Mormon Musings

Life can sometimes be difficult. Perhaps you have already discovered that. In the days and years ahead, you may suffer some discouragement and disappointment. On occasion you may feel genuine despair, either for yourself or for your children or for the plight and conditions of others. You may even make a personal mistake or two—serious mistakes, perhaps, though I hope not—and worry that the chance to be happy and secure in life has eluded you forever. When such times come, I  ask you to remember this: Troubles need never be permanent nor fatal. Darkness always yields to light. The sun always rises. Faith, hope, and charity will always triumph in the end. Furthermore, they will triumph all along the way. Remember God’s unfailing love for you. You undoubtedly will have days when you may feel dark, cold, clouded, or eclipsed. But if you desire God’s mercy, I promise that help will come to you. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Facebook post 6.19.18

"It is Satan who puts hopeless thoughts into the hearts of those who have made mistakes. The Lord Jesus Christ always gives us hope." —Julie B. Beck, " Remembering, Repenting, and Changing ",  Ensign , May 2007 Topics:  Hope

"We have every reason to rejoice and little reason to fear. If we follow the promptings of the Spirit, we will be safe, whatever the future holds. We will be shown what to do." -President Boyd K. Packer, "The Cloven Tongues of Fire"

Hugh B. Brown Hugh B. Brown served as an apostle, and later, as a member of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before that, he worked for a short time as a professor of religion at Brigham Young University. While there, he received a letter from a close friend who was experiencing what is now commonly called a “crisis of faith.” The advice he gave nearly seventy years ago has never been published, but is still pertinent to us today as we all struggle to “keep the faith.” November 8, 1946 My dear—-: I was really glad to get your letter of October 25, and I appreciate your confidence. The revelation of your mental and spiritual struggles does not come as a surprise, as I had felt for some time that the waters of your usually placid soul had become somewhat roiled and disturbed. Would you be surprised if I should tell you that I, too, have had periods of perplexity, uncertainty, and doubt; that I, too, have known the darkness, foggine...

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/you-can-do-it-now?lang=eng#listen=audio

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1993/10/look-to-god-and-live?lang=eng

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." Romans 15:4 "And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses...for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning...hear ye the words of the prophet, which were written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope..." 1 Nephi 19:23-24

"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." Romans 8:24-25

"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." Martin Luther

"Yes, we will make mistakes. Yes, we will falter. But as we seek to increase our love for God and strive to love our neighbor, the light of the gospel will surround and uplift us. The darkness will surely fade, because it cannot exist in the presence of light. As we draw near to God, He will draw near to us." —Dieter F. Uchtdorf, " The Hope of God's Light "

The gospel teaches us to be happy, to have faith rather than fear, to find hope and overcome despair, to leave darkness and turn toward the light of the everlasting gospel.   Paul and others warned about the trials of our time and the days yet to come. But peace can be settled in the heart of each who turns to the scriptures and unlocks the promises of protection and redemption that are taught therein.   President Boyd K. Packer, October 2013 General Conference   http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/the-key-to-spiritual-protection?lang=eng

"Lift up your soul in prayer and explain to your Heavenly Father what you are feeling. Acknowledge your shortcomings. Pour out your heart and express your gratitude. Let Him know of the trials you are facing. Plead with Him in Christ's name for strength and support. Ask that your ears may be opened, that you may hear His voice." —Dieter F. Uchtdorf, " The Hope of God's Light "

“My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.” President Thomas S. Monson -”Be of Good Cheer,” April 2009 General Conference

The central purpose of all scripture is to fill our souls with faith in God the Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ---faith that They exist; faith in the Father's plan for our immortality and eternal life; faith in the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which animates this plan of happiness; faith to make the gospel of Jesus Christ our way of life; and faith to come to know 'the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He has] sent' (John 17:3)." Elder D. Todd Christofferson (Ensign, May 2010, 34)

"Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come." —Jeffrey R. Holland, " An High Priest of Good Things to Come ",  Liahona and Ensign , November 1999

Redeeming Jesus also “poured out his soul unto death” ( Mosiah 14:12 ; see also  Isa. 53:12 ;  D&C 38:4 ). As we on occasion “pour” out our souls in personal pleadings, we are thus emptied, making room for more joy! Another fundamental scripture describes Jesus’ having trodden the winepress of the “fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God” ( D&C 88:106 ; see also  D&C 76:107 ;  D&C 133:50 ). Others can and should encourage, commend, pray, and comfort, but the lifting and carrying of our individual crosses remains ours to do. Given the “fierceness” Christ endured for us, we cannot expect a discipleship of unruffled easiness. As we seek  forgiveness , for example, repentance can be a rough-hewn regimen to bear. By the way, let us not, as some do, mistake the chips we have placed on our own shoulders for crosses! Uniquely, atoning Jesus also “descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things” ( D&C 88:6 ; see also  D&C...

The Lord has probably spoken enough such "comforting words" to supply the whole universe, it would seem, and yet we see all around us unhappy Latter-day Saints, worried Latter-day Saints, and gloomy Latter-day Saints into whose troubled hearts not one of these innumerable consoling words seems to be allowed to enter. In fact, I think some of us must have that remnant of Puritan heritage still with us that says it is somehow wrong to be comforted or helped, that we are supposed to be miserable about something. Consider, for example, the Savior's benediction upon his disciples even as he moved toward the pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. On that very night, the night of the greatest suffering the world has ever known or ever will know, he said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). I submit to you that may be one of the Savior's commandments that is, even in th...

"My dear young friends, when the captain of a long-range jet passes the point of safe return, and the headwinds are too strong or the cruising altitudes too low, he might be forced to divert to an airport other than his planned destination. This is not so in our journey through life back to our heavenly home. Wherever you find yourselves on this journey through life, whatever trials you may face, there is always a point of safe return; there is always hope. You are the captain of your life, and God has prepared a plan to bring you safely back to Him, to your divine destination." Dieter F. Uchtdorf ,  "Is There a Point of No Return?" New Era, June 2010, 3