Faith can help us find comfort during the hardship and trouble that grief brings to our lives.
Photo by Matheus Bertelli
Grieving is a process that almost most people on this earth will have to work through at some point in their lives. Faith can help in this process. However, being able to have faith during times of trouble is something that can be difficult to accomplish.
In the video “Journey Through Grief,” Joyce and Dennis Ashton, two members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who work as a grief counselor and psychotherapist, respectively, provide insights on how we can deal with grief while also cultivating our faith. “Many people believe if they have faith, they shouldn’t grieve. It’s not the case. Faith can be one component of loss and grief, and sadness can be another component,” Joyce says. “We can have faith and still be sad.”
Joyce compares the different ways we grieve to thumbprints—everyone’s is different. We all grieve in different ways, and some of us need to protect ourselves and our feelings more than others. But over time, with the help of many resources like faith, therapy, and support of loved ones, people can learn to find hope and peace, especially through the Atonement of Christ. Remembering that our Savior has experienced everything that we have experienced (see Alma 7:11–12) can bring overwhelming comfort to us when we experience loss.
Read more about coping with grief in the article “Four Ways to Cope with the Loss of a Loved One” where you can find the video “Journey through Grief” by Joyce and Dennis Ashton.
Source: ComeuntoChrist.org
—Hailey Garcia, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY DIANA SIMUMPANDE
Find more insights
Click here to watch a video that accompanies President Henry B. Eyring’s talk “Mountains to Climb” and learn more about having faith through difficult times.
Check out another article on our site, “Never Alone, Never Unloved: Faith to Climb Mountains,” by Nicole Meyers, to learn more about building faith to face trials.
Read on the Church’s website about one family’s experience with losing their child: “Give Me This Mountain: Faith After Losing a Child,” by C. J. Eager.
Watch “Coping with the Death of a Loved One” from BYU Education Week to hear more of what Joyce and Dennis Ashton have to say about faith and grief.