Faith as a First Response

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Life is hard. Faith makes it easier. In Elder Rex D. Pinegar’s October 1982 general conference address, “Faith—The Force of Life,” he shares an experience when his daughter was departing for college and was just now understanding the extent of the responsibilities lying ahead of her. After considering them all,… Continue reading

How Burdens Help

We do not struggle with burdens alone or in vain. Everybody struggles with their own individual burdens. In Elder L. Whitney Clayton’s talk “That Your Burdens May Be Light,” Elder Clayton discusses how the burdens that affect us can be organized into three categories: burdens that are a natural product… Continue reading

Sadness Is Not Suffered Alone

As members of the Church, we can lean on our Heavenly Father, the Savior, and other members to lift the burdens of sadness and mental despair.  Since I was a young girl, I remember always feeling nervous. This nervousness persisted and became a part of my permanent thought process. Eventually,… Continue reading

Stumbling Toward Heavenly Father

Struggling with mental illness does not mean you have a broken spirit. But how do we avoid feeling that way? We are all aware that life is not easy. Everyone experiences hard times and difficult trials. But for some of us, mental illness can make those dark times all the… Continue reading

Hope You Know, I’m Having a Hard Time

Remembering that the atonement covers all trials can help us feel God’s love during hard times. In his October 2008 General Conference talk, “Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time,” Elder Quentin L. Cook shares the following story: After he and some of his children experienced a harrowing car… Continue reading

Are You There, God?

Sometimes when it seems like God is silent, we need only to be patient, and we will see his hand in our lives. “Are you there, God? It’s me, Mackenzie.” “Heavenly Father, are you really there? And are you hearing and answering my prayers?” I know I’m not the only… Continue reading

Three Lessons to Learn from Infertility

Why do some couples struggle with infertility? Here’s what I’ve learned. One of the first commandments that God gave to Adam and Eve was to “multiply and replenish the earth” (Moses 2:28). Having a family is a central teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—but what about… 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

Staying Planted in Christ 

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Even the strongest testimonies can be shaken, but there are ways you can keep holding on to your faith and stay planted in Christ.  Some Latter-day Saints are experiencing what LDS scholar Patrick Q. Mason refers to as a “faith crisis”: they are questioning their beliefs and seeking answers to… Continue reading

Martin Harris: An Example of Repentance

Martin Harris home

Although Martin Harris was not a perfect man, his example shows us that when we approach our mistakes with humility, we can partake of God’s gift of repentance. Martin Harris (1783–1875) was a decorated war hero, a civic leader, a successful farmer, and an excellent father. He became a central… Continue reading