Week 8

I really enjoyed this week’s videos and articles about overcoming challenges. We all are going to face challenges in our life and it’s nice to know we aren’t the only ones. I really liked the video of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s called “Good Things to Come”. I have seen that video before, and I really like the message. Elder Holland shares the story about how as a young father his family’s car broke down twice in the same spot of road. Each time he had to walk back to town for help leaving his wife and two children behind. Years later he drove that same stretch of road. He said:

“Just two weeks ago, I drove by that exact spot. For just an instant, I thought perhaps I saw on that side road an old car with a devoted young wife and two little children.

Just ahead of them, I imagined that I saw a young fellow walking toward Kanarraville, the weight of a young father's fear evident in his pace.

In that imaginary instant, I couldn't help calling out to him, ‘Don't you quit! You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon. Some come late, and some don't come till Heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God, and believe in good things to come.’”

I also liked the quote from President Thomas S. Monson in his talk, “Looking Back & Moving Forward.” He states, “Mortality is a period of testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In order to be tested, we must sometimes face challenges and difficulties. At times there appears to be no light at the tunnel’s end—no dawn to break the night’s darkness. We feel surrounded by the pain of broken hearts, the disappointment of shattered dreams, and the despair of vanished hopes. We join in uttering the biblical plea ‘Is there no balm in Gilead?’ We are inclined to view our own personal misfortunes through the distorted prism of pessimism. We feel abandoned, heartbroken, alone. If you find yourself in such a situation, I plead with you to turn to our Heavenly Father in faith. He will lift you and guide you. He will not always take your afflictions from you, but He will comfort and lead you with love through whatever storm you face.”