I Stand with You as a Believer in Christ and His Gospel!

I choose to believe for many reasons, but one reason is because of my Love for my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and for the Peace I receive during troubling times as I choose to follow him. About 30 years ago I decided to fly from Utah to Chile to see if this Young Man that I was writing (yes, writing actual letters) was just a good friend or my future husband. After much prayer and scripture study and going to the temple, I felt peace about going to see him but felt worried about getting lost switching planes and had a little anxiety about being all by myself flying such a long way etc.

As I prayed and read my scriptures I felt these words leap off the page to me, “Be strong & Courageous do Not be afraid or discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9) Reading that over and over again in the scriptures brought so much peace to me, along with a blessing from my dad. I now have this scripture in my home to look at and it has reminded me in hard times, which this last year has been a personal Gethsemane for me, to know that he is with me! To know that he was with me on my trip to Chile 30 years ago, that I had peace and found my eternal companion. I think about the many times that we are told in the scriptures to remember, remember. I am filled with hope, when I look back on my life and see the hand of God and remember the many times the Lord was with me and has blessed me and my family. Still in General Conference it was a good reminder as I feel most of us are still going through some hard trials, Elder Holland’s reminder to us that “Christianity is comforting, but it is often not comfortable. The path to holiness and happiness here and hereafter is a long and sometimes rocky one. It takes time and tenacity to walk it. But of course, the reward for doing so is monumental.” I stand together with you amazing women as a believer in Christ and his gospel! I am a believer in modern day Miracles in our lives. I love General Conference. And it is one of the blessings of my life that help me have hope and get through hard things and help me to see that I am not alone in my trials. I accepted the challenge from Conference to study the 6th chapter in Preach my gospel and pick a Christ like attribute for me to work on. I selected Patience, it is helping me to remember to have patience in my trials. Specifically it says, “Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious. It is the ability to do Gods will and accept his timing. When you are patient, you hold up under pressure and are able to face adversity calmly and hopefully. Patience is related to hope and faith-you must wait for the Lord’s promised blessings to be fulfilled.” So, I am working on being patient in the Lord’s timing. My hope is that as sisters in the gospel we can continue to lift and encourage each other along this sometimes rocky path. Sending lots of love and hope to all of you.

~Janae Arancibia

Jesus is My Consistent in My World of Inconsistency

This past year has brought many changes to our family. Another mission call. Covid. An engagement. No mission. A wedding. Changes in callings. Changes in weight. Changes in school situations. Another wedding. And other personal struggles that just come as part of life.

But through all of these challenges and changes, Jesus is the same for me. The covenants we’ve made are the same. The blessings from keeping those covenants, the same. The peace I feel when I listen and re-listen to conference talks, the same. The joy I feel watching a child go through the repentance process, the same. The joy I feel when I repent, the same. The reassurance, peace, and joy I feel knowing that I am known and loved by heavenly parents, the same.

Jesus is my consistent in my world of inconsistency.

I choose to believe because I love Jesus, and I love what he offers. I love that He challenges us to become something better. I love that it’s not always easy. I love hope. I love peace. I love the plan. And I love the joy the gospel brings.

I often reflect on an experience I had as a child. I was 4, and on my way to my first piano recital. It was going to be at our church building. My mom was supposed to drop me off early, and when we got there she asked if I knew where to go. I answered no. Do you know where the primary room is? No, I said. What about the chapel? No. Do you know anything at all about this church? She asked. Just that it’s true, mom. And I still feel that today. Things aren’t perfect for any of us. But life is oh so much better for me on this side of the fence.

~Ange Nelson

Hold on to Your "Spiritually Defining Memories"

I choose to believe because I love Heavenly Father and His son, my Savior Jesus Christ. My love for them binds me to them. I have felt Their love for me in real, tangible ways - my own spiritual experiences with God. Elder Neil L. Anderson spoke about these experiences in his talk “Spiritually Defining Memories” from the April 2020 General Conference.

Elder Anderson said “Along with the peaceful direction we receive from the Holy Ghost, from time to time, God powerfully and very personally assures each of us that He knows us and loves us and that He is blessing us specifically and openly. Then, in our moments of difficulty, the Savior brings these experiences back into our mind.

Think of your own life. Over the years, I have listened to thousands of profoundly spiritual experiences from Latter-day Saints all across the world, confirming to me beyond any question that God knows and loves each of us and that He eagerly desires to reveal Himself to us. These experiences may come at pivotal times in our lives or in what may at first seem as uneventful happenings, but they are always accompanied by an exceptionally strong spiritual confirmation of the love of God.

