Emily Belle Freeman

Emily Belle Freeman is a best-selling author and popular inspirational speaker. She has a deep love of the scriptures, which comes from a desire to find their application in everyday life. She is the author of numerous books, including Creating a Christ-Centered Home; Closer to Christ; and Even This: Getting to the Place Where You Can Trust God with Anything. She is a favorite speaker at Time Out for Women and a cohost with David Butler of Don't Miss This, a Come, Follow Me study channel on YouTube. Her greatest joy comes from spending time with her family. Read more at emilybellefreeman.com and follow Emily on Instagram and Facebook @emilybellefreeman.

Sustainably Raised Chicken In Species-Appropriate Free-Range Husbandry

Recommended by Us

What backyard chickens can teach us about grace and charity

By Emily Belle Freeman

April 21, 2023 07:00 AM MDT

“This parable makes a lot more sense when it’s about chickens,” I told Greg. “Now let’s put it back into the words of Jesus.”

7 Min Read

Recommended by Us

‘Who is your Ananias?’: Emily Belle Freeman on charity and second chances in the New Testament

By Emily Belle Freeman

April 15, 2023 01:48 PM MDT

It is the Lord who first enters this story. But He isn’t the one who finishes it.

5 Min Read

Screen Shot 2022-12-06 at 10.04.01 AM.png

Recommended by Us

Don’t miss this in the stories of Mary and Joseph: Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler share unique insights

By Emily Belle Freeman

December 06, 2022 01:24 PM MST

You may see the participants in the Christmas story in a new way as you read these tender insights.

4 Min Read

Feature Stories

Emily Belle Freeman: Grace that glitters down vs. grace that lifts up

By Emily Belle Freeman

March 30, 2022 11:48 AM MDT

Why live a covenant life when most of the world tells you that believing in Christ is sufficient?

7 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Emily Belle Freeman: Why being more vulnerable with God produces miracles

By Emily Belle Freeman

March 22, 2022 09:00 AM MDT

The story of Moses features so many characters unknowingly sent to bring about God’s goodness, but God was aware of them.

6 Min Read

Does religion sometimes feel heavy? Read Emily Belle Freeman’s thoughts for the most exhausting days

By Emily Belle Freeman

February 01, 2022 10:46 AM MST

I walked in to teach my Primary class and I was exhausted from life. What I didn’t have was patience for other people’s children, for lessons that wouldn’t fill me.

3 Min Read

Recommended by Us

How ‘greatness of heart’ started a Valentine’s Day tradition for Emily Belle Freeman

By Emily Belle Freeman

February 11, 2021 06:58 AM MST

Sometimes you meet people who have a greatness of heart. Learn from them. Listen to how they live their lives. If you spend enough time with them, your heart will become greater, too.

1 Min Read

Building the Nativity: A 7-day Christ-centered countdown to Christmas

By Emily Belle Freeman

December 02, 2020 02:09 PM MST

Editor's note: This article was adapted from a video series called “Christ-Centered Christmas Celebration,” based on the book Celebrating a Christ-Centered Christmas. For more insight and family interaction with your countdown, you can watch the five-minute videos that correspond with each day, which can be found at "Keep Your Christmas Focused on Christ With These New Advent Videos by Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler."This article originally appeared in the November/December 2020issue of LDS Living magazine and features photos of a brand-new companion nativity set.

8 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

‘Which name should you take?’ The inspired question that came to Emily Belle Freeman during the sacrament

By Emily Belle Freeman

April 22, 2020 12:00 PM MDT

I sit on my pew, heart heavy and storm raging. In the prayer over the bread I am reminded that I have covenanted to take His name, and my soul is caught up in the wondering about this.

3 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Emily Belle Freeman: Finding Christ No Matter Where You Are or How You Feel

By Emily Belle Freeman

April 13, 2020 12:00 PM MDT

Everyone has a story, a need, a lack, a place of inadequacy. I know the details of mine, and you know the details of yours. And the Lord? He knows about every story, and every dark place, and every hope and heartache and happily ever after.

