ACCORDING TO ZAC

"You know everyone, don't you?" he said to me as we walked down the hall towards the clerk's office. I had just high fived someone that we passed walking the other way. I hadn't even thought twice about the gesture, it just felt normal. And yeah, I know plenty of people in my ward. I've been here for two-and-a-half years now, which I would hope is long enough to make some connections. But as I thought about his question over the course of the day, what I really think this new friend of mine was saying was this: "You really have a family here, don't you? You are loved here, aren't you?" And the more I thought about it, the more overwhelmed I was at the truth of what he was getting at. My life in Mesa has had some challenges, of course. We've all got them. But my time here has also been everything I never knew I needed, all thanks to the amazing people that I've been able to rub shoulders with. And when I really stop to think abo...

I’ve been reading a Mormon site called By Common Consent . It’s generally a place for honest introspection and spiritual questioning without disparaging anyone on either side of the theological issues facing Mormonism. I just read one article about the legacy of President Thomas S. Monson, who passed away in January. The author suggested that a lot of the big controversies the Church was involved in over the last several years might not have really been spearheaded by President Monson, and that he’s getting a bad rap for being the figurehead of the modern Church at the time that these situations were unfolding. Perusing the comments of articles such as these can prove dangerous. People say terrible things about our beliefs and about each other, depending on the site you might be looking at. The last thing I want is some online troll causing me to question my faith. I can do that all on my own without a stranger’s help. In a shocking twist, however, I was uplifted by one ...