Remembering these spiritually defining experiences takes us to our knees, declaring as did the Prophet Joseph: “What I received was from heaven. I know it, and I know that God knows that I know it.

As I think about my own life, I can gratefully say that I too have had experiences where God powerfully and very personally assured me that He knows me and loves me and that He is blessing me specifically and openly. I cling to these experiences and recount these moments when doubt creeps in.

One experience happened a few years ago. I had just learned that someone I loved dearly had left the church. It was a shock and a blow to me. It left me wondering “If they leave, why do I stay?” When the next General Conference came up, I listened intently to Elder Ballard’s talk “To Whom Shall We Go?” Elder Ballard spoke about church members struggling in their faith. It felt so applicable to my life and those around me. I re-read that talk many times. A few weeks after that general conference, I attended a stake training meeting. I was tired and discouraged. As I sat in the meeting I kept thinking “Why am I here? I don’t feel like this is really helpful.” Then the concluding speaker stood to speak. As she began, she said something to the effect of “I had prepared a message, but I don’t actually feel I should share that after all. I want to talk about Elder Ballard’s talk from conference.” At that moment I felt God’s love wash over me in abundance and I knew her words were for me. It was a sacred experience that I cherish. With Elder Anderson and the Prophet Joseph, I also say “What I received was from heaven. I know it, and I know that God knows that I know it.” And once again, I choose to believe.

~Ashley Pabst

Fear Not ... You are Not Alone

Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me D & C 50:41. I was called to be the Relief Society President in my ward one week before the nation shut down due to Covid-19. Already feeling intimidated by this new calling, fear began to creep in as we began to navigate through our new normal. I kept telling myself to “Fear not” and to rely on my Savior, Jesus Christ. So I prayed more intently and dove into the scriptures and General Conference. Since then, I have felt a wave of comfort and love come over me. I realized that I wasn’t doing this calling alone, that I had the support of my family and especially the Lord. I was fully relying upon the Lord and he was making my weakness become strong. I know that my Redeemer Lives and He is aware of each of us during our trials and moments of inadequacy. I am so thankful to be a member of this church and to live at this time as we get to help prepare the world for the second coming. This is why I choose Him, I choose to Hear Him everyday of my life!!!

~Jessica Toronto

Remember the Goodness of God

"This is such a strange time for all of us. I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under our feet. There is so much uncertainty, but even when I feel alone, depressed, or struggle with gospel questions, I choose to remember all that He has done for me and believe. Recently, in General Conference, Elder Renlund reminded us, 'to remember each day the greatness of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and what They have done for you.' When I remember all the blessings I have been given, the answers to prayer, the personal revelation I have received, I cannot deny that He is there, that He loves me, and that His church is the true church. I choose to believe because I remember what He has done for me." - Natalie H.

Relief for Refugees: This Is Who We Are

In the recent general and women's conferences we heard heartfelt calls from church leaders, asking us to prayerfully seek ways to offer relief to the many refugees who are suffering around the world. Click to view the new website which has been launched as guidance: IWasAStranger.lds.org

Image from LDSMediaTalk.org. Used with permission.

From the General Auxiliary Presidencies:
"What can our role as women be in the last days to prepare the earth for the coming of Christ? What can we do to reach out, to love, to nurture, and to minister as He has invited us to do? We each have the invitation as women and young women to open our eyes and our hearts to see those among us who may feel alone, afraid, or uncertain so that we are no longer strangers (see Matthew 25:35–36; Ephesians 2:19).

"With our divine nature as women, we can be a light in a darkening world. We can give hope, love, and care to those around us. We are not asked to 'run faster than [we have] strength.' Although we can work together, we are not asked to organize large efforts. Instead we are each asked to seek personal revelation about whom the Lord would have us strengthen and love as individuals and as families. The Savior invites us to participate in a personal ministry of love and to remember His words: 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these . . . , ye have done it unto me.'"

"This is not a program; it is who we are."

Make Time for LDS General Conference This Weekend

Do you want to know your purpose in God's plan? How to live a happier, richer life? Where to find answers amid confusion in the world? Join us for General Conference! This weekend, modern-day apostles and a prophet called of God will speak to us. We invite you to listen, attend, or watch, and learn what God wants you to know!


Saturday, October 3
Saturday Morning Session - 10:00 a.m.
Saturday Afternoon Session - 2:00 p.m.
General Priesthood Session (for men ages 12 and up)- 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 4
Sunday Morning Session - 10:00 a.m.
Sunday Afternoon Session - 2:00 p.m.