It was a busy day in the hospital. A pounding headache made it difficult to allow my mind to rest as I swiftly went to patient to patient  But, in Father's sweetest mercy, I had a moment to sit down for a few minutes in the break room. By His divine design, a program started on television. The newscast asked several different men and women this one, simple question: 

"If you could change one thing about your body, what would you change?"

(Click HERE if you would like to watch the video - It's really good!) 

The adults quickly responded with things they did not like about their bodies, expressing their dissatisfaction and personal anguish.

Then, the newscast asked the same question to sweet little boys and girls. The difference was humbling.

These innocent children thought and thought, faces scrunched, chins scratched. After pondering a while - they excitedly wished for mermaid tails, glow-in-the-dark eyes, and flying powers. One girl even proclaimed with a smile: "I like my body, actually!" How stark a comparison! No wonder the Savior asks us to "become as little children" (Mosiah 3:18). 

We have been blessed with beautiful bodies - with which we can progress to the eternities. We ought not let satan override our perception with ingratitude. Let us "rejoice and lift up our heads forever, because of the blessings which the Lord God" has given us - "for in our bodies we shall see god" (2 Nephi 9:3-4).

I've struggled, and still struggle, with loving my body - as many men and women do. I have been overcome with satan's self-defeating cloud of darkness - obscuring my vision of who I am and how divine a role my body plays in Father's plan. 

But I thank God for allowing His light to break through. He helps me see clearly if I look to Him. 

Pornography not only plagues the minds of men with lust and addiction, but it corrupts the vision of women, causing them to compare themselves and fear they are not beautiful nor adequate. 

We must let Jesus cleanse our vision and change our perspective. It's not enough to free our minds from such satanic and evil thoughts, but we must fill them with good and truth from Father, with His light and His love. 

One beautiful summer afternoon, I went to the temple. Upon entering the house of the Lord, my mind was caught up in thought. I had been battling the adversary in the way I view my body. I remember thinking that I had not received a compliment of being beautiful for quite some time. It was not a compliment of looks that I desired, but a compliment of who I am through Christ's atonement. To me, compliments of "you ARE beautiful" resonate much more deeply than that of "you LOOK beautiful."

I have found that Satan has tried to cause me to dwell on the imperfections of my body. The Spirit has helped me see that the adversary has lulled me into the habit of finding physical fault every time I look in the mirror. He has taught me that the adversary desires that I  live contrary to Elder Nelson's counsel, when he said, "Each time you look in the mirror, see your body as your temple." (Decisions for Eternity)

But as I prayed to see myself through spiritually renewed eyes, Father has taught me that I am beautiful when the Spirit is with me. I am beautiful because the Savior makes me beautiful. When He is with me, I radiate, I beam. I am most beautiful when I think of others and not myself, when I think and act as Christ does. It is through His name, the great I Am, that I Am beautiful. Through Him, I am beautiful.

Furthermore, it is not our looks that make us beautiful, but who we are. If we are becoming Christlike, we shine. If we are choosing to let His grace attend us and transform us in all that we do, we ARE beautiful. Despite what the world says, beauty runs far deeper than looks. It is who we are. I am beautiful by and through the great Jehovah, the great I Am.

I dressed myself in the temple garment and went to the chapel to wait for the next endowment session. By divine design, a beautiful woman and mother, with the most loving smile watched me as I walked past. After her friends arrived, they went to the row behind me to sit. As she passed me, she held my hand and said, "YOU are the most beautiful girl!" 

I felt Jesus encircle me about. I knew that it was He who had inspired her to not only notice me, but to approach me with those very words. It wasn't a compliment of my looks, but of me, of who I am through the name and grace of our Savior. I wept in gratitude and love for my Heavenly Father and Lord.

"Inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am--not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual." (D&C 67:10)

Oh how perfectly do these words chasten my soul! I thank Heavenly Father for sending me to this verse and for sending that sweet sister to be an answer to my unuttered prayer.

Satan seeks to cloud our vision with jealousies and fears. But through the atoning grace of our beloved Savior, we can strip ourselves from these lies and be filled with gratitude & love. Humbly, we can recognize our own nothingness and our full dependence on Him. He made our bodies and He makes me beautiful. As we do so, the veil will be rent and we will see ourselves for who we truly are, children of the Most High God. 

Glory to God!

