A pick me up. :)

Some of the hardest things I've ever had to get through have been in the past few years, and so it was a tender mercy that I stumbled across this talk last year when I was working at Bryce. I discovered that you can download free CES Broadcast podcasts from lds.org and so I just picked a handful and started listening to them on my way to and from work. This one has been one that I've kept and listen to every now and then still.  (Well... this one and the fireside from Elder Scott. I love him too. :) ) (click here for the text version) Lessons from Liberty Jail, by Elder Holland (no surprise there, eh?)

(Joseph Smith really is one of my heroes. Can you even imagine staying faithful through all the persecution he faced?) 

Tonight as I was driving to class and feeling super done with school and kinda bummed about not getting the second interview at Bulloch drug (and all that), I just picked a talk at random and this is the one that came up. :) Kind of perfect for basically any occasion! (Especially if you're the dramatic Anne of Green Gables type like I tend to be sometimes.)

I'm so thankful that we have the knowledge that we're never alone, no matter how frustrating or difficult the trials we're going through are. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, felt everything we feel, and he understands us. He loves us. Heavenly Father loves us. We won't ever be given a trial we can't handle, with the Lord. :)

I love the perspective of 'prison-temples' in our life. All of the situations that I've felt like were the hardest thing ever have been the best learning experiences of my life. Elder Holland said, "We are not alone in our little prisons here. When suffering, we may in fact be nearer to God than we’ve ever been in our entire lives. That knowledge can turn every such situation into a would-be temple."

Elder Holland taught three main lessons:

1. Everyone faces trying times,

2. Even the worthy will suffer,

3. Remain calm, patient, charitable and forgiving.

First of all, I just love his speaking style. :) ("My point? If you are having a bad day, you’ve got a lot of company—very, very good company. I mean, the best company that has ever lived.")

It just really helped put everything right back into perspective. :) Isn't it amazing that having the gospel makes absolutely everything do-able? The things that absolutely terrify me, or the things that 'I'm just not ready' to face, are easy when you know that there's life after this one,  that Heavenly Father loves us just like our earthly parents do (but better ;) ), and that the Atonement covers what we can't. Thank goodness for the gospel! 

Happy weekend everyone!