When You Have Been Hurt By Others...

 

The Atoning Love of Jesus Christ

By Elder Neil L. Andersen

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

For you who have been so unfairly injured by the serious sins of another, I long to share the Savior’s love and compassion, His comfort and peace.

The sadness you have felt, the heartbreak, the loss, the suffocating feeling of betrayal, the upending of your life as you imagined it to be—I give you my absolute assurance, the Savior knows you and loves you. Reach out to Him. He is your comfort and strength; He will send His angels to bear you up. When will your pain be gone, your grief subdued, the unwanted memories forgotten? I do not know. But this I do know: He has the power to bring beauty from the ashes of your suffering....

President Dallin H. Oaks has taught: “Because of His atoning experience in mortality, our Savior is able to comfort, heal, and strengthen all men and women everywhere, but I believe He does so only for those who seek Him and ask for His help.

Count and Account

 

Remembering the Sheep

By Elder William K. Jackson

Of the Seventy

How can we be better shepherds? We can learn to count and account.

The Church supplies us with reports and tools to do just that—to remember. The Quarterly Report is a prime example. It allows us to count and account for each member multiple times and to notice those who go missing or need our help and our love. The Action and Interview List identifies those who require our attention right now, as do the Temple Recommend Status report and others. These counting and accounting tools focus us in on people. Who needs a calling, a priesthood advancement, or help taking a family name to the temple? Who could we be helping to prepare for a full-time mission? Who went missing this month? These tools help us to remember people.

Are You Using Your Time for What Matters Most?

 

“Lovest Thou Me?”

By Elder Steven C. Barlow

Of the Seventy

There will never be enough time in a day, a week, a month, or a year to get done all we want or need to accomplish. Part of the test of mortality is to use the precious resource of time for what is most important for our eternal good and to let go of those things that are less important.

President Russell M. Nelson said: “The question for each of us … is the same. … Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day? Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other? Are you willing to let whatever He needs you to do take precedence over every other ambition? Are you willing to have your will swallowed up in His?” We demonstrate our discipleship and love for God when we make Him our top priority.

Cheer Each Other On

 

Cheering Each Other On

By Sister J. Anette Dennis

First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

No matter where we live in the world, no matter our age, it is a basic human need for all of us to feel a sense of belonging, to feel that we are wanted and needed and that our lives have purpose and meaning, no matter our circumstances or limitations....

our congregations and families can be gathering places where we cheer each other on—covenant communities fueled by the love of Christ for one another—helping each other overcome whatever challenges we face, giving each other strength and encouragement without judging one another. We need each other. Divine strength comes from unity, and that is why Satan is intent on dividing us....

Our experience at church is meant to provide vital connections with the Lord and with each other that are so needed for our spiritual and emotional well-being. Inherent in the covenants we make with God, beginning with baptism, is our responsibility to love and care for each other as members of the family of God, members of the body of Christ, and not just to check off a box on a list of things we’re expected to do...

The Savior’s life was an example of loving, gathering, and lifting even those who society had judged as outcasts and unclean. His is an example we are commanded to follow. We are here to develop Christlike attributes and eventually become like our Savior. His is not a gospel of checklists; it is a gospel of becoming—becoming as He is and loving as He does. He wants us to become a Zion people....

Only the Lord fully knows the actual level of difficulty with which each of us is running our race of life—the burdens, the challenges, and the obstacles we face that often cannot be seen by others. Only He fully understands the life-changing wounds and trauma some of us may have experienced in the past that are still affecting us in the present...

There will be times in each of our lives when we will be the ones who need help and encouragement. Let’s commit now to always do that for each other. As we do, we will develop greater unity and facilitate a space for the Savior to do His sacred work of healing and transforming each of us.

No Limit on Second Chances

 

Jesus Christ and Your New Beginning

By Elder Patrick Kearon

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

To those who are struggling with the same sin or the same setback over and over again, you keep going. He hasn’t put a roadblock in front of you. He hasn’t set a limit on your second chances. You press on. You keep striving. You seek help from those around you. And you trust in the new beginning that is there for you every time you turn back to your Father in sincerity of heart. Leave deliberate sinning, casual repeats, and prideful rebellion behind you, where they belong. You don’t have to be who you’ve been before. Embrace your fresh start, your second or third or fourth—or hundredth—chance, offered to you through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.

Accept and Welcome New and Returning Members

 

The Lord Is Hastening His Work

By Elder Quentin L. Cook

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Our sacred duty is to accept and welcome new and returning members. As the Lord hastens His work, we should love, nurture, and serve those who accept His gospel. We can help build a Zion people, where we are “of one heart and one mind, and [dwell] in righteousness.” To be one with the Lord, we must be one before the Lord. All members, regardless of baptism date, share a responsibility to welcome others.

