Post # 144 -- General Conference
October 2019
Dear Family and Friends
I do hope
you were each able to listen to or watch our general conference. I had some
family obligations, so I was not able to watch it when it was on, but I was
able to watch it later in the evening from the DVR 😊 Something that I am truly
grateful for. I use my DVR all the time, probably more than I ought to, I guess.
I wanted to share with you some quotes
and thoughts from our general conference. I
probably should have included this last year when I shared the first general
conference with each one of you. The thought never crossed my mind that some of
you might not know what general conference is == so I have added this short
little definition of what general conferences are:
With that said I would
like to share a few quotes with you that I truly enjoyed
“As you exercise faith in the Lord and His
priesthood power, your ability to draw upon this spiritual treasure that the
Lord has made available will increase.” – President Russell M. Nelson
One of the most important things we can learn in this life is
how to emphasize our eternal spiritual nature and control our evil desires. By
President M. Russell Ballard - Acting President of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles
As
we come unto Him, God will come to our rescue, whether to heal us or to give us
the strength to face any situation. By Elder Walter F. González - Of
the Seventy
“Nothing opens the heavens quite like the
combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily
feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time
committed to temple and family history work.” By President
Russell M. Nelson
You know
there are so many amazing talks given during General Conference every six
months – so much to learn😊 I am so grateful to all who spoke at conference, they each
shared with me from spirit to spirit. I often feel as if the speaker were
speaking only to me. Though I know that others may feel the same way directly
from the same speaker as well. This only continually confirms to me that our
Heavenly Father knows each one of us individually and completely. He knows just
what we need to hear and when we need to hear it😊
I am not sure if I ever mentioned this before, but
I have struggled all my life with great self-esteem issues and have even been to
the point on several occasions during my life that I felt like my life was not
good enough to continue. Drawing attention to myself was never something that I
ever wanted to do. For most of my life I have wanted to remain in the shadows –
hoping that I would not be noticed at all. I was never good enough, never good
enough for anything😊 or anyone:(
When the rare times have come that someone sends
mt a compliment I am not sure how to take it. I have often wondered why they
would feel the need to say something that was not true. Or I wondered if they
wanted me for something, so they felt the need to pump me up for it. I grew up
having ‘friends’ who were only my friends if I could do something for them☹
All these years later it is still very hard for me
to accept a compliment as face value, That the person really and truly means
what they are saying to me. I don’t feel that I am anything special. It has
also been extremely hard for me to make friends because I never learned how I guess.
I am sure that there are some of you out there who have in the past felt this
way. There are most likely many of you who still feel this way, I know that I still
struggle with my worth☹
When I was growing up you did not talk about your
feelings. You kept them to yourself. I look back on my life and I can see the
Lord’s hand in my life, so strongly😊 He was always there for me – even before I knew for sure of
His true existence😊 He kept me from taking my life on those occasions when I came
so close to my own extinction. I am so grateful to Him for this great gift of
my life. For the opportunity that He has given me to share the gospel of Jesus
Christ with each of you😊
I am so
grateful for His forgiveness and His unwavering love😊 I am extremely grateful for His Only Begotten Son, my Savior,
Jesus Christ and for His Atonement and all the blessings that come from
embracing it in my life. I am just learning a bit about how this works and I have
been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for all of
these 31 years. I am sure that I have mentioned that I am a very slow learner😊
I guess what is most important is that I am still
learning, right? When I think about my life growing up in a family with eight
children, with a mom who had no education – only that of about a sixth grader
at best, and living in deep poverty, I am surprised that I am here to tell
anything about it. One of my best friends took his life and it was a struggle
for me to make any sense of his passing. After he was gone the only true friend,
I had was my older brother😊
It is so hard to get through a day of life when
you feel that you have no purpose, or your mind is so full of darkness that you
cannot sort through that darkness to even get dressed and face another living
soul. That darkness might be compared to a great heavy fog that you are trying
to drive through and your windshield wipers are necessary to cut through it
layer by layer so that you can inch along through to a safe place to stop until
the fog lifts enough for you to continue on your journey safely😊
Have you ever heard the phrase that ‘the fog was
as thick as pea soup?’ Well, I think a lot of my growing up years were a bit –
no, a lot like that☹ it was a very lonely
and sad life looking back on it now. I do not know just how I was able to make
it through to this point. Yes, I know that it was because my Heavenly Father
was there for me. He has been there throughout my whole life, but I did not
recognize His presence during the struggles of my life☹ please do not repeat my life. Find Him early. Find Him now!
