Elder Packer gave a talk in November 1995, “The Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness”.  He recounts the story of the Donner Party.  A group of hikers that were trapped for weeks in below freezing temperatures.  They experienced things that should not be repeated or remembered, but impossible to forget.  John Breen, a 15-year-old member of the company states, “most of the incidents are gone from memory, but I can always see the camp near Johnson’s Ranch.”  Breen had forgotten all the horrid incidents from his ordeal, he forgot the cannibalism, loss of limbs, and frost bite.  The only thing he recalls from his experience is the sun rising on Johnson’s Ranch as it lights up the ground. 

Thinking about trials what is it that we remember? Is it the pain we felt, the hardships we faced, the people who hurt us, or the tears we shed? Rather, do we remember the lessons we learned, the power of the Atonement, or the strength we gained from going through them.  The scars we have are signs of a fighter, not something that should shame us.  Everyone goes through hard times and falls down, but everyone has the blessing of being carried by the Atonement. 

During times of trials sometimes we become selfish.  We want people to pity us because of what we are going through, and we want them to help.  During these times, though the two things that helps us the most are: service and prayers of gratitude.  God gives us trials because He trusts us, He knows that we can go through them.  We should thank Him for the opportunity to grow and learn.  We should also aspire to be selfless and help those around us, if we do so, God will bless us even more.

 Doctrine and Covenants 121: 7-9, “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.  Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.  Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job.”

Trials and obstacles pass.  The never linger long.  God promises to lift us after.  Like John Breen of the Donner company we won’t remember our struggles for long, rather we remember the beauty after them.    

At the start of the Book of Mormon Nephi is given the Liahona to lead himself and his family to the Promised Land.  It worked due to their faith.  It led them directly where they needed to go.  They only had to have faith and follow exactly where it told them to go.  Alma 37:38-41, 

38 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball, or director—or our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.
 39 And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.
 40 And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.
 41 Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;

In our lives today we have a Liahona to guide and direct us.  It’s not a curious ball with a spindle, rather it is a small blue book. 

The Book of Mormon is the keystone to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It was prepared by the Lord to guide and direct us.  It tells us where to go as we are traveling in the wilderness, but to receive that guidance we must have faith and act on it. 

In verse 40 it states that after they had faith, and read the Liahona, they were able to see miracles.  If we are struggling in our lives we must read the scriptures and have faith in them, then God will show unto us miracles. 

Since having a testimony of the Book of Mormon is so important Satan attacks it a lot.  He doesn’t want us to know it is true so he confuses us and gives us doubts.  We must pray time and time again to gain that testimony.  We must read the scriptures every day and apply them into our lives.    

Their faith was strong

They knew of thy son

They waited long

His work wasn’t done

The children were blessed one by one

They were taught His doctrine

Christ forgot none

He forgave all their sins

Many were brought to the light

They stepped into the water

For they knew it to be right

All the sons and daughters

After years of forgetting

They knew the way

They went on teaching

His truth day by day

For they had seen Him

The only Begotten Son 

A testimony is always short of perfect.  We all struggle with one aspect that we want to better.  That is why we are here, to better ourselves and to learn.  Not only might we initially struggle with an aspect of the gospel, but Satan is forever attacking the testimony that we do have.

That is why faith is so important.  Having faith is different than knowing something is true.  We can have faith that Joseph Smith was a prophet, we have hope that he was.  It might take us longer to have that strong testimony and knowledge that he was a prophet called of God. 

Ether 12:27, “And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.” Faith is hope.  Logically we can’t hope for something if we know it to be true, so we practice and have faith when we don’t know if something is true.

I also compare love to faith and hope.  We have faith in Jesus Christ, so we have hope that our prayers will be answered and we do this all because we love Christ.  He knows that our knowledge isn’t perfect, and he knows that throughout our lives we will struggle and question.  Therefore, we push ourselves each day.  Therefore, we pray each day, so we don’t forget the things we do know.