My counsel to the members of the Church is to wrap our arms around these precious, elect people who have accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Focusing on the Simplicity of Christ During Challenging Times

 

Simplicity in Christ

By Elder Michael Cziesla

Of the Seventy

... for so many of our wonderful Saints throughout the world [who] focus on the simplicity in Christ in their challenging circumstances, perhaps seeing little change now but trusting that great things will come to pass some day in the future.

#aang

The Sacrament is an Invitation to Repent Sincerely

 

Humble Souls at Altars Kneel

By Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi

Of the Seventy

Elder David A. Bednar taught that “the ordinance of the sacrament is a holy and repeated invitation to repent sincerely and to be renewed spiritually. The act of partaking of the sacrament, in and of itself, does not remit sins. But as we prepare conscientiously and participate in this holy ordinance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then the promise is that we may always have the Spirit of the Lord to be with us. And by the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can always retain a remission of our sins.”

David A. Bednar, “Always Retain a Remission of Your Sins,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 61–62.

Your Testimony is...

 

The Eternal Gift of Testimony

By Elder Kevin G. Brown

Of the Seventy

I invite you to think about your path to a sure witness of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Take charge of your testimony; use your agency wisely and acknowledge the giver and all His glorious attributes. I bear witness that the power is within you. No one can choose for you. No one can take this gift away. You can choose to believe.

I promise that as you do this, your testimony will be a “well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life.” It will be an anchor and a motivator, and it will sustain you through difficult times. It will enable you to develop spiritual gifts. It will help you in your personal ministry and service. It will be a weapon against Satan and your adversaries. Your testimony will be a joy as you see it replicated in your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and in those you love and serve. It will be powerful when you share it and use it to testify.

 

No One Sits Alone

By Elder Gerrit W. Gong

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

The spirit of “room in the inn” includes “no one sits alone.” When you come to church, if you see someone alone, will you please say hello and sit with him or her? This may not be your custom. The person may look or speak differently than you. And of course, as a fortune cookie might say, “A journey of gospel friendship and love begins with a first hello and no one sitting alone.”

“No one sits alone” also means no one sits alone emotionally or spiritually....

In His restored Church, we are all better when no one sits alone. Let us not simply accommodate or tolerate. Let us genuinely welcome, acknowledge, minister to, love. May each friend, sister, brother not be a foreigner or stranger but a child at home.

Today many feel lonely and isolated. Social media and artificial intelligence can leave us yearning for human closeness and human touch. We want to hear each other’s voices. We want authentic belonging and kindness.

There are many reasons we may feel we do not fit in at church—that, speaking figuratively, we sit alone. We may worry about our accent, clothes, family situation. Perhaps we feel inadequate, smell of smoke, yearn for moral cleanliness, have broken up with someone and feel hurt and embarrassed, are concerned about this or that Church policy. We may be single, divorced, widowed. Our children are noisy; we don’t have children. We didn’t serve a mission or came home early. The list goes on.

Mosiah 18:21 invites us to knit our hearts together in love. I invite us to worry less, judge less, be less demanding of others—and, when needed, be less hard on ourselves. We do not create Zion in a day. But each “hello,” each warm gesture, brings Zion closer. Let us trust the Lord more and choose joyfully to obey all His commandments.

There are many reasons we may feel we do not fit in at church—that, speaking figuratively, we sit alone. We may worry about our accent, clothes, family situation. Perhaps we feel inadequate, smell of smoke, yearn for moral cleanliness, have broken up with someone and feel hurt and embarrassed, are concerned about this or that Church policy. We may be single, divorced, widowed. Our children are noisy; we don’t have children. We didn’t serve a mission or came home early. The list goes on.

Mosiah 18:21 invites us to knit our hearts together in love. I invite us to worry less, judge less, be less demanding of others—and, when needed, be less hard on ourselves. We do not create Zion in a day. But each “hello,” each warm gesture, brings Zion closer. Let us trust the Lord more and choose joyfully to obey all His commandments.

The Family Proclamation is Doctrine

 

The Family Proclamation—Words from God

By Elder Ronald A. Rasband

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

When presented, the proclamation did not align with the views of many in the world. Not then. Not now. There are those who take issue with the declaration on family, marriage, and gender. Some suggest the Church pull it back, revise, or even set the proclamation aside.

The proclamation on the family is, as President Hinckley stated, doctrine, my dear brothers and sisters. The principles are not out of step but perfectly in step with the ways of the Lord and His covenant path. The teachings of the proclamation were revealed by our Lord Jesus Christ to His Apostles then and now. This is His Church; He has established the truths by which we live.