3 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

How Observing the Sabbath Became Like Celebrating Christmas for My Family

By Emily Belle Freeman

July 26, 2019 04:15 PM MDT

We recently sat down as a family to talk about how we want to honor the Lord’s day. We began the conversation by talking about Christmas. It is one of our favorite holidays. We begin preparing for it months in advance. We talked about the food that we love to eat, the traditions we participate in, and the reasons why we look forward to the gathering. We made a list of our traditions: new pajamas, ebelskivers for breakfast, fun games, and quiet moments gathered around burning candles when we remember the times we have seen the hand of the Lord in our lives. Those are just a few. It became clear that the reason we love Christmas isn’t because it is December 25; it is because we have set apart that day as a celebration focused on Christ with good food, fun, and time spent talking about what is important. Then I asked if we might be able to set apart the Sabbath as a holy celebration similar to Christmas. If the day were filled with family, good food, and fun and conversations centered on Christ, would it become a day we looked forward to, similar to the way we look forward to December 25? We decided to give it a try. We started establishing traditions that would intentionally set that day apart from every other day of the week. I call these our sweet Sabbath moments. In our home it is a family-only day. We spend time together playing games or making cookies. Grace loves to make and decorate sugar cookies; I like to make meringues. We trade off. For one hour each Sunday we gather in the family room with a journal and spend time talking about what matters most. This is a time for reading the scriptures, studying doctrines and principles, goal setting and family planning—a weekly time to center our life again, with God’s purposes in mind. The evenings are for large family gathering. Married kids, aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandma and grandpa usually gather to eat dinner and share stories and laugh. With deliberate planning, Sundays have become my most favorite day of the week.

3 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

A 2-Year-Old with Cancer Gives Unforgettable Answer to "What Does Jesus Say?"

By Emily Belle Freeman

April 25, 2019 07:00 PM MDT

Every so often, the whole sky comes crashing down. That was the case recently for a dear friend of mine who unexpectedly found out that his 2-year-old daughter, Hope, had cancer. Life has a peculiar way of marching forward after a shattering moment like that. The sun still rises, breakfast still has to be served, and diapers still need to be changed.

3 Min Read

Lesson Helps

FHE: A Christ-Centered Easter

By Emily Belle Freeman

April 15, 2019 09:15 AM MDT

This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson focuses on Easter. Below is a family home evening plan that can be used along with the suggestions in the Come, Follow Me manual to help families focus on the message of Christ’s resurrection. Also, don't miss a great week of Easter videos from our friends Emily Freeman and David Butler! The videos will be posted on LDS Living every day leading up to Easter. You can find them here.

1 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

How One Mom's Prayer Saved Her Daughter in an Unexpected Way

By Emily Belle Freeman

September 27, 2018 12:48 PM MDT

I close my eyes and focus on soaking up the warmth of the sun. It is halftime, and I am exactly where I most love to be: on the sideline, cheering on my girls and their coach. This is my joy.

2 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

When You're in the Thick of Trials: 3 Tips to Help You Get Through

By Emily Belle Freeman

August 03, 2018 03:27 PM MDT

Have you ever noticed that when people talk about their trials in a public setting, they tend to focus on what happened at the end? They talk about the miracle, the promise, the way it all worked out. It isn’t often that people talk about what happened in the middle of the trial.

6 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

How the Faith of an LDS Mother Helped Save Her Unborn Child and Helped Her Rediscover Her Relationship with God

By Emily Belle Freeman

July 11, 2018 08:04 PM MDT

I am seventeen weeks pregnant when the complications begin. This is our fourth baby, so I recognize the contractions immediately when they start. For three days and three nights I time the constant rhythm and I worry. There have been complications with every pregnancy—with each of the three babies we held on to before this pregnancy, and with each of the pregnancies we lost. I know what these contractions mean. The chance of loss, the months of bed rest ahead. We have been through this before.

5 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Emily Belle Freeman: How to celebrate a Christ-centered Easter all season long

By Emily Belle Freeman

March 13, 2018 09:39 AM MDT

Why do we celebrate the birth of Christ for an entire month but only celebrate His Resurrection for one day? Here are some tips on how to fill your Easter season with reminders of the Savior.

2 Min Read

4 Ways the New Testament Teaches Us to Bring Christ Into Our Homes

By Emily Belle Freeman

June 06, 2016 09:00 AM MDT

Several months ago, a friend and I were talking about our homes. I have a whole list of improvements I want to undertake, from painting the kitchen cupboards to putting barn wood paneling in the bathroom upstairs to finding some new pillows for the couch. However, as I started talking to her, I realized her home improvement focus was on a completely different track. She asked if I had any ideas for making her home more Christ-centered. I was immediately drawn into the idea. My family believes in Jesus Christ, but had I devoted enough time and energy to making my home Christ-centered? One night as I was pondering on how I might make that happen, the answer finally came. What better way to learn about having a Christ-centered home than from Christ Himself?

6 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Emily Freeman on Women and the Priesthood

By Emily Belle Freeman

December 16, 2013 05:32 AM MST

God Expects Women to Receive Revelation

4 Min Read

{LDS How-to} Love Life and See Good Days

By Emily Belle Freeman

November 01, 2011 09:27 PM MDT

Several years ago we spent the Christmas holidays skiing at a cabin. That was a really good idea for the first two days, but by the end of the third day I could no longer walk, so I ended up lounging in my (very cute) pajamas. Later that evening I agreed to go to the store because my kids decided they didn’t want what had been prepared for dinner, but I really didn’t want to change. My sisters-in-law were sitting at the kitchen table and I asked them, “Do you think it would be a big deal if I wore my pajamas to the grocery store?” Their reply? “No, you will be there for five minutes; no one will even notice what you are wearing.”

3 Min Read