When Feeling Happy Just Isn’t Possible: Reasons to Hold On

Depression affects everyone at one point or another. When those times hit, we need a reason to hold on, a reason to keep going, a reason to stay. Sometimes life isn’t all we hoped it would be. We face disappointment, fear, and devastation. Sometimes we can’t explain why we’re feeling… Continue reading

Divine Discontent: An Invitation to Improve

Recognizing and welcoming divine discontent will help us gain an eternal and hopeful perspective on our path of progression. Feelings of discontent usually aren’t something we welcome. However, in a general conference address, Sister Michelle D. Craig explains how discontent doesn’t have to be destructive if we use three principles of… Continue reading

Finding Joy Now

What are we losing when we wish today away? If you could be at any point in your life, what would you pick? Would you jump to the past, before you made an unwise decision or before current trials set in? Or would you skip ahead to when present challenges… Continue reading

Hope: A Journey to Faith

Sometimes it can take seconds to gain faith in certain aspects of the gospel, but what if it takes twenty years? For twenty years, I didn’t have a testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet. During these years, I served in numerous callings and even went on a mission. Despite… Continue reading

I Shall Come Forth as Gold

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, we can rise from our trials to become stronger and more capable. The fire was roaring, engulfing not only the plane and its passengers but also the life that Stephanie Nielson once knew. Whether or not our trials arrive in the form of… Continue reading

Finding Redemption through Prayer

Just when life felt unbearable, a man found courage through prayer to keep living and to start changing. At one point or another, each of us has made mistakes that result in the absence of the Spirit, leading to a feeling of darkness. If we don’t address these mistakes quickly… Continue reading

Enjoy the Ride

train

Life isn’t all sunshine and bliss. Whatever life throws at us, the trick is to enjoy the ride.    In a world where advertisements and Instagram posts promote the idea that everyone around us is happy and we can be happy too if we just apply ourselves or buy a certain product,… Continue reading

Turning Trials into Opportunities

We cannot learn by study alone. We must also learn through experience and action. Chronic illness. Natural disasters. Premature death. Many trials surface in our lives, often seeming random, with no one to blame for their appearance. It’s easy to ask, “Why? Why do good people suffer such hardships?” In… Continue reading

Will Forgiveness Come?

Because we sometimes feel ashamed of the need to repent, we forget that the Savior wants to forgive us. There is a common perception that asking for forgiveness is something to be ashamed of. Repenting of our sins can seem daunting. We imagine ourselves kneeling before the throne of grace,… Continue reading