The traumas that happened during my life have made
me who I am today! 😊Though I still struggle
every day to maintain that I have value as a daughter of my Heavenly Father. With
this knowledge I have been able to see myself a bit better through His eyes. I am
a child of God! I am loved no matter what I do or say! I have felt His loving
arms around me as I cried myself to sleep☹ I know for a surety
that He loves me!!! I am good enough!!!
I do not need to hide my feelings. I can
share them with Him in prayer! I believe there is great power in prayer😊 I have seen that power in my life!!!
As a child going through various types of abuse, I
believe that the emotional abuse is the hardest to recover from, I guess
because you cannot physically see they healing as it is happening, and it is a
lot harder to recognize. If you are struggling in any of these ways, please don’t
keep it all bottled up inside of yourself. If you cannot share your feelings
with a physical person – please share those feelings in your prayers with your
Heavenly Father😊
It is so very hard to find any good in yourself
when these things have happened to you. Especially when it begins at such a
young age and is so traumatic. Often felt
that I was only good for one thing—and that thing was not a good thing☹ I do not feel comfortable going into details and reliving the
trauma of the telling of it. Just know that from that one incident in my
childhood, my perspectives of life changed drastically, and it has taken all
these years to come to a semblance of recovering. I still struggle with my self
-worth☹
I think that often times you develop coping
mechanisms so that you are able to get through the traumas of your life. I was
able to hide most things behind a smile and laughing at myself and of course
the self-abuse was always hidden. There for many years I got up with a bottle
and went to bed with a bottle. Never really drunk, but never really sober
either. My smoking was up to four packs a day when I promised the Lord that I would
give it up to become a member of His church. This was the best decision of my
life!!! 😊 😊 😊
Yes, I struggled with giving it up, but with the
Lord’s help I was able to give up my bad habits and begin a new life. I have
never looked back. And even though I have been a slow learner all my life, I think
I am doing alright! Even though I still struggle with some things. I remember
now, that I do have a Heavenly Father who loves me always! I remember that I have
a Savior, Jesus Christ who gave His life to pay the price of my sins and transgressions.
If you struggle with things in your life as well, let the Lord help you as He has
helped me through my darkness and into His light😊 😊 😊
I know that depression is a real thing! I know
that abuse in its many ugly forms is a real thing! I know that addictions of
many kinds are a real thing! I know that our minds can be full of confusion and
misdirection and that is a real thing! I have experienced at least one form of
all of these things, so I know from my own experience that they all are very
real things!!! I know it is sad but only too true☹
I am no expert in any way, shape or form, but I know
for a fact that the Lord has been there for me and helped me – even when I did
not recognize Him helping me☹ now that I have learned
to ask Him for His help I have Managed my life so much better. I know that even
as old as I am, I still have so much more to learn. Though I love to learn many
things, I honestly believe that learning about my Heavenly Father and my
Savior, Jesus Christ are some of the most important to learn about😊
I know that the trauma and other experiences that
we have in our lives happen for a reason. Even if we never know what that reason
or reasons may be. I know that the Lord allowed me to remember the things I had
gone through in my life, after they had all been pretty much erased when I had
a series of small strokes. Years later I was able to help many of our foster
children through the trauma they were facing in their lives by sharing what I had
gone through or having gone through the same thing or something similar I was
able to help them😊 because I had been
there too!
I am not sure if any of this is making sense to
you, but I felt the need to share it with you all. I haven’t thought about
these things for years. I was reading through a talk from our general conference
and these things all came flooding back to my mind. I hope I have shared
something that is of a little comfort to you in some small way. Just know that
you are loved very deeply and your Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ
are both there for each one of you. They are only a prayer away😊
I know that when I was growing up, we did not
speak of these things even within the walls of our own home. When we had problems,
we kept them to ourselves and we most certainly did not go to the doctor for
things. My mom was not going to have a spectacle made of her family. I guess
she had really bad experiences growing up in her own family and she did not
want those things repeated with her children😊
If you are suffering from any of these troubles in
your life, now is the time to get the help that you need! You are worth it!!! You
should do what ever your doctor or therapist has recommended for your
individual needs and treatment but remember that the Lord can help you with any
problem that you have! He has helped me so much throughout my life as well as continually
helping me through my journey with cancer😊
Remember that when Jesus Christ suffered for our sins,
He also suffered all of our pains and afflictions, our sicknesses, diseases,
illnesses, or traumas and so much more. He suffered so much so that He, being a
god bled from every pore. He suffered so much more than any mere mortal would
be able to withstand. And He did it all willingly because He loves each one of
us so much!!! One key to accessing the help that we need is to have faith and
trust in the Lord😊 Prayer is another key!!!
