Broken and Better for It

The wounds that seem too deep to heal are what Christ uses to make us the best version of ourselves.

In his general conference address “Broken Things to Mend,” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speaks to people who feel their lives are broken beyond repair. After nearly losing a loved one to crippling mental health issues, I felt irreparably broken. My despair was so deep that I didn’t realize how far I had sunk into it. I echo Elder Holland’s reassuring words: “Just believing, just having a molecule of faith—that simple step, when focused on the Lord Jesus Christ, has ever been and always will be…the first step out of despair.”

In the midst of my despair, I leaned closer to the Savior, believing that his promises for me were real. That experience taught me that Jesus Christ does not only forgive sins, he heals the despair that the world inflicts on us and the turmoil we bring upon ourselves.

Some trials change us forever. But that is the beauty of the Healer’s art. When Jesus Christ heals the cracks in our hearts, he is not simply mending what is broken—he makes us better. In the traditional Japanese art form kintsugi, pottery is broken and then repaired with gold. A broken thing is made more beautiful than it ever was before. Jesus Christ takes the broken shards of our souls and transforms us into something better. While we may be imperfectly broken, he perfectly heals. The marks on our broken souls may not ever fully disappear. But like the marks in Christ’s hands, feet, and side testify of what he did for us, our marks are beautified and healed, testifying of our faith in him.

As Elder Holland states, “He knows the way out and He knows the way up. He knows it because He has walked it. He knows the way because He is the way.” Looking back, I now see that pain is an opportunity to become my best self. If I had not sunk into such deep despair, I would not have come to know the Savior as I do now. My deepest wish is that when we feel broken, we will remember to take a small step toward the Savior. Every step we take toward him will lead us away from our old selves and onward to the best versions of ourselves we can possibly be.

Read or listen to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s talk “Broken Things to Mend” to learn more about the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Source: General Conference

—Emma Jean Nelson, Latter-day Saint Insights

FEATURE IMAGE BY RIHO KITAGAWA

Find more insights

To learn more about how to respond to mental and emotional challenges, read Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s talk “Like a Broken Vessel.”

See Elder Boyd K. Packer’s address “The Balm of Gilead” to better understand how to find healing.