…

RK: No, this is I’m asking an honest question. You have to love the judge that may not love the woman who saved your life. That’s hard, I think.

JM: Yeah but at the same time it’s… That’s not what I’m.. that’s not my place.

Soren Wheeler: I have to say I think that we were sort of expecting that maybe sharper edge to the differences between JIm and Jennell. But the truth is, in the room that night Jim and Jennells conversation and thus their story start to feel like some kind of allegory, not for any particular religion, or moral code, but for a way of how to move through the world and hold your differences but still be one.

RK: Let me just finish this way. Do you have a sense between the two of you? Because obviously you stay very very good friends. I mean that’s obvious. Is there some...  Something that either of you can say that explains why you can dignifyingly but emphatically disagree and still stay in such extraordinarily close touch?

Jennell Jenney: I think the idea of humility and, as Jim might even say grace, is absolutely essential, no matter your tenets of belief. And that’s really what’s going to get you through conflict so yeah…

RK: And is it because you’re in this big ocean of the world and the two of you are just little little dots in there and so whatever you think it’s still you’re in a big ocean and there you are together? Is that the…

JJ: I think maybe yeah.

JM: Yeah. And…

RK: Do you have her bigness thing? Do you feel small?

JM: Do I feel small?

RK: Yeah

JM: I feel tiny. Humility at its root word it comes… The root is humos. Which means dirt. So when you become humble you become dirt.

RK: That’s better than the sea analogy, I think…

JM: I could keep going. You know, what god does with dirt is he creates things, but I won’t go there. But we become dirt, and I think where we get hung up is that we want to be right. And that hasn’t been brought into this yet. And right and wrong are… The words right and wrong I think in relationship are deadly words. I think saying I’m right, you’re wrong is not good for relationships. I think it’s…

RK: And have you ever said you’re right or you’re wrong to her?

JM: No.

JJ: I haven’t said it to him either, I don’t think.

JM: Never

RK: Well that’s a nice place to land.

JM: I think so.

"Match Made in Marrow," Radiolab. November 9, 2017. 

This piece was reported by Latif Nasser.  It was produced by Annie McEwen, with help from Bethel Habte and Alex Overington.

they’d go on for as long as it took

The feeling in the Zamperini home was the same as in the Phillipses’. When the initial shock from the death notice faded, all of the Zamperinis realized that it changed nothing. The notice had been generated as a bureaucratic matter of course, a designation made for all missing servicemen after thirteen months had passed. Louie’s official death date was listed as May 28, 1944, a year and a day after his plane had vanished. The notice was just a piece of paper. “None of us believed it. None of us,” Sylvia would say. “Never once. Not underneath, even.” 

Inside themselves, the Zamperinis still felt that persistent little echo of Louie, the sense that he was still in the world somewhere. Until it was gone, they would go on believing that he was alive. 

During family dinners, Pete and his father began drawing up plans to hunt for Louie. When the war was over, they’d rent a boat and sail from island to island until they found him. They’d go on for as long as it took.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. Random House. 2010. 496 pages.

public prayer, properly done

Public prayer, properly done, is an expression of public humility, and evidence of admission of a need or an insufficiency within the collective group assembled, and expression of reliance upon a greater power, and acknowledgment that God does in fact exist. Such a communication is an expression of belief (plus, we hope, the accompanying righteous action) and constitutes the public utterance of the combined faith of the audience.




Hartman Rector, Jr., “Our Prayers in Public,” Prayer. Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, UT. 1978. P.69

unbelievers asking for signs

Some unbelievers are asking for signs. They are here promised signs, but not unto salvation. The Prophet Joseph relates an incident which may be of interest in this connection. He was holding a meeting in Philadelphia on one occasion, when a man asked for a sign. The Prophet writes: “After the sermon he again asked for a sign. I told the congregation the man was an adulterer; that a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after signs; and that the Lord had said to me in a Revelation, that any man who wanted a sign was an adulterous person. ‘It is true,’ cried one…. And the man afterwards confessed” (History of the Church, Vol. V., P.268).


Doctrine and Covenants Commentary by Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl. Deseret Book. 1965. p.367

help thou mine unbelief

Lord, I believe. Help Thou mine unbelief.


Daniel Webster in One Nation Under God: The History of Prayer in America by James P. Moore, Jr. Doubleday, 2005. p.161

Chiseled on his tombstone.

The thing always happens that you really believe in. And the belief in a thing makes it happen. And I think nothing will happen until you thoroughly and deeply believe in it.


Frank Lloyd Wright (1869-1959, American Architect)

Fathers have been leaving memorials for their children, and children have been raising them to their fathers, since time began. Here on Temple Square we have consciously surrounded ourselves with such memorials;the old Nauvoo bell, the Seagull Monument, statues of the Restoration, Thorvaldsen's Christus, to name just a few. These serve to unite generation with generation, preserving in a long, unbroken chain the important events of our common heritage. The passage of time and the growth of our institutions often tend to separate us not only from each other but also from our common purposes. Down through history we have been commanded to construct memorials, or hold Passover feasts, or convene general conferences to preserve the power of our united faith and to remember the commandments of God in achieving our eternal, unchanging goals.


Howard W. Hunter, "That We May Be One," Ensign, May 1976, 105

our kindness

Let us be true disciples of the Christ, observing the Golden Rule, doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us strengthen our own faith and that of our children while being gracious to those who are not of our faith. Love and Respect will overcome every element of animosity. Our kindness may be the most persuasive argument for that which we believe. 

Gordon B. Hinckley

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley. Chapter 20: Fellowship with Those Who Are Not of Our Faith. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2016.