Oh, I have been rambling again, haven’t I? let me
share with you the talk that I was reading. The one that got all these thoughts
rushing back to my mind. I hope you enjoy this talk and I hope and pray that it
is helpful to you.
Thru Cloud and Sunshine, Lord,
Abide with Me!
I
testify that “thru cloud and sunshine” the Lord will abide with us, that our
“afflictions [can be] swallowed up in the joy of Christ.”
One
of our beloved hymns expresses the plea “Thru cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide
with me!”1 I was once on a plane
as it approached a large storm. Looking out the window, I could see a dense
blanket of clouds below us. The rays of the setting sun reflected off the
clouds, causing them to shine with intense brightness. Soon, the plane
descended through the heavy clouds, and we were suddenly enveloped in a thick
darkness that completely blinded us to the intense light we had witnessed just
moments earlier.2
Black clouds may also form in our lives, which can blind us to God’s light and even cause us to question if that light exists for us anymore. Some of those clouds are of depression, anxiety, and other forms of mental and emotional affliction. They can distort the way we perceive ourselves, others, and even God. They affect women and men of all ages in all corners of the world.
Likewise damaging is the
desensitizing cloud of skepticism that can affect others who have not
experienced these challenges. Like any part of the body, the brain is subject
to illnesses, trauma, and chemical imbalances. When our minds are suffering, it
is appropriate to seek help from God, from those around us, and from medical
and mental health professionals.
“All
human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or
daughter of heavenly parents, and … each has a divine nature and destiny.”3 Like our Heavenly
Parents and our Savior, we have a physical body4 and experience emotions.5
My
dear sisters, it is normal to feel sad or worried once in a while. Sadness and
anxiety are natural human emotions.6 However, if we are
constantly sad and if our pain blocks our ability to feel the love of our
Heavenly Father and His Son and the influence of the Holy Ghost, then we may be
suffering from depression, anxiety, or another emotional condition.
My
daughter once wrote: “There was a time … [when] I was extremely sad all of the
time. I always thought that sadness was something to be ashamed of, and that it
was a sign of weakness. So I kept my sadness to myself. … I felt completely
worthless.”7
A
friend described it this way: “Since my early childhood, I have faced a
constant battle with feelings of hopelessness, darkness, loneliness, and fear
and the sense that I am broken or defective. I did everything to hide my pain
and to never give the impression that I was anything but thriving and strong.”8
My
dear friends, it can happen to any of us—especially
when, as believers in the plan of happiness, we place unnecessary burdens on
ourselves by thinking we need to be perfect now. Such thoughts can be
overwhelming. Achieving perfection is a process that will take place throughout
our mortal life and beyond—and only
through the grace of Jesus Christ.9
In
contrast, when we open up about our emotional challenges, admitting we are not
perfect, we give others permission to share their struggles. Together we
realize there is hope and we do not have to suffer alone.10
As
disciples of Jesus Christ, we have made a covenant with God that we “are
willing to bear one another’s burdens” and “to mourn with those that mourn.”11 This may include
becoming informed about emotional illnesses, finding resources that can help
address these struggles, and ultimately bringing ourselves and others to
Christ, who is the Master Healer.12 Even if we do not
know how to relate to what others are going through, validating that their pain
is real can be an important first step in finding understanding and healing.13
In
some cases, the cause of depression or anxiety can be identified, while other
times it may be harder to discern.14 Our brains may suffer
because of stress15 or staggering fatigue,16 which can sometimes
be improved through adjustments in diet, sleep, and exercise. Other times,
therapy or medication under the direction of trained professionals may also be
needed.
Untreated
mental or emotional illness can lead to increased isolation, misunderstandings,
broken relationships, self-harm, and even suicide. I know this firsthand, as my
own father died by suicide many years ago. His death was shocking and
heartbreaking for my family and me. It has taken me years to work through my
grief, and it was only recently that I learned talking about suicide in
appropriate ways actually helps to prevent it rather than encourage it.17 I have now openly
discussed my father’s death with my children and witnessed the healing that the
Savior can give on both sides of the veil.18
Sadly,
many who suffer from severe depression distance themselves from their fellow
Saints because they feel they do not fit some imaginary mold. We can help them
know and feel that they do indeed belong with us. It is important to recognize
that depression is not the result of weakness, nor is it usually the result of
sin.19 It “thrives in
secrecy but shrinks in empathy.”20 Together, we can
break through the clouds of isolation and stigma so the burden of shame is
lifted and miracles of healing can occur.