DC 62:3 “Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you.” The simple testimonies that we share are recorded by the angels in heaven for us.  However weak or strong we think our testimony is, as long as we have that little seed, it can grow.      

I follow the path of Christ

Which brought me to this point

When I look back I see where I fell

But his grace makes me strong

I fall humbly to my knees

To ask for the strength to continue

I fall to be lifted up again

I am brought to a point to be tested

I must make a leap of faith

I look at the map that has brought me here

Unable to find faith, I hesitate

I can see the destination, but not the path

With faith I walk

And find a sure footing

Able to make it to my destination

I look back and see the path clearly

Through trials and fear I came through

All because

I followed the path of Christ 

As a young adult life is difficult.  We see it as the hardest times of our lives because we have never made decisions so impacting thus far.  The questions race through our heads, who to marry, what to study, where to study, what job to take, which internship will get us to our goals quicker, and what are our life goals. 

With so many uncertainties we don’t think it can get much worse.

Then we look at the particulars like, what skills am I good at? How can I find someone to marry? All in all, it is just HARD. Dating is hard, two very different people must find themselves on the same page, and something beautiful can be disrupted.  Tests are hard, we study but while sitting in front of the test we think, "Heck, I never learned this", not to mention one’s family could be struggling or one’s own health problems could be failing.  One could see life going really well in anyway only to see everything change in the blink of an eye, and then find oneself trying to make it good again.   The list just goes on and on.

Does someone understand? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Can life, one day, look up?

I know that it can and it does and I also know that trials are to prepare us for what God has in store, so we need to face them with a smile.   

A story that really helps one look up is that of Job.  He had everything he could have dreamed of having.  Then it all was taken away from him, as fast as a tablecloth being ripped off a table.  He did not doubt.  He did not despair.  He stood by his testimony, “25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25-26). Job was then blessed more than he initially could have imagined.  God does not want to see us in despair, he doesn’t want us to worry more than we have too.  There are always blessings after an obstacle.

Job also writes amidst his trials, Job 11:16 “Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away.” Rivers pass, they are constantly moving.  Imagine that we are in a canoe on a river, at times the water is tough, other times it is still, sometimes it seems calm but below the water is raging, and other times it moves swiftly along.  Rivers pass along though and they are constantly changing, so are our trials.  We won’t be troubled for long. 

If we forget the Savior, our Redeemer, during our trials we are going to be on that river completely alone.  No one at our sides to help us through. 

When life constantly gives us questions and trials and obstacles we must respond first by falling to our knees in humble prayer. 

My favorite hymn is, “Come, Come Ye saints,” it helps me remember that others have suffered worse than I, but they kept a smile and faith to move mountains.

 Come, come, ye saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day.
Tis better far for us to strive
Our useless cares from us to drive;
Do this, and joy your hearts will swell -
All is well! All is well!

Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?
'Tis not so; all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
Our God will never us forsake;
And soon we'll have this tale to tell-
All is well! All is well!

We'll find the place which God for us prepared,
Far away, in the West,
Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;
There the saints, will be blessed.
We'll make the air, with music ring,
Shout praises to our God and King;
Above the rest these words we'll tell -
All is well! All is well!

And should we die before our journey's through,
Happy day! All is well!
We then are free from toil and sorrow, too;
With the just we shall dwell!
But if our lives are spared again
To see the Saints their rest obtain,
Oh, how we'll make this chorus swell-
All is well! All is well!

I walked patiently down the road

I felt free from all loads

I was calm and ready

The road was long and steady

Then another destination came to view

An idea I never knew

The road was not straight

At the end I saw two gates

It started to break and fall

I didn’t know who to call

It broke suddenly in two ways

I looked one way then drew my gaze

I looked the other and took a step

Then caught my breath

Two decisions

Two gates

One way

I knew all I could do was pray

I knelt down

My cry the only sound

I felt the peace I sought

It was one I never fought

Then I took my step

And entered the gate

Knowing just where to go.

