Mormon Musings

The great challenge is to refuse to let the bad things that happen to us do bad things to us.  That is the crucial difference between adversity and tragedy. Elder Neal A. Maxwell

“Our Heavenly Father … knows that we learn and grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through which we must pass. We know that there are times when we will experience heartbreaking sorrow, when we will grieve, and when we may be tested to our limits. However, such difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us, and to become something different from what we were—better than we were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were, with stronger testimonies than we had before.” -“I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee,” Ensign , Nov. 2013, 87

...we so blithely say in the Church that life is a school, a testing ground. It is true, even though it is trite. What we don't accept are the implications of that true teaching—at least as fully as we should. One of the implications is that the tests that we face are real. They are not going to be things we can do with one hand tied behind our backs. They are real enough that if we meet them we shall know that we have felt them, because we will feel them deeply and keenly and pervasively. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, BYU Fireside, September 1, 1974 http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1022

“God knows even now what the future holds for each of us. In one of His revelations these startling words appear, as with so many revelations that are too big, I suppose, for us to manage fully: 'In the presence of God, . . . all things . . . are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord' (D&C 130:7).  The future 'you' is before him now.  He knows what it is He wishes to bring to pass in your life.  He knows the kind of remodeling in your life and in mine that He wishes to achieve.  Now, this will require us to believe in that divine design and at times to accept the truth which came to Joseph Smith wherein he was reminded that his suffering would be 'but a small moment' (D&C 121:7).  I’d like to talk to you about some of those small moments that will come your way in life and that come to each of us... we so blithely say in the Church that life is a school, a testing ground.  It is true, even though it is trite. ...

How do you remain “steadfast and immovable” ( Alma 1:25 ) during a trial of faith? You immerse yourself in the very things that helped build your core of faith: you exercise faith in Christ, you pray, you ponder the scriptures, you repent, you keep the commandments, and you serve others. When faced with a trial of faith—whatever you do, you don’t step away from the Church! Distancing yourself from the kingdom of God during a trial of faith is like leaving the safety of a secure storm cellar just as the tornado comes into view. Elder Neal L. Andersen http://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/trial-of-your-faith?lang=eng