“The bottom line: if you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family’s positive moments and your ability to bounce back from the difficult ones. That act alone may increase the odds that your family will thrive for many generations to come.”
-Bruce Feiler, New York Times, “The Stories That Bind Us“
- She Was a Gardener
When anyone speaks of my great-grandmother, one of the things that inevitably comes up is her garden. Grandma BoSanco was known for her gardening capabilities. No matter what it was—flowers or vegetables—she could grow anything. She spent hours in her garden everyday. It was always beautiful and free from weeds…. - The Christmas Horn that Would Not Play
I used to play the French horn. I was an “okay” player, but I was no soloist. One year, for Christmas, my mom (the choir director) received permission from our bishop to have me play the French horn during the ward Christmas program (I wish she had gotten my permission… - She Never Spoke of It
In October 1930, Patricia Jean Mumford “fell into a round tub filled with scalding hot water prepared by her mother to wash the kitchen floor at their home . . .” Her mother “had the kitchen blocked off with chairs, closing the kitchen off. Patricia crawled over chairs and fell… - IT Runs in My Veins
In August of 1993, early on a Sunday morning, I sat quietly with my parents in our living room after returning from an out-of-town trip. We had just grabbed the mail and I had in my hands a letter which contained my call and assignment to serve a two-year mission… - The Farm Was His Classroom
When I was about 7 or 8 years-old, my brother and I received a letter in the mail with a half a dozen or so hand drawn pictures of different adventures that were awaiting us on my new grandfather’s farm. After her divorce, my grandmother had remarried and we were… - God Will Help Us through the Tight Spots
I have been fascinated by the Columbia River for as long as I can remember. I awe at the sheer volume of water that it carries (it is the fourth largest river in the United States by volume discharged1). I daydream about living in one of its port towns. I… - Strasberry Pie
Growing up, my brother and I would spend summers on the farm with my grandparents. We would help grandma and grandpa with chores inside and outside—from moving sprinkler pipe and baling hay to making breakfast and baking treats; we stayed busy all day. One particular time, my grandma was excited… - The Day I Became a Great Cookie Baker
My grandma passed away this morning just a few months shy of her 97th birthday. She was a widow for almost 30 years. I’m glad she gets to be with my grandpa again, as well as two of her children, her parents and all of her 10 siblings who went… - “I Find Myself in a Great School”
In the three scriptural accounts of the creation (Genesis 1:26-28, Moses 2:26-28, Abraham 4:26-28), God creates man and woman in his own image and likeness. IM’AGE, noun [Latin imago.]1. A representation or similitude of any person or thing, formed of a material substance LI’KENESS, noun1. Resemblance in form; similitude. I think it is clear that…