If We Believe and Follow Him, We Have Hope for a Better Tomorrow

I love this opportunity to reflect and to really ponder “why I choose to believe”.

My childhood was not an easy one. I was a child of divorce at a young age, and I relocated often. I often felt lost and alone. I witnessed my mother always clinging to the Gospel and her Heavenly Father, even though her life had not gone as she had planned! She taught me a good lesson by her example. If we believe and follow Him, we have hope for a better tomorrow. And she created a life for us that was a great reflection of that.

I have carried her example with me as an adult. I wanted to create a life that reflected Him from the beginning. I have chosen to believe in Him and put my faith in Him. Believing in Him comes easy to me, for that I have been grateful. I believe many of the blessings I enjoy in my life are because I have chosen to follow His path. Many family members have not followed that path, and I have seen their hope diminished...

My Father in Heaven has shown me many times that He is there and that he knows who I am. I can not deny those experiences. I choose to believe in Him because I know He is there and He brings hope and peace. I am so grateful for Him and for His Love!

~Jamie Garner

Thank God for the Rain

I choose to believe because I have a testimony of our Heavenly Father's Plan, which is a plan of happiness. I know that no matter how difficult life may be, that as we look for the good things in life that good will come back to us. I recently read a talk by Elder Uchtdorf in which he talked about how sooner or later all of us experience times when the very fabric of our world tears at the seams, leaving us feeling alone, frustrated, and adrift. However, there is one thing we can do to make life sweeter and more joyful, and that is to be grateful. When life is difficult, it can be hard to be grateful, but if we focus on being grateful, despite our circumstances, whatever they may be, we can experience peace in the midst of tribulation. He asks, "How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God for the rain?"

Over the past several months, I've been able to see the silver lining, even though there are times when I feel anxious or worried. I've enjoyed the time I've been able to spend with my children, having sacrament meeting with my family and parents, spending time with close friends and family, and a slower pace where I've been able to accomplish things that normally I wouldn't have time for.

I'm so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. For the knowledge that we are children of a loving Heavenly Father. And that despite the challenges we face in life, that because of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the future is bright.

~Lari Frandsen

Christ has Given "Beauty for Ashes" in My Life

I was recently thinking about what I was doing a year ago at this time. The kids were all in school. I was trying my hand at some home canning and thinking about Halloween decorations. Fast forward a year and canning is about the only thing that is familiar. We’re now a good six months or so into a once in a hundred year pandemic and it has put its mark on just about everything- church, work, school, and social lives. Meanwhile, our country is in an extremely divided time politically. There is civil unrest and protests around the nation as we try to work out our issues with race. There are wildfires that are consuming large swaths of the West. Even locally, there are contentions about school schedules, and wearing masks, etc. IT CAN BE A LOT.

When it is A LOT, I have learned to turn to my Heavenly Father in prayer and to turn to my Savior for comfort, counsel and example. I “CHOOSE to believe” in them because I have tested Christ’s gospel in my life and it works. I have trust in Jesus Christ because when I have put his counsel to the test, it has born out to be true. He has helped me through the darkness. He has helped me to grow and become stronger.

You see, as rough as this year has been it is not my hardest. My most difficult year was a few years back. I faced some challenges that absolutely shattered me. Every part of me and my life. It was so difficult that it even made me question my idea of who God must be. I couldn’t see how God could be a “loving Father” and have this happen. Why would He allow it?

There is a painting called “Hope” by George Fredric Watts (see photos) When I saw this painting, I could identify immediately with the woman in this painting. I felt blinded and struggling. I was down to my last string straining to hear any sound that might still be there to get me through.

That string was Jesus Christ. It was his life, his example and his teachings that saw me through. I held on and listened to that string for dear life and he did not let me down. Little by little he helped me to find my way. He was sure and unchanging. His teachings were true.

In Japan, there is an art form called Kintsugi, (see photos) where an artist will take a broken piece of pottery and glue it back together. Next they will take gold and place it in the repaired seams highlighting them and making it into something new. When this is done well, it can make them worth more than they were before. This is what Christ did for that shattered me. He put me back together and used my scars to make me into something new. Something better than I was before.

This is what Christ always does. No matter what hard thing you face, He can get you through. No matter what garbage you are given in life, He can make it into something of value and beauty. This is Christ. This is what He does. He gives us “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” (Isaiah 61:3). All we have to do is turn to Him. As that old young women’s song says, “Learn of [Him] and listen to [His] words. Walk in the meekness of [His] light and [He] will give you peace.”

