David F. Torres

Staying Faithful to My Covenants Throughout My Career Staying faithful to my covenants in my career needs effort and intention. I need to be around people who have a good influence on me like mentors, colleagues, and friends who respect my values. They can help me stay focused on my purpose, even when times are challenging. I also want to serve others in my work and try to show Christlike love, making service a part of my job. It is important to keep strengthening my faith by the simple things like reading the scriptures and praying, even when I am too busy. This way, I can keep my heart focused on what really matters. By adding service, good relationships, and spiritual routines, I can make sure my career honors my covenants and helps me fulfill my purpose as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Building a Future with Purpose and Faith This week, I have been thinking about what I really want for my future—the kind of life I want to have in the next few years, and what I want it to be like when I am older. I have been asking myself: Are my plans really what I want? Are my goals taking me to that vision? I see that it’s not only about dreaming, but also about making sure my actions every day are leading me there. I want my goals to match the person I want to become, staying true to my values and faithful to my promises. Elder Quentin L. Cook said: “ I encourage everyone, young and old, to review goals and objectives to exercise greater discipline. Our daily conduct and choices should be consistent with our goals. We need to rise above rationalizations and distractions. It is especially important to make choices with our covenants to serve Jesus Christ in righteousness.” This reflection has shown me that my goals are not just for personal success, they are also about being t...

Growing Through Writing Writing has helped me get better at organizing my thoughts and making my writing clear and logical. I learned to use correct grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, which makes my writing more effective and easy to understand. One surprising way I have grown is my ability to plan and outline my writing. Making outlines before I start writing has helped me stay focused and make sure my ideas flow well from one point to the next. This has made my writing more organized and less confusing for readers. Another way I have improved is in editing and revising my work. I learned to go back to my drafts to make ideas clearer, fix mistakes, and make my writing shorter and better. This has made my final drafts much stronger and more polished. I also noticed growth in my creativity. Writing often has pushed me to think of new and interesting ways to share my ideas. It has helped me try different styles and ways to write, which makes my writing more fun and int...

Communication’s Standards I've come to understand that good communication is about respect and really thinking about the audience. It’s important to talk to others in a way that respects their views, making content that feels welcoming instead of too pushy or confrontational. If I share something that might make people curious or touch on sensitive topics, I see that it’s necessary to be careful. People are more likely to connect with what I share if they feel it’s done with respect and care. This respectful way of talking can lead to good conversations instead of making people feel misunderstood or hurt. President Russell M. Nelson said: “How we treat each other really matters! How we speak to and about others at home, at church, at work, and online really matters. I am asking us to interact with others in a higher, holier way. Please listen carefully: ‘If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy’ (see Article of Faith 13) that we can say about ano...

"How blogging has helped me grow as a writer"                 Writing blogs regularly has really helped me improve my writing and grammar. The more I write, the better I get at organizing my ideas and making my sentences clear. I've also learned to pay more attention to grammar and how to make my writing sound more professional. Writing blogs has also taught me a lot of new things. Every time I write, I have to research different topics, which makes me learn things I didn’t know before. This has helped me grow my knowledge and think about things in new ways. Another thing I’ve noticed is how writing for different audiences has made me more understanding of other points of view, making me a more empathetic writer. It has also helped me express my own ideas, beliefs and principles better, which makes my writing feel more like my true self.

The Art of Editing Our Lives: A Gospel Perspective Editing is used in many areas; movies, TV, writing, advertising, and more. It might seem simple, but editing is more than just cutting things out. It takes good communication, creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking. It is about finding what is important, what can be made better, and what needs to be removed. These same ideas can help us live the gospel and become better step by step. President Gordon B. Hinckley once said, “ Each of us can do a little better than we have been doing. We can be a little more kind. We can be a little more merciful. We can be a little more forgiving. We can put behind us our weaknesses of the past, and go forth with new energy and increased resolution to improve the world about us, in our homes, in our places of employment, in our social activities.” This sounds like the work of an editor, always trying to make things better, fixing mistakes, and improving what needs work. Our lives are ...

  Sensationalism vs. Newsworthy Have you ever started reading a story and couldn’t stop? Sometimes it’s the drama that pulls you in, and other times the information feels important. Sensational stories grab your attention with shocking details and strong emotions, but they often don’t have much meaning. In contrast, newsworthy stories keep you interested by giving useful information and facts that help you understand important issues. Whether it’s through sensationalism or newsworthy journalism, the way a story is told can either make you feel emotional or give you real knowledge, and it’s important to recognize the difference. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic showed a clear difference between newsworthy and sensational stories. A newsworthy article might have a headline like “Guidance for surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants: Interim guidance, 9 August 2021.” This type of article gives facts about new health measures, explains why they are important, and includes expert opin...

