~by Michelle

When COVID-19 first started, my youngest was finishing up high school. As schools and everything closed down, I think most of us expected (or at least hoped) that the situation would pass fairly quickly.

I definitely didn’t imagine my daughter not being able to return to school for the rest of her senior year. I definitely didn’t expect to have online church as the only option for as long as we did. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we saw missionaries having to work for months completely from their apartments, using only technology to engage with people. Many missionaries had to leave their missionary service altogether, or were reassigned to different locations in their home countries. I never imagined that my missionary son would have to come home early because of a pandemic. I never imagined sending off another missionary into a pandemic.

While we’ve seen a return to schools and church and more “normal” life, to a degree, now the Omicron variant has made us have to make shifts again. Medical systems are strained. Medical workers are exhausted and staffing shortages are an issue (because some have quit the profession for how difficult this has been, and because many are sick). Many schools are needing to make significant adjustments (including going online in some cases) because of the number of teachers and students who are sick. At least where I live, testing capacity is now far beyond demand, and treatments for COVID are in short supply and/or don’t work with this variant. In my local area (a cluster of 9 congregations), we just went back to online church because too many people are sick and our leaders hope to slow the spread in our community.

And, as throughout the pandemic, emotions continue to run high as different opinions about it all are expressed and explored and debated.

At the beginning of the pandemic, a quiet voice whispered to my spirit, “There is more going on here than COVID.” In my own personal experiences, although COVID has been so difficult for so many reasons, this has been true.

In the larger picture of things, this has also been true. There has been a great deal of loss, to be sure, and there have also been compensatory blessings. I’ll share a simple example that I learned about this weekend.

When COVID started, an instructor in the religious education system of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints decided to put his lessons on YouTube for his students. (I was familiar with his channel, but didn’t know the history.) He never could have imagined that “six months later we hit our one millionth view, as people around the world are eagerly pursuing an unshaken faith in God by immersing themselves in His word.” (https://unshaken.podbean.com/) On YouTube, his video series, Unshaken, has almost 59,000 subscribers, and the podcast version of Unshaken has over 1.9 million downloads. Where in the classroom, students get to spend about 24 hours or so in a given semester exploring God’s word together, with these videos, people who have listened, Jared Halverson says, have spent a cumulative total of five solid days — or five semesters’ worth — of time immersed in the scriptures — all because of a pandemic and the upsides of living in a digital age. (When technology is used for good, such good can happen! #UseTech4Good)

Another example is RootsTech (which is coming up again soon). Last year, RootsTech