Come What May and Love It

The council given to Elder Wirthlin as a boy is as applicable today as it was back then. One of the greatest lessons I have learned in life is that becoming angry, frustrated, or offended is my choice and not anyone else's. While there will be times in all of our lives that may cause us to become discouraged or even angry, we can always choose to find the good in every situation. We cannot always choose our trials but we can always choose our response to those trials. I have found that the trials in my life are easy to traverse when I focus of my Savior Jesus Christ. Through our suffering I believe we are drawn closer to him as we rely on the love, comfort, and peace that only he is able to supply. The trials and sorrows we face are in reality "forks" in the roads of our life. At each fork we are presented with a different direction to travel. We can choose the path of despair, brooding, and anger or we can choose the path of humility, happiness, and prayer. I especially enjoyed Elder Wirthlin's council on choosing to laugh instead of becoming angry. The world would be a very different place if people chose to be content instead of choosing to be angry. As stated in the video, we may not be able to enjoy the experience as it is happening but if we will rely on Jesus Christ and keep the commandments he has given us even when it is hard, then we will realize that he can lift us from our darkest moments. I promise you that if you will  approach your Father in Heaven in humble prayer that you will be able to feel the peace that comes from the Holy Ghost. The world has an endless supply of problems but as we learn to remember our Savior and continually strive to improve, then we will be able love whatever happens to come our way.

Patience

I have always loved this talk given by President Uchtdorf because it really makes me examine my own life and how well I am developing the attribute of patience. I must ask myself, "Am I the child who eats the marshmallow right away or do I patiently wait out my time and receive the greater reward." I am reminded of the scripture found in Hebrews 6:12 which states, "That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." At times the trials we are asked to bear may seem like more than we are able to patiently endure. But we are assured that through faith and patience we are able to "inherit the promises" that God has made to his children. I know that when I am tried and tested I always emerge on the other side a stronger and more compassionate person than before. Through my patience I learn to rely on my Savior Jesus Christ and allow him to guide and bless my life. Take for example the story of Job. Job was a righteous man who was faced with many severe trials. Through his faithful endurance, he received many incredible blessings that the Lord had in store for him. I challenge all who read this to find that trial in your life and bring it before the Lord in humble prayer. By doing so I promise that you will feel God's love for you and receive the strength necessary to weather the storms of life. May we always remember to place our lives in the hands of  our Heavenly Father and let him guide us through the tempest.

The Book of Mormon

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is one of the Twelve Apostles that Christ has called on the earth today. To hear this man give his testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon stirs the deepest fiber of my soul. When I hear his words I can feel the Spirit of Jesus Christ touch my spirit and confirm to me that what he is saying is true. The last prophet to write in the Book of Mormon, Moroni, sealed the book with this promise, "Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things (Moroni 10:3-5)." We invite all men everywhere to read and pray about this holy book of scripture. We promise that all people who follow this course of action and "ask with a sincere heart" will receive a witness by the Holy Ghost. As one who has sought the Lord's answer concerning this Book, I leave my testimony along with Elder Holland's. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that Joseph Smith did in fact translate it by the power of God. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is God's church on the earth today with his power and authority. I know this because I have followed the admonish of James when he said, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him (James 1:5)." Jesus Christ lives, God has once again called prophets to the earth; this is the message that we strive to share with the world. (See the video "A Special Witness of The Book of Mormon" on mormon.org)