In my deep study of both Catholicism and Mormonism over the past year or so, one question that seems to keep coming up is: how can I know when I have been forgiven of sins?

I have gone to Mass several times with my mother and step-father. But yesterday I attended my first Catholic Mass by myself. Here are my thoughts and observations.

Today I read a heartbreaking article about a Catholic nun who was arrested by ICE agents on Sunday while she walked to Mass in her habit in South Texas.

I wish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had sacred indoor spaces where anyone could go to contemplate, pray, or just sit in peaceful silence.

If your Lenten resolve has failed, know that you are not alone. This past week I have slipped back into pre-Lent habits and not done as much as I have been in the way of personal prayer, contemplation, and scripture study. This is mostly why I have not been keeping up with my Lent posts, but it also has to do with me returning to Twitch and streaming and engaging with other streamers and viewers.

When we were children, we thought we had it all figured out. Life was about good vs evil. We wanted to be the “good guys” and to triumph over the “bad guys.” So all we had to do was learn the difference between the two, choose the good, and we'd be all set, right? But as we grow up and work our way through adulthood, we come to realize that it's not that simple.

Earlier this Lenten season, I expressed some thoughts and questions I had about the influence of the Holy Spirit. Does He communicate with us through feelings? Thoughts? Reason? I think it's all of the above. Chapter 1 of the book “The Crucible of Doubt: Reflections on the Quest for Faith” by Terryl Givens and Fiona Givens helped me understand this.

Sundays are often so busy for me that by the end of the day I'm ready to crash (hence my lack of a post yesterday). But the past few Sundays, instead of feeling overwhelmed as I have every Sunday for the past five months, I've felt gratitude and peace. So what changed? Mostly my perspective.

Today I read a blog post entitled ”'Blessed are the Warriors' Isn’t a Thing” and I can't stop thinking about it.

One of the things we have tried to do as a bishopric is visit people in their homes. We've set aside Wednesday evenings as the time to do this. Sometimes schedules don't line up or we aren't able to arrange to visit with anyone (we don't want to show up unannounced), but when it happens, it's always a wonderful experience.