 Mercy and Storytelling: How Joseph Smith’s Words Inspire Journalism We all read news stories, and we know that journalists do more than just report events. They decide how to share an idea, and this changes the story. In this case, I want to talk about how journalists try to give the best to readers, to illustrate this, I'll reference a quote from Joseph Smith: “When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what pow’r it has over my mind. … The nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more are we dispos’d to look with compassion on perishing souls—[we feel that we want] to take them upon our shoulders and cast their sins behind our back… if you would have God have mercy on you, have mercy on one another.” Like Joseph Smith says about kindness and love, journalists can choose to focus on the human side of the story. They don’t just write the facts, they can share the emotions and feelings of the people in the story. This helps readers feel closer to what is happen...

  "Lessons from a Group Newsletter Project" I recently worked on a group project to create a newsletter, which was a valuable learning experience in teamwork. While I didn’t take on an official leadership role, I did take the initiative to guide the team, helping everyone understand their tasks and keeping things moving forward. It showed me how even a small step can greatly impact the group’s progress. One of the biggest lessons I learned was how important communication is in group work. By regularly checking in with each other, we avoided confusion and ensured everyone knew how their parts fit into the project. Without that consistent communication, things could have easily gotten off track. Another thing I realized is how helpful it is to set clear deadlines. Having a timeline gave us something to work toward and kept us focused on getting our parts done. It created a sense of accountability and made sure we stayed on track. Finally, before finishing up the project...

  "A Reflection of Faith Through Social Media" I always say that social media represents a lot of who we really are. It is often that I see people excusing themselves, saying, "It is a joke. Do not take it seriously," when they post on social media, but is it really? Over the years, I have realized that whatever people post on social media is really who they are and what they believe. Yes, social media is our cover letter for the world. With that in mind, I’ve seen the impact it can have when used effectively for good, particularly in sharing the gospel. We have an incredible opportunity to showcase our faith, values, and beliefs through the content we share. Whether it’s a simple scripture, a personal testimony, or an act of kindness, social media can be a platform to inspire and uplift. The question is, what message are we sending? For me, I want my social media presence to reflect my faith, values, principles, and commitment to follow Christ. Doctrine and C...

  Play Your Cards to Your Advantage The title phrase may sound a little selfish, but I assure you that by the end of this article, you will not feel that way; better yet, you may want to start playing your cards differently. A couple of months ago, a friend of mine asked how he could advance in his career; it seemed that he was having a hard time in every job he had, and he could not find a company to establish himself in. He had been moving to different companies and saw that none were really seeing what he had to offer. I asked him, “What have you done in the companies you worked for before to stand out?” After a moment of silence, he admitted that he hadn’t done much to stand out. He worked hard, but he realized he wasn’t playing his cards to his advantage. He was just following along, hoping someone would eventually notice him. I told him, “It’s not about working harder, but about working smarter and making sure your strengths are recognized. If you don’t show them what y...

  Applying Article of Faith 13 to Our Social Media Presence To me, Article of Faith 13 is like my introduction letter to people, whether they are members of the Church or not. It shows the values I believe in, like being honest, kind, and doing good things. I grew up in Ecuador, and between 2010 and 2014, social media started to get really popular. I wasn’t on social media much because I was serving a mission from 2011 to 2013. When I came back, the world felt different. Everything was digital, and everyone was posting and sharing things online. When I logged back into my Facebook account, I noticed people were sharing all kinds of things, some good and some bad. It seemed like some people didn’t realize that what they were sharing was public and anyone could see it. My family and I had a conversation about it. We talked about how important it is to set a good example and how whatever we post should be something positive that helps others. For us, Article of Faith 13 became a...

  What role has writing played in your life previously? After deep thinking about how writing has helped or influenced my life, I can say it has played an important role. I searched and learned that writing is “…a way to communicate ideas and thoughts... and can be used for a variety of purposes, including Reasoning, problem-solving, communication, and thinking.” Based on what I learned, I remembered that I have been blessed with this skill; I know I am not perfect and may make mistakes every day, but I know that it has been of great help in my life. During my high school years, writing not only helped me get good grades but also taught me to be cautious when expressing my thoughts and ideas. Later in life, with social media becoming popular, I realized and noticed how important it is to communicate with correct grammar and punctuation so there is no misinterpretation. And again, when I became an adult and started college and working, writing became a fundamental part of my life ti...

  If The Book of Mormon had many grammatical errors, how could that hinder its message? For this post, I'd like to put myself in the shoes of a person who does not know the truth and veracity of the Book of Mormon. Human errors are everywhere in everything we do, not only in grammar. I hate to see Spanish translations or phrases in stores with incorrect grammar or phrases not making any sense, and that makes me feel like they really do not care about customers or so-called "Perception of value," so I would think a person would feel the same when seeing grammar errors on other different texts. At some point, The Book of Mormon, having many grammatical errors, leads readers to question its credibility, but if we go back in time, we learn that grammar rules were not as standardized as they are today. Because language evolves and new rules emerge, revisions have been made at specific points in the last century. There is a big difference in grammar errors today and back in the...