President Spencer W. Kimball gave this counsel: "Every person should keep a journal and every person can keep a journal. It should be an enlightening one and should bring great blessings and happiness to the families. If there is anyone here who isn’t doing so, will you repent today and change——change your life?" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1979, p. 117; or Ensign, May 1979, p. 84).

"Those who keep a personal journal are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives" ("President Kimball Speaks Out on Personal Journals," New Era, Dec. 1980, p. 27).

1. Important events, impressions, and personal feelings

2. Personal counsel, promises, and blessings received and the circumstances surrounding them

3. Deaths, births, marriages, baptisms, and endowments

4. Personal triumphs, failures, and struggles and how they are met

5. Current local, national, and world events that impress you or influence your life

6. Simple occurrences in daily life.

1. Date each entry; the day of the week or even the time of day may be important to note.

2. Number the pages.

3. Set aside a block of time either daily or weekly to write (perhaps a Sunday afternoon).

4. Keep the journal nearby or take extra loose pages on trips and to special church meetings.

5. Use first and last names when writing about individuals.

"I named my journal Lucy. It’s like my best friend. It’s kind of hard to talk to a page, but now I talk to my best friend Lucy and tell her my feelings" (Jeree Worthen, quoted in Kathleen Lubeck, "A Journal Called Lucy," New Era, Nov. 1981, p. 40).