I think I first heard this song on a Christian radio station as I was driving one day. Scars in Heaven by Casting Crowns is a beautiful and comforting song for anyone who has lost a loved one.

It has become a tradition in my family to watch the 1994 version of Miracle on 34th Street around Thanksgiving. It’s one of the things we do to kick off the Christmas season. We watched it this evening.

Listening to one of my music playlists on random, I was reminded of the existence of a beautiful piece of music performed by the supremely talented Norwegian soprano Sissel.

A couple weeks ago I was perusing the #christian tag on Bandcamp and the first result that came up was an album called Future Foreverby Jonathan Ogden. I'd never heard of him or this album, but I gave the track One Day a listen and was hooked.

Today I had the opportunity to participate in a good Elders Quorum lesson and discussion about a talk by Elder D. Todd Christofferson called Our Relationship With God.

I was recently watching the film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and was struck by this observation:

Galadriel: Why the halfling? Gandalf: I don't know. Saruman believes that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found it is the small things – everyday deeds of ordinary folk – that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.

A few days ago I was listening to the General Conference talk by Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt who spoke about the many names of Jesus Christ.

This is a transcript of an excerpt from a Facebook Live Event for Youth and Single Adults in the Africa South Area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, held on November 16th, 2021. The full video of the event can be viewed here or here.

Whatever identities we may have – national, political, cultural, etc. – there is one that precedes and supersedes them all: child of God. This is our First Identity.

In a March 2020 BYU devotional address, President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

[Y]ou are and have always been a son or daughter of God with spiritual roots in eternity. First and foremost, you are and always will be a spirit child of God. Those aren’t just words from a beautiful Primary song. They are words of truth. They are imbued with eternal significance for all of us.

The foundational fact of heavenly parentage is not just my truth or your truth. It is eternal truth. It is written in big, bold, capital letters. Understanding this truth—really understanding it and embracing it—is life changing. It gives you an extraordinary identity that no one can ever take away from you. But more than that, it should give you an enormous feeling of value and a sense of your infinite worth. Finally, it provides you a divine, noble, and worthy purpose in life.