Unfortunately I missed church last Sunday and didn't get to hear the First Presidency's letter that was read in LDS congregations in the U.S. The LDS Church Newsroom has an article about the letter which encouraged members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to participate in the 2010 United States Census.

The LDS Newsroom quotes a few things from the letter including the following counsel:

"We urge all members to respond to them in an accurate and timely manner. It is an important obligation for all citizens to be counted in the census."

If you haven't yet completed it, now is a great time to get it filled in and sent. To follow my own advice, and the counsel from the First Presidency, I just filled in our copy of the census. After my husband looks at it, we'll mail it in.

Each of us has a purpose for being alive, and for being who we are. God has a plan for us, there is structure, order, and reasons for why we are here.

President Spencer W. Kimball, twelfth prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said:

"God does nothing by chance but always by design as a loving father.... We have purpose also in our lives.

"Surely such a loving Father in heaven, who gave commandments to prevent human misery, will not forget the needs of each of his children. William Law observed:

"'It is said that the very hairs of your head are all numbered; is it not to teach us that nothing, not the smallest things imaginable, happen to us by chance? But if the smallest things we can conceive are declared to be under the divine direction, need we, or can we, be more plainly taught that the greatest things of life, such as the manner of our coming into the world, our parents, the time, and other circumstances of our birth and condition, are all according to the eternal purposes, direction, and appointment of Divine Providence?'" ("There Is Purpose in Life," New Era, Sep 1974, 4)

You have a purpose! Your life isn't just some random event or some result of chance. God has a plan for you- and He knows and loves you.

If you've heard much about us "Mormons" (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) you may have heard that we worship someone named Joseph Smith. Who was this man and do we worship Joseph Smith?

After reading this FAQ share your thoughts about Joseph Smith with us.

Last year I went through a difficult experience that filled me with a lot of fear. A wise friend of mine shared with me this wonderful New Testament scripture, which has stuck with me ever since:

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).

Feelings of fear are not from God, but from Satan who is trying to destroy us. This shouldn't be confused with the "fear of God" which is a different type of fear.

We've even been commanded not to have fear:

"Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants.

"Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come" (D&C 68:5-6).

I believe fear is a natural reaction to those things that happen around us and to us, but what we choose to do with our fear- to accept or reject it- is what is important.