Table of Contents

Stephanie Nielson: Sharing Her Hope
Four years ago, Stephanie Nielson was in a horrific plane crash that burned 80 percent of her body. Since the accident, she has overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges to reclaim a beautiful life with her husband and children. And she is determined to fulfill what she believes is her personal mission: to share the hope of the gospel with others
- —Jamie Lawson

The Midsingles Phenomenon
Midsingles—those who are unmarried and between ages 31 and 45—are making their presence known and searching out their options. Some have never married, some are divorced, and some are widowed. Some have kids, whether few or many, while others have none. As they strive to find their future spouse, they’re also searching for
—Cathy Geigle

Sweet Success
What’s it like baking 1,000 cupcakes in only 2 hours for celebrity rock stars? Piece of cake. Well, at least it was for LDS businesswoman and cupcake extraordinaire Megan Faulkner Brown, founder of The Sweet Tooth Fairy gourmet bakeshops and winner of Food Network’s TV show Cupcake Wars.
—Ashley Evanson

When Unemployment Hits Home
Oftentimes, unemployment brings feelings of depression, inadequacy, and shame. But losing a job shouldn’t mean losing hope.
—Doug Mallory

The Power of Happiness
Science, more and more, is finding that being happy can provide measurable improvements in our health, lifespan, relationships, work productivity, salary, and more.
—Kaela Worthen

Best of the Blogs: {LDS LIVING} What Is a Utah Mormon?

Family Home Evening: A Lesson on Scripture Study

Home Entertainment: Books, DVDs, Music, and Family Gear

Home Cooking: Favorite Dessert Bar Recipes

The Doctor Is In: Hypertension—The Silent Stalker
Hypertension, if left untreated, will quietly and consistently damage the blood vessels throughout your body and steal your health away.
—Dr. Thomas Boud

Advice for Life: Money and Marriage
Financial disagreements, though common, are more accurately a symptom of upbringing and other underlying problems that exist in relationships. The money itself is not the real issue.
—Dr. Jonathan Swinton

Just Asking: Peter Vidmar
The motivational speaker and former Olympic gymnast talks about winning gold, learning from mistakes, and being a dad.

Time Out for Women: The Camelot Moments
While raising our family, my wife and I tried to focus on the positive—those shining Camelot moments when things did go right.
—Brad Wilcox

By Kaela Worthen

Everyone likes to be happy, but did you know science has found real, tangible results you can get in life—from living longer to earning more money—by being happy?

Sister Marjorie Hinckley once said, “The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.”

Sister Hinckley was on to something when she came to this conclusion. Science, more and more, is finding that negative emotions like stress can have drastic and adverse results in our lives, while being happy can provide measurable improvements in our health, lifespan, relationships, work productivity, salary, and more. Read on to learn more about how positive thinking can effect positive changes in your life.

Get Sick Less Often and Less Severely

People who are happy get sick less often than unhappy people, and when they do get sick, their symptoms are less severe and they feel them less acutely.

In one now-famous study, Dr. Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University evaluated the mental health and general positivity and negativity of research subjects and then isolated them in separate hotel rooms after infecting them with a cold virus. Each day, the reclused research participants were subject to several medical examinations to determine their health status, including even having their mucus weighed after it was flushed out, and also had to complete a checklist of their symptoms and the severity of their symptoms.

At the end of the study, people who were more positive were also more resistant to catching an illness, and when they did catch it, they experienced the illness less severely.

Other research has concluded that those who are happy have lower rates of accidents, homicides, mental disorders, drug dependency, liver disease related to alcoholism, and cardiovascular disease.