Today's Miracle Monday is a testimony of miraculous healing sent to us by Sister Dianne Maddox.

A few months ago, I found a lump on my back. I ignored it for a while, hoping it was nothing serious and would just go away. I was speaking to a sister who is a registered nurse, and the subject of my lump randomly came up.

She strongly encouraged me to see my doctor, which I did. The doctor said that it was a cyst that needed to be removed since this type of cyst could cause very serious issues. She referred me to a surgeon whom I saw later that week.

Today, we're continuing our Good Word theme of music and song. Today's scripture describes how singing to God brings joy to the soul.

Have you ever experienced the opposite, though? You've listened to (worldly) music that brings you down, feeds your fears, ignites your lust, plays up cynicism, and puts you in a negative frame of mind?

This verse from Psalms isn't talking about just any kind of music. You can't just turn on the radio and rejoice. (Reality is often the reverse.)

Many years ago, the university where I work unveiled a master plan for the physical development of our campus. With proper planning and financing, renovations and changes have been methodically rolled out in order to define the fingerprint of our urban campus, improve the student academic and residential experience, and meet the ongoing needs of our workforce. Amidst all the change, my department has remained located in a very old building with the understanding that there would be a move at some future date.

Fast forward to May 2019, well past the “future date” we had hoped for. My coworkers and I were suddenly evacuated from our rapidly aging building because of unexpected issues. Grabbing our personal belongings, we quickly vacated the premises and were temporarily relocated until resolution could be made.

In 3 Nephi 6, with the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ drawing nearer, efforts intensify to reach out to the sinful people of the Nephite community:

"There began to be men inspired from heaven and sent forth … preaching and testifying boldly of the sins and iniquities of the people, and testifying unto them concerning the redemption which the Lord would make for his people." (3 Nephi 6:20)

Not surprisingly, the sinful people do not receive this message well, becoming "exceeding angry because of those who testified of these things" (verse 21). It turns out that some number of these people are associated with the legal profession — lawyers and judges — and they actually use their positions to arrest many of those who are preaching God's message and then arrange for them to illegally be put to death.

For many of you that know me well, much of what I will say will ring true with you, and you may even recognize yourself in this writing. I pray that this writing starts us all on roads to forgiveness and unity within our branches and within the Body of Christ.

Recently, I confess, I have been offended within the Body of Christ by individuals. In their defense, many may not even know they offended me. This has caused great pain in my family and within my soul. This has caused me to refrain from the cleansing power of taking sacrament.

Since I came to The Church (officially), I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel to many of the branches and have made tremendous friendships and have some mentors who love me enough to gently — or not always so gently — steer me back in the right direction.

Today's Miracle Monday is a touching story of family and heritage submitted by Sister KarenJo Pandone.

I just finished reading a Gospel Blog article that I related to very personally. I was reminded of when the Lord explained to me who I was in this world.

I was adopted as a 6-week-old infant and became the daughter of two loving parents who couldn’t have children. Brother Joe and Sister Rose Milantoni raised me in a loving home where I never wanted for anything. I knew from the moment I could understand that I was adopted. They always associated it with a positive twist: “They CHOSE me,” and “God GAVE me to them,” and “I was their ADOPTED sweetheart,” all of which made me feel very special — so much so that I would go up to perfect strangers and proudly announce, “I’m adopted!”

Today, we're kicking off a new theme for Good Word Friday. For the rest of August, we'll be focusing on scriptures that relate to music and song.

Music is one of God's great gifts to humankind, don't you agree?

For one, music brings so much pleasure, whether you're singing, playing, or listening — or all three simultaneously.

And music provides a way to praise God in a way that we can't achieve with words alone. Music conveys feeling and expression that's tough to capture even in poetry.

In adopting a new routine of exercise, which involves walking to and from a nearby park, I have become acquainted with the hummingbird pictured here in this article. Actually, I don’t know if it is the same hummingbird I see every morning, but I do see at least one hummingbird and sometimes two flying in and out of one particular tree.

Since moving to Arizona, I have seen many hummingbirds and have grown very fond of them. I am enamored with how small but fast they are. Obviously, the certain tree where I spot them has a food source that they enjoy, which is most likely nectar.