Thanks to the micromanaging hand of God, I was taught the powerful formula of thought choice (THOUGHTS -> FEELINGS -> ACTION) before my mission by my dear sister and friend Valerie Dimick. It resonated so deeply within my soul that it changed me forever. She taught me how to discern between good and evil, how to allow Jesus to free me from the darkness of Satan's grasp, and how to see myself as Father in Heaven sees me - through  the gift of repentance and study of God's word (given by ancient and living prophets). The gospel of Jesus was so intertwined in her lessons, I repented and changed forever. I was transformed. I thank Heavenly Father with all the fervor of my heart for such a privilege to be taught from on High. 

In my psychiatric nursing class, we discussed the very formula Valerie shared with me those few short years ago. But the difference was vast in comparison. No mention of God, of Jesus Christ, or of the conspiring devil from whence lies stem. No mention of the Atonement and the power of the Savior to change our views of ourselves, the world, and God. No spiritual witness was born to my soul. Information was given and information was received. A mortal man's name was referenced and accredited for such a formula, but not God. I hungered for the testimony of Jesus Christ - for that is what carries such principles to the soul. 


A similar sense of incompleteness was felt while working on the psychiatric unit of the hospital. To the patients ill with mental disease, I've struggled to keep contained the name of Jesus Christ. Above all other remedy, they need the Savior, His atoning sacrifice and perfect compassion. They need His companionship and support in this their suffering and ailment. The medicines are divine and given by God. Likewise, the principles taught in therapy are good and inspired by Heaven. But had they been taught and administered by the power of His name and His doctrine, its effect would be profound and eternal. But rather, no mention was made of the God who is so eager to help. No mention of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His everlasting love.

I experienced the opposite while serving a mission. I had the privilege of teaching several brothers and sisters laden with mental illness: Schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder. The lessons were sweet as the Spirit bore witness of the Savior. They were therapeutic in nature, and we offered simple coping skills as do the therapists and nurses in the hospitals. But our lessons purged the soul and brought heaven into our hearts, for we taught the gospel of God's only Begotten Son. His name, we praised.


The Lord said to Joseph Smith, "Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my words" (D&C 6:2).

President Boyd K Packer's words also ring clear when he said, “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. … That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel” (“Little Children,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 17).



The experiences roll on: I recently attended a leadership conference with a friend. My spirit was left wanting. The name of Christ wasn't mentioned once in the two hours of lecture. My soul hungered for the penetrating words received in the course I (and my fellow missionary servants) attended while on the mission. The course was called Launching Leaders and it was taught by a devoted missionary couple - who had worked closely with a world renowned leader, Steven Covey. How different an experience!! On the one hand - secular, and the other - divine. Though the same principles were taught, the power of the Holy Ghost filled our hearts when Elder Ritchie bore witness of Christ the Lord. Through the grace and mercy of the Savior, Ritchie taught, we can rise up and become great leaders. In contrast, the leadership conference shied away from bearing witness of Christ. Surely, it had the "form of godliness, but.. denied the power thereof." (Joseph Smith History 1:19).

If we, as a people, truly gave glory to God in all things, how would the world change? How would the hearts and minds of mankind change?

When Jesus reigns on earth again, life, science, and everything we do will take on a new focus. Christ's name will be glorified in all things! I can only imagine what celestial school or the education we receive in the spirit world will be like. Our learning will be enhanced ten-fold when it is intwined with His glorious gospel, when the teachers teach and the hearers hear by the power of the Holy Spirit, when the glory of God is made manifest in all of His creations.
My prayer is to make such a heaven on earth in my daily interactions with my fellowman. For His grace and strength, I plead for.  


Father in Heaven spoke to me through the power of the Holy Ghost during these beautiful sessions of General Conference. How great have been His promptings and loving commands.

"Between 3 Nephi chapter 11 and 3 Nephi chapter 28, the Savior used the title Father at least 150 times, making it very clear to the Nephites that He was there representing His Father.In every way possible, He was His Father’s perfect disciple. He was so perfect in representing His Father that to know the Savior was also to know the Father. To see the Son was to see the Father (see John 14:9). To hear the Son was to hear the Father (see John 5:36). He had, in essence, become indistinguishable from His Father. His Father and He were one (see John 17:21–22). He flawlessly knew which way He faced." - Elder Robbins, Which Way Do You Face?

No greater example do we have than the Savior Himself. Do we talk of and praise our Father in Heaven as often as we should? Let us follow Christ’s example and talk of Him often and regularly! We ought to let Him be the center of every conversation, we ought to remember the atoning sacrifice of His Son, always.

Synergy is far more powerful than the efforts of one man alone. As Elder Wong emphasized in the story of Christ healing a man with palsy lowered from the roof, the scriptures read: "When Jesus saw THEIR faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Mark 2:5.