Rich,

Greetings from 25 years into the future. Typically time capsules are letters to yourself with future predictions, stored for a specific amount of time (like 25 years), and then opened to see what came true or did not. In this case, we'll look back from the future to provide some support and guidance.

First things first. God has a plan for you. The best thing you can do is lean on Him for guidance and direction. There are going to be challenges that you must face over the next 25 years in high school, college, your career, and your marriage — yes, you do get married, but I won't give you any spoilers. Some of those challenges are going to be because life is life, while others, unfortunately, will be self-inflicted.

Dear Younger Self,

First, let me tell you your life has been blessed! God is never going to let you down, and He’s going to perform miracles for you that you didn’t even know were possible.

Let’s start with the basics:

In middle and high school, don’t worry about who is going to be your friend — you’re actually not going to want to hang out with some of those kids after you get baptized! — and don’t pretend to be less smart just because you think you need to “fit in.” Embrace the way you were made. Your freckles are actually cute; your nose isn’t too small; and you don’t need self-tanner — you actually need sunscreen, daily! (You’ll be at peace with your glow-in-the-dark light skin soon enough.) Also, God will lead you to your career — He knows best!

Dear Natalie,

It’s Future Natalie writing to say hello. Strange to receive a letter from yourself I’m sure, but hopefully also helpful and insightful in a way. So, here goes…

I’m writing to you as a new mom and almost 34-year-old. If you’re reading this, you’re probably curled up somewhere with a cozy cup of tea (newsflash: not much has changed on your beverage of choice), excited to receive a message (though handwritten would have been even better).

Hey little girl. It’s me. The future you. The 26-year-old you, to be exact (stop saying “ew,” I’m not THAT old). And I’m here to let you in on a few things. No, not like a lecture, relax. More like a cheat sheet—a few insider tips that’ll help you on the road ahead. Yes, you need it. Trust me.

Dear Gospel Blog Readers,

We have some exciting news for you. While playing around on social media, we discovered a digital time warp that allows us to send typewritten messages to ourselves back in time. So, Older Me can write a letter to Younger Me. Pretty neat, huh? We're publishing our letters here on the blog in hopes that you can also benefit from our hindsight, as we explain some of the things we wish we'd known or that we'd learned earlier in life.

We call this series of articles "Letter to My Younger Self," and you'll be seeing them sprinkled around the blog over the next three weeks.

Following is the first of these letters. Enjoy!

Today's Topic

Strength

Today's Scripture

Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

A Different Kind of Weather Forecast

On Wednesday, several souls came to Christ and requested baptism! We will have full details for you tomorrow, but we'd like to share one remarkable testimony with you right now.

Early Wednesday morning, around 4 a.m., some campers — the lighter sleepers, maybe —awoke to loud peals of thunder and several cracks of lightning. This wasn't the soft thunder you hear on those "relaxing atmosphere" CDs. This was enough to wake me, Sister Michelle, the writer, from sleep. Now, if you've been paying attention to the weather report the last few days, it's been super hot with no rain. There's been some cloud cover, but summer monsoons aren't really a thing in this part of California.

Today's Topic

Peace

Today's Scripture

Philippians 4:7: And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Memorable Quotes

"We're in the Peace Family."

In his chapel address, Brother Jerry Valenti explained that we're in the Peace Family. The head of the family is God and His Son Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. If we are peacemakers, as God teaches us to be, then we will be called the children of God, as it says in the Beattitudes (Matt. 5:9). When we're angry with our brothers or sisters and the other people in our lives — or even when we get angry due to trivial matters and inconveniences — that robs our peace. Let's not open our hearts to anger but instead focus wholly on God and experience the peace He wants for us.

Today's article comes to you from GMBA Camp at the University of Redlands, California. The theme for the week is "Peace, Joy, and Strength in Righteousness."

The whole week is geared toward unpacking the overall theme, but each day has a specific focus within the theme. The seminars and speakers all tie things back to that day's topic.

We're going to give you a snapshot of what each day held for the campers, from the daily topic to inspirational quotes from the speakers to some fun facts and photos. We hope this helps you feel like you're here experiecing it with us to some degree!

Today's article is another installment in Brother P.'s column, "Lessons From the Nursing Home."

So, this very friendly, well-meaning but clueless resident of the nursing home where I work comes into our office saying that she felt bad for the man who did not go to the dining room for meals with all the other residents — the man is fed via a tube placed directly into his stomach.

I love to hike. The definition of hiking, according to dictionary.com, means "to walk or march a great distance, especially through rural areas, for pleasure, exercise, military training, or the like."

While visiting with family last weekend, a cousin told me I was crazy for enjoying hiking. She asked me what was the point of hiking since you don't actually go anywhere. A few days after that conversation, I went on a hike by myself. This hike didn't take me to the top of a mountain. Rather, it was an 8-mile loop through a variety of terrain, going down, then back up, then down, and ending with an incline. Because it's still early in the summer, everything is lush and green here, which will not last long. There were wildflowers starting to bloom. It was beautiful!

We continue to delve into the GMBA campout theme, "Are You IN?" Our Wednesday seminars focused on the subtopic: "All In." This topic is based on Mosiah 18:8:

"And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light."

We hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July yesterday! Today, we're continuing campiversary with more from GMBA Campout at Cal U of PA.

The topic for Tuesday's camp seminars was "In the Fold." This topic is based on the parable of the lost sheep that were found in Luke 15:4-7. Verse 4 states, "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?"

We've got an exciting surprise for you, Gospel Blog readers. This week is GMBA Campout held at California University of Pennsylvania, and our very own columnist, Sister Linda Scolaro, has volunteered to bring a little bit of the camp to us here on the blog by sharing stories, testimonies, and thoughts from her fellow campers.

The seminar theme for the week is "In Him," and it's broken down into four daily topics:

Monday: Building in Him

Tuesday: In the Fold

Wednesday: All In

Thursday: Confidently in Him

This article is Part 6 of Sister Natalie Shawver's series “Born and Raised”...Or Not.

One of the beauties of The Church of Jesus Christ is that there is no wrong testimony and there’s no wrong way to meet the Lord. He looks at us each individually — giving a specific gift to one and a specific gift to another. He uses us just as He wants to, always reminding us that we are merely but a lump of clay in His perfect potter’s hands.

Over the past several months, we’ve heard from various brothers and sisters across The Church who shared the impact The Church of Jesus Christ made on them. As one of the Songs of Zion says, their lives were “changed completely in a moment.” They were on a road headed in one direction and the Gospel persuaded them to change their course.

This article is Part 6 of Sister Natalie Shawver's series “Born and Raised”…Or Not.

Sister Wendy Giannetti was only 17 years old when she first walked into The Church of Jesus Christ. Sister Brianne Gehly? A year younger. Brothers Bob Batson and Frank Natoli were 18 and 19, respectively.

Although these handful of saints met our beloved gem in their teens, we hear of others meeting the church at any age — there’s no wrong time to learn about the Gospel.