Immediately, I am reminded of Matthew 6:26: “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”

In 3 Nephi 5, the narrative continues with the imprisonment of the defeated Gadianton robbers. In a merciful move, the Nephites preach the word of God to the prisoners — all who repent of their crimes and enter into a covenant to serve God are freed and become part of the society; those who refuse to repent are punished for their crimes.

After sharing the above story with us, the editor of the narrative notes that so many things happened during the first 25 years after the birth of Jesus Christ that not even one percent of them can be recorded in this book. He then introduces himself to us:

"Behold, I am called Mormon…I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life" (3 Nephi 5:12-13)

“Jesus, take the wheel
Take it from my hands
'Cause I can't do this on my own
I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
And save me from this road I'm on
Jesus, take the wheel”
Carrie Underwood

I know my last few blog posts probably might make you think that I am not handling life as a mom well. And some days that certainly feels the case. When my daughter was 5 months old, after much prayer, I decided to expand my personal training business by buying a training studio. I am loving it and am living my dream, but some days, it’s a lot.

And then you throw in a teething, needy 1-year-old into the mix, and my mental and physical exhaustion is more than I feel that I can handle.

Today, we're continuing Sister Alena's series on women of the Bible in lieu of our regularly scheduled Miracle Monday, which we will resume in August.

Queen Esther has always been a favorite of mine, an easy example of a courageous woman who stood up for what she believed in — a woman who did all of this and got a happy ending, no less.

A lot could be said of Esther, a lot of people have talked about how brave she was or how cunning or trusting. But I want to highlight something I think gets overlooked sometimes, and that is her sense of self.

Esther was not only true to her people, but to herself.

There’s a key difference.

Being true to her people meant that she saved them; she made a stand for them.

But the way she did it? That was her own personality; that was her person coming through for God’s plan. 

Today, we wrap up our series of Good Words on free will. This scripture from Helaman tells us that God has given us "a knowledge" and He's made us "free." What do these two things have to do with one another?

Well, at this point in The Book of Mormon, Samuel has shared all of the predictions that God gave him regarding Christ's birth and death.

Samuel says the reason why God wants the people to know these predictions is "to the intent that there should be no cause for unbelief among the children of men" (verse 28) and also so that God's righteous judgment falls upon the people — those who believe are saved and those who don't aren't. They have all the information they need to make a decision in faith.

This weekend, I helped out at one of my husband's race events. There were men and women there from a non-profit organization whose mission is to honor, empower, and motivate our nation's wounded military and law-enforcement veterans through physical, mental, and emotional rehabilitation. It touched my heart when I saw them all because they were not only going to participate in our race, but they would also be doing other extensive training there, too.

Some had lost limbs while in combat overseas. Some were injured while in the police force. One man was partially blind in one eye from a bomb explosion while serving a deployment. And some had injuries that we couldn’t "see."

Some years ago, I went to see a stage play that was later made into a movie. It was a silly story about a nerdy florist who has a Venus flytrap in his shop that eats people. The more it eats, the bigger it gets. It also develops a voice and starts demanding that the florist bring more victims, forcing the florist to take appropriate action. The most memorable part of the show is hearing the plant shouting, “Feed me! FEED ME!!”

In 3 Nephi 4, the Gadianton robbers come into the Nephite land to do battle. The Nephites have followed the plan that God revealed in the previous chapter, so they have gathered together in one location with all of their armies and all of their supplies. When the robbers arrive, they are horrified to find that most of the Nephite lands are completely deserted, including all flocks and herds and anything that could have been used for food.

A few years ago, my mom gave me a small plaque that has three words on it: Prayer Changes Things. Easy to read; easy to comprehend ... but was it? I’m beginning to understand the many deep meanings of what “Prayer Changes Things” entails.

First, I marvel at the great power of a prayer; through prayer, God can change our hearts in ways we never imagined. It can affect someone halfway across the world. It can defy medical science by healings of the body or restoring of the mind. God can also choose not to, because He knows better, and that’s OK as well.

Prayer can also be wonderfully intrusive. I can offer to pray for you, and whether you want me to or not, I can still proceed to pray for as long as I want. It’s my prayer; it’s my conversation with God. Here are two dramatic examples: