Peaches, Pruning, and Spiritual Progress

Like pruning away the unnecessary limbs from a tree, we need to prune away those activities that might weaken our testimonies or lead us astray.

Robin Ruff Van Wagenen, “Peaches, Pruning, and Spiritual Progress,” Ensign, Jan 2009, 31–33

I felt heartsick as I crested the hill toward our house and saw boards and tree branches scattered everywhere across the side of our yard. We had been gone only a couple of hours, yet that was long enough for one of the infamous east winds in our area to do its damage. It was really my fault though—