During
His mortal ministry, Jesus Christ healed the sick and the afflicted, but each
person had to exercise faith in Him and act to receive His healing. Some walked
for long distances, others extended their hand to touch His garment, and others
had to be carried to Him in order to be healed.21 When it comes to
healing, don’t we all need Him desperately? “Are we not all beggars?”22
Let
us follow the Savior’s path and increase our compassion, diminish our tendency
to judge, and stop being the inspectors of the spirituality of others.
Listening with love is one of the greatest gifts we can offer, and we may be
able to help carry or lift the heavy clouds that suffocate our loved ones and
friends23 so that, through our
love, they can once again feel the Holy Ghost and perceive the light that
emanates from Jesus Christ.
If
you are constantly surrounded by a “mist of darkness,”24 turn to Heavenly
Father. Nothing that you have experienced can change the eternal truth that you
are His child and that He loves you.25 Remember that Christ
is your Savior and Redeemer, and God is your Father. They understand. Picture
Them close by you, listening and offering support.26 “[They] will console
you in your afflictions.”27 Do all you can, and
trust in the Lord’s atoning grace.
Your
struggles do not define you, but they can refine you.28 Because of a “thorn
in the flesh,”29 you may have the
ability to feel more compassion toward others. As guided by the Holy Ghost,
share your story in order to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang
down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”30
For
those of us currently struggling or supporting someone who is struggling, let
us be willing to follow God’s commandments so we may always have His Spirit
with us.31 Let us do the “small
and simple things”32 that will give us spiritual
strength. As President Russell M. Nelson said, “Nothing opens the heavens
quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest
seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and
regular time committed to temple and family history work.”33
Let
us all remember that our Savior, Jesus Christ, “[has taken] upon him [our]
infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh,
that he may know … how to succor [us] according to [our] infirmities.”34 He came “to bind up
the brokenhearted, … to comfort all that mourn; … to give unto them beauty for
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”35
I
testify to you that “thru cloud and sunshine” the Lord will abide with us, our
“afflictions [can be] swallowed up in the joy of Christ,”36 and “it is by grace
that we are saved, after all we can do.”37 I testify that Jesus
Christ will return to the earth “with healing in his wings.”38 Ultimately, He “shall
wipe away all tears from [our] eyes; and there shall be no more … sorrow.”39 For all who will
“come unto Christ, and be perfected in him,”40 the “sun shall no
more go down; … for the Lord shall be [our] everlasting light, and the days of
[our] mourning shall be ended.”41 In the name of Jesus
Christ, amen.
Well folks, here we are at the end of
this talk and the end of this post. I hope and I pray that each one of you have
been uplifted and comforted in some way. That you have learned something from
what I have shared with you that may be of help for yourself or someone you
care about😊 remember, no matter who you are you may
experience some of the things that have been mentioned in this talk or in my ramblings.
If this happened to you or someone that you know be sure to call on your
Heavenly Father for His help😊
If you were unable to watch or
listen to the conference you can read or listen to the talks here:
Saturday Morning Session: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/10/saturday-morning-session?lang=eng
Saturday Afternoon Session: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/10/saturday-afternoon-session?lang=eng
General Women’s Session: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/10/womens-session?lang=eng
Sunday Morning Session: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/10/sunday-morning-session?lang=eng
Sunday Afternoon Session: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/10/sunday-afternoon-session?lang=eng
As always, I want you to remember who you
are!! Remember that you are worth it!!! Remember that you deserve the best in
this life😊 remember to learn of
your Heavenly Father and of His Son, Jesus Christ, learn of His Atonement and
how is can work in your life😊 you may be surprised at how much help your Savior and
your Heavenly Father has included in His plan of happiness!!! Remember They are
only a prayer away😊
Remember to say your prayers every day and
have a prayer in your heart always😊 Remember to study your scriptures every day – especially
the Book of Mormon, you will find great power within its covers! And as I have said before, if you have not had
the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon, now is a good time to accept my
challenge and give it a read😊 I promise that you wont be sorry that you did😊 😊 Until my next post, please
make it a good week!
You can request a free copy of
the Book of Mormon here:
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