So, when you find yourself down to your last string, listen closely to Christ. He will not fail you. Let Him work in your life. And then, when you find your song again, follow His example by making beauty out of the ugliness around you. Each of us will do this differently but we all can all do it. Ask yourself: What can I do? Can I build? Can I repair? Can I strengthen? Can I teach? Can I care for? Can I forgive? Can I protect? Can I create? It is within each of us to do something like Christ to make our current situations better and more lovely. I hope we can all follow His example. I send my love to you all.

~ Jamie

I Know the Lord Loves Me Because I Have Seen His Hand in My Life

I choose to believe because believing helps me to have HOPE for a better world AND to feel PEACE in the midst of this troubled one. I must admit that this pandemic has not been too much of a road bump for me. I have enjoyed extra family time, I have loved having church at home, and I have also improved my focus on studying various gospel topics. I am so thankful for a living prophet on the earth and how his words bring me comfort.

I know that the Lord loves me because I have seen His hand in my life so many times. How can I not believe, when I know that He is very aware of me? I feel that believing is so much easier than not believing! I definitely feel His strength every day helping me to become the person He wants me to become.

~Tammy Foote

Choosing Light Over Darkness Makes All the Difference

I choose to believe because I know what it is like to choose otherwise and I have learned how quickly the light of Christ can leave you and darkness can start to creep in. I somehow thought that certain things would hurt less if I chose to believe that the Gospel was not essential to happiness. Shockingly (haha), it didn’t work and I found myself struggling with anxiety and depression even more than usual. I distanced myself from those around me and felt overwhelmed. I knew what I needed but it wasn’t easy. I was embarrassed and ashamed and had to humble myself. It didn’t take long to feel the light start to come back and heal my soul. The trials we all go through, quite frankly can stink but I can testify that the difference between choosing to walk them alone or with our Savior by our side, is literally choosing light over darkness. In the end, I realize my Savior was always there just waiting for me to let him back in.

I often feel a little envious when I hear others testimonies of how they have never wavered but I have actually become grateful for my experiences, they are what makes me who I am today. I have a simple testimony and I am not eloquent with my words but I have come to realize that I am enough. Whether we don’t feel worthy or maybe just can’t find the energy to muster the strength to get on our knees, it’s OK! He is there waiting patiently with unconditional love. HOPE is all we need and CHOOSING to believe is the first step. It is never too late! Our Savior will never leave our side and I am so grateful for that knowledge.

~Shelly Franklin

We Know the Outcome of this Battle

I choose to believe because I know my Heavenly Father and Savior know me personally and love me beyond my understanding. They both want me to be happy and successful especially in these trying times. The spirit has confirmed these things to my soul. I know we are all loved and cherished. The Lord is very aware of the spiritual battle we face on a daily basis and we have been prepared to live in these trying times. We know the outcome of this battle. We know the Lord will win this battle and He will come again! I feel so much hope in good things to come because of this knowledge. I choose to hold on to the iron rod so that I can be with Him again!

~Darci Burnett

Press Forward with a Steadfast Faith in Christ

I choose to believe because I have always found so much peace, stability and love in believing in our Savior Jesus Christ and in His gospel.

Because I believe in Him, I know that I came into this life to be tested. Often my tests are uniquely my own. Lately, my test is the same as everyone else’s. After the paralyzing fear wears off, sometimes in a few minutes.... sometimes in a few days....I begin to ask questions. How did CoVid-19 happen? What are the characteristics of this virus? What are the symptoms exactly? How do I protect my family?

My fear shrinks as I begin to find answers from experts and also answers in my thoughts and heart as I study His holy word from ancient and modern prophets. Choosing to believe allows me full access to a loving Father in Heaven, to the infinite atoning power of His Divine Son and to the quiet whispers of the Holy Ghost who comforts, warns, inspires, directs and testifies of truth.

Choosing to believe keeps me vigilant in preparing spiritually, physically and temporally for future natural disasters and brings much needed understanding when rioting breaks out across our great nation. Choosing to believe in Jesus Christ brings peace to my soul, stability to my mind and keeps my heart open to more fully love and show appreciation to those who serve to protect us and to show compassion to those who suffer and to those who are full of anger.

My very favorite scripture helps me endure to believe everyday. It’s found in 2 Nephi 31:20. “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfast faith in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, this saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.” May this scripture help & bless you too, in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

-Jami Jensen

Hope During These Challenging Times

As I struggled to gather my thoughts to write this message to share with you, I knew I needed to pray. Then tears began to flow down my cheeks as I felt my Savior’s arms around me for the first time in a good long while. I have resisted my personal prayers during the past weeks. My thoughts have been in such turmoil as I’ve tried to process the changes our world was going through with first the Covid-19 virus and the economic consequences of the quarantines, then the civil unrest that has raised such an emotional outcry from our brothers and sisters of all races. I know now that the adversary had persuaded me to avoid calling upon my Father in Heaven for comfort so that I would suffocate in darkness.

As I turned to the scriptures, Elder Uchtdorf’s talk from the General Conference in October 2008, “The Infinite Power of Hope” appeared to be highlighted on my screen as I signed into LDS.org. I knew the Lord had answered my prayer with Elder Uchtdorf’s words. He said, “The adversary uses despair to bind hearts and minds in suffocating darkness. Despair drains from us all that is vibrant and joyful and leaves behind the empty remnants of what life was meant to be. Despair kills ambition, advances sickness, pollutes the soul, and deadens the heart. Despair can seem like a staircase that leads only and forever downward.” He goes on to say, “Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time.” I knew I still had faith that Christ was in control during all of these new trials we’re dealing with, but I was missing the hope which also made it difficult to feel charitable.

Sisters, the Lord IS in control. There are no surprises for Him. No one can thwart His plan. This I do know and knowing that our Father in Heaven is in control brings me much comfort and hope. We’ve been taught to seek the Lord through scriptures, prayer and fasting in order to resist the feelings of despair that the adversary would have us feel. I know I must continue to seek Him throughout each day, even more so when I’m feeling resistant to pray. This I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

~Jackie Ahrens

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

"I Will Choose Him Again"

This page has been more poignant to me than I could have imagined. It has brought me comfort and peace, and enlarged my faith. We don't ever plan on walking through a crisis of faith with someone very close to us. We don't plan on having our beliefs challenged by those we thought were on the path with us. It's hard to not have the answers to their questions. I've found myself wondering, "what if they're right? Have I been following blindly, without thinking for myself? Am I being scammed, played, defrauded?"

But every time these thoughts come to my head, they are pushed out by the title of this group. I choose to believe. No one is pressuring me, tricking me. I choose this gospel.

Those thoughts are pushed out by an inspired primary song. "Even though it's still hard, with questions that arise every day..." Or "I will choose him again! For he's our Savior and Friend..."

When I feel like things around me are crumbling, peace blossoms when I feel the sunshine in my face. I see those poor crunched tulips that I ran over bloom with bright confidence, not caring what other people might think of the way they are growing.

Joy bubbles through the doubt when my toddler finally convinces me to jump on the "twamp" with her, even though I know I'll probably pee my pants doing it.

Every one goes through trials. Everyone has questions sometimes. But I am so grateful for these tender mercies from a loving heavenly father. These little fireflies of assurance are just enough light in the mist of doubt and depression and darkness to remind me that I DO have a testimony of my own. There are questions and doubts that arise, but every time they do I get one of these little flickers reminding me that Heavenly Father knows as loves me. And then, again, I choose to believe.

~Kim Porter

He is in Every Detail of My Life

 

I choose to believe because I know my Savior lives and loves me. This past year has brought many events – and unexpected changes – for our family. Through it all, I choose to believe because I know that no matter what we are asked to do, if we do it with faith and hope, and an eye single to His plan, (even if we don’t know the outcome) we can accomplish all that is set before us and all that we are asked to do. I choose to believe because it brings me comfort. It brings me peace, happiness, and joy to know that I can feel the love of a Heavenly Father who is aware of me, who knows me, and who loves me unconditionally. He is there for me. I cannot deny that He is in every detail of my life. I have felt His love and His witness in many ways. I choose to believe because of my testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and His eternal plan!  ~Ericka Schade

Our Savior Can Be With Us...Right Where We Are

"Yesterday my husband asked me to run make some copies at the church for our ward. I got all our kids set up doing schoolwork and then did a mad dash. I walked into the dark, quiet building and was scurrying down the hall when I was stopped in my tracks by this big, beautiful picture of the Savior...reaching out to me. The first thought that came into my mind was, 'He's still here!' I just had to sit for a moment and be still in a place that I knew He was. While I hope I never again take for granted being able to be in His holy house(s)...our churches and temples...I choose to believe that even and especially in times like these He is not waiting there until we come back. I choose to believe in a Savior who is with us wherever we invite Him, reaching out with love and peace and offering His strength to help us through." -Miriam F.

I Choose to Believe in Good Things to Come

Women's Conference Talk by Lindi Salmon 

"In 1815, the Indonesian island of Sumbawa was lush and green with recent rain. Families were preparing for the dry season ahead, as they had every year for generations, cultivating rice paddies in the shadow of a volcano called Tambora.

"On the evening of April 10, the whole mountain exploded. Three fiery plumes shot skyward, merging into one massive blast.

"The eruption caused temperatures in India to drop, and cholera killed thousands, destroying families. In fertile Chinese valleys, summer snowstorms replaced a normally mild climate and flooding rains destroyed crops. In Europe, food supplies dwindled, leading to starvation and panic.

"The eruption of Tambora affected weather in North America through the following year. Spring gave way to snowfall and killing frosts, and 1816 passed into memory as the year without a summer." (Saints)

Now I want to tell you about my own year without a summer. Nine months ago, almost to the hour, I was lying in an ICU bed. During the previous 24 hours, I had suffered the final stroke that was part of what doctors later called a shower of strokes. I had lost many abilities, including being able to walk,  eat, or even really lift my head.

I had been Life Flighted to a different hospital and listened as doctors had explained to my sweet husband that if current treatments did not work, the only option left was brain surgery. This only had two outcomes, further injury or death. As I lay there, I listened to nurses describe my situation. Being a nurse myself, I never thought I would see a patient live through this--let alone live through it myself. I was at a complete loss. I remember closing my eyes thinking, “What next?” in complete despair.

Video 2: I Choose to Believe

Sisters in our stake explain why they choose to believe as they go through challenges and trials of life. Video 2 of 2.

I Choose to Believe in the Power of Christ's Atonement

Women's Conference Talk by Miriam Franson

I sat at a lunch recently with some dear friends who shared their discouragement with their college-age daughters’ struggles to find men to date who do not or have not had issues with pornography. They just don't want their daughters to have to deal with that! I am sure we all can relate to deep feelings of concern for how battles with addiction today affect not only now, but the marriages and families of our children and grandchildren.

As I sat at that lunch and in other circumstances where the question, “Can people really change? Truly overcome and begin new?” is wrestled with, I’ve wished I knew how to share my own depth of belief in the power of the Savior’s Atonement to do just that. I’ve felt His power help me move past things in my own life, and have seen it transform the lives of people I dearly love.

I have come to believe that there are many more hopeful stories than we realize sitting all around us, but out of loyalty, self-preservation, and a desire not to have it be the headline of life moving forward, we don’t hear them.

When a single friend of mine moved here from out of state, I asked her if there was anything tough for her about the move to Utah. She said, “I don’t know if people here really believe that the Atonement works. They talk about it, but do they really believe that it can change lives?”

I Believe Through the Dark

"Even when winter clouds are dark, I choose to believe because tulips always bloom in the spring." -Tara C.

The Savior Gives Me Hope

"Even when the world seems to be against the teachings of Christ, I choose to believe. I choose to believe because I know that the Savior is the source of joy, light, hope, eternal life, and redemption. Without my Savior, there is no hope." -Your Sister

The Pure Love of Christ Changed My Life

by Karen Jensen

Take a look at Moroni 7:46-48. As Moroni was hiding from the Lamanites at the end of the Book of Mormon, having watched his entire nation, along with his own family and loved ones, be destroyed, and as he was utterly alone and unsure if he’d be caught and killed for believing in Christ, these are the words of his father’s that he felt were important enough to add to the end of the Book of Mormon.

As we partake of the sacrament, we symbolically make our Savior and His strength a part of us as we eat the bread. What a beautiful symbol that this bread is nourishing us and literally becoming our own muscles and bones and energy. What a beautiful symbol that we drink the water that is now inside of us, washing and healing our body, and giving it life! All of this is a symbol of what the Savior is for us on that altar. 

And as we do this, we made a solemn covenant with our Father in Heaven to take upon us the name of the One whose body and spirit was torn and broken for us and which now gives us this healing, strength, and hope. Which means we have promised to represent him, and in the process, become like him as we act in his name.

I have been, for many years, in a position where my kids and I have been the recipients of so many beautiful, simple, and profound acts of Christlike love in the middle of what has seemed like constant intense health and family challenges. These Christlike acts have truly changed my life. I was hesitant initially to share some of these experiences, for fear it may look as if I’m asking for pity or attention. But I have realized that my testimony in this topic comes from these very experiences, and the Spirit I hope to invite may need to come straight from this testimony I have gained.

Something I want to preface this with is the fact that it can easily feel like such an impossible goal to consider how we can and need to try to become like our Savior. But I think everyone here can probably stand here just as well as I can to say that some of the most meaningful and most Christlike acts we’ve individually been the recipients of can be incredibly simple.

For instance, when my Ashley was four years old, after collapsing in her tumbling class and not being able to use her legs for a few moments, she was diagnosed with a malformation in her brain which had caused pressure and fluid to build on her brain and spinal cord. This fluid was threatening to break it entirely.

Doubting Your Doubts

This talk was given at the 2019 stake women's conference.
by Ashley Simmons

I am honored to speak today. The topic I was given was doubting your doubts, taken from Elder Uchtdorf's General Conference address Come, Join with Us. I hope that my words will in some way lift the burden that doubt can place on hearts and shoulders.

One of the most powerful ways we can doubt our doubts is by changing the way we react to them. Specifically, we need to have less fear and shame about doubt. For example, a few years ago I read a moving history about a Jewish family in England and the struggles they faced during WWII. One day a teenage son came to his father, who was the rabbi of the community, with a confession that burdened his heart: "Dad," he said, "I don’t know if I believe there is a God!"

His father's reaction was extreme, as if he were Luke Skywalker and had just been told Darth Vader was really his father. The rabbi screamed with great passion, "NOOOO!!!" and wept and wailed at his son’s confession. The son was so freaked out by his father’s reaction that he actually ran away and joined an atheistic Communist party.

This father's fearful and shaming reactions to his sons doubt gave doubt so much power that it literally turned his son into an atheist. But what if he could have looked at doubt differently and feared it and shamed it less?

What if instead of screaming "No!" to his son saying "Dad, I don’t know if I believe there is a God," the father had said, "Son, I am glad you are pondering the existence of God. God has placed that question of His existence in every one of His son’s and daughter's hearts to make us wrestle, to make us ponder, to make us diligently search for Him! Son, I can promise you that if you will take your natural questions and search for Him, you will find Him!’’

Covenants: Giving Us Understanding, Hope, and Perspective

“Covenants with God help us to know who we really are.” 

Jean A. Stevens, “Covenant Daughters of God,” Nov. 2014

As we prepare for the women’s conference and our thoughts have been more focused on "Rejoicing on the Covenant Path," the stake Relief Society presidency wanted to share our testimony of our covenants and what they mean to us.

Tiffany McMinn

One day, many years ago, while I was serving as a missionary in the town of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, my companion and I were needing to get to the home of a sister and her son we were teaching (which was several miles from our apartment). The problem was that we were out of driving miles for the remainder of the month.

We had bikes to ride, but the only road to this sister's house was off the old highway. There were no back roads or side streets—she lived on a private dirt road that came right off this somewhat busy highway.

Feeling brave (and a little invincible as missionaries) we decided to ride our bikes to this appointment. There was no sidewalk to ride on—just a white painted line with cars zooming by on the road just to our left, and ditches, drop offs, and gravel just off to our right.

Image by Alan Levine (public domain, Flickr)

I remember focusing on keeping my front bike tire right on that straight white line as I rode. If I did that, I was fine.

But, if I took my eyes off that white line (even for a second) I would get wobbly and begin to veer off, putting myself at risk to get struck by a car or crash my bike into a ditch.

I have thought many times about that thrilling bike ride that got us to where we needed to go. I’ve thought about how that white line was the safest and really the only path to our destination.

I believe my covenants are like markers (or that white line) on a path that guides me on my journey home to my Heavenly Father. They direct me and give me power and strength as I put my focus on them. They give me understanding, hope, and perspective of where I am headed. They keep me safe and protect me from the evil distractions in the world.

Though I still have a long ride ahead of me, my covenants are helping me change, and, through Jesus Christ, become who my Heavenly Father intended me to be.