              In the Bible, we read many times about Christ being a silversmith, what does that mean though? How is Christ our silversmith? A few ladies after reading the Bible decided to look into that.  One went to talk to a silversmith.  He taught her that silver is a precious metal.  It can only be in the refiners fire for a short amount of time, otherwise it will be ruined.  He watches the silver very closely so it is pulled out at the opportune moment.  She then asked him, “at what time do you know the silver is ready?”  He responded, “When I see my own reflection.”

              We might be in the refiners fire for what feels like forever, but God know we are there and how long we can handle it.  He takes us out when we are ready and we have learned what we needed too. 

              Fire is connotated to be something negative, destructive, and something which we all wish to avoid.  In the gospel, however, fire is God’s presence.  We feel warm and happy and we enjoy being in it, then when we don’t we feel the lack of spirit in our lives.  As humans, we wish to avoid that refiners fire with every fiber of our being.  We don’t want trials, we enjoy comfort, but without the fire we can’t be in God’s presence and we can’t grow. 

Alma 34:41 “But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions.”   

We are all taught while growing up the importance of having faith.  With faith, we can move mountains.  With faith, we can be healed.  Faith can do anything if we push ourselves.  Then there is the question that everyone of us has thought about and debated, but why should we exercise faith if it is contrary to God’s will and plan?

     Promises are found again and again in the scriptures talking about how faith can save us and lead us and guide us, “Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith” (Alma 44:4).  Clearly, we are being taught that if we have faith and we stay faithful unto God then we will be saved and blessed.  On the contrary, we are not always given what we exactly want. Faith is a tricky subject because it is so simple to have faith, but it is so hard to have the right faith.  One can have faith in a living God, but also believe that man knows all and what man wants, man should get.  The other faith is that God’s plan is the right plan and we pray that we follow it.      

     My grandma, for a while, was suffering from cancer.  She had to be released from her mission after only a couple of months.  She suffered each day.  She had faith that all would be well, she had faith in God.  She had faith in His plan.  God loves us so he created a plan for us.  We don’t quite understand that plan, nor can we see all that He sees.  Written in the Doctrine and Covenants we read, “Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass.  Thy days are known and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever” (D&C 122:9).  Here God tells us that He knows our days.  He has a plan for us that is so precise we can’t comprehend it.  We shouldn’t be scared with what the world may do with us because He promises to be with us forever and ever.  Even though my grandma wanted to live longer, she wanted to see us all married and grown up, she had faith that God’s plan was right and that is what she needed to follow.  She channeled her faith in God, rather than praying contrary to His will.  It was hard for my grandpa to watch though, his heart wanted to pray for her well-being, but his mind knew that it was her time to go.     

            One scripture that has really helped me learn more about God’s will, “Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks; Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.  Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord” (D&C 98: 1-3).  Here the Lord promises us that He hears our prayers and that they will be granted.  They will be granted in His way and if we are faithful to our covenants.  God always listens to us and keeps His promises, but He answers our prayers in an even better way then we could imagine.  Therefore, if we exercise faith in Him, then we don’t have to worry about what we think we want.  It is so eloquently put into words by Elder Schmutz in the October 2016 General Conference, “As part of our Heavenly Father’s plan, He allowed sorrow to be woven into our mortal experience. While it seems that painful trials fall unevenly on us, we can be assured that to one degree or another, we all suffer and struggle” (God Shall Wipe Away all Tears, Elder Schmutz).  

We must remember God’s plan always.  It is the map of our existence, although bad stuff happens to every one of us there is a purpose.  There are reasons.  We may pray and pray and we may feel that God isn’t answering, but He is just holding something greater in store for us.  The best is always yet to come, God answers our prayers in his time and in His way and the blessings are more beautiful than we could imagine, so we don’t have the ability to pray for it because we can't quite understand it.