I remember hearing an instructor tell a group that I was a part of that if you tell yourself something often enough, sooner or later you will believe it whether it be true or not. In his book, The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale, described how positive thinking is a mental and emotional attitude…
On The Wonders Of The World
When I was young and I first heard or read about the seven wonders of the world, including the Grand Canyon, I knew I had to see it one day. When we were a young family, it wasn’t very far from where we lived at the time. So one summer we decided that we were…
On Windows Of My Soul
Though I did not feel that the lyrics to ‘Windows of My Soul,’ by Quinton Mills, were particularly inspiring, the idea of there being windows of or to our soul has been tickling my thoughts. There are many windows and they play an important part in our lives. For example, I was sitting relaxed in…
On Human Dignity
People and nations that have been enlightened by scriptures and the teachings of the Savior of mankind, have a different perspective in regards to human dignity, than do many without that orientation. Even though, as a believer myself, my ire can still be raised when I see cruelty or ‘mean.’ Generally compassion and tenderness is…
On The Divine
I remember as a young teenager saying the famous quote, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” However true or untrue that statement may be, we do not hesitate in saying it. I remember reading a story about the gods of a far eastern religion, They were trying to decide what to do with…
On Taking The Best
Most people, most of the time, follow the rules and behave civilly, primarily because of religion or at least the precepts taught by the various religions that have pervaded most all societies historically. Religion and moral teachings are critical to the working of any society. Even if that religion is non-Christian. Most citizens follow rules…
On Creating Oneself
Youth emerge from their infancy pretty much instinctively. With encouragement from parents and other siblings we learn to walk and talk and begin to ‘become,’ with very little or no conscious thought to the process. Yes, we express pride with a gleeful smile or laugh when we can first run and stay upright but it…
On Looking Back Too Long
I have known people who dwell too much on the past, on the way things were. When their concentration should be on now and what is changing and how best to use the new technology to their advantage. Why, because looking back can cause us to trip over things in front. There are those who…
On Elijah
What is the heart of the FamilySearch.org Family Tree program? For all our talk about compiling histories and making memories, the real heart of the Family Tree is the Spirit of Elijah, President Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke of this back in General Conference in October of 1994, when…
On Bearing Arms
I grew up in Minnesota during the depression years and hunting for food was a common thing to do. Dad had a rifle that he used to hunt rabbits with and a shotgun that he hunted pheasants and geese with. We always had some wild meat every week that dad had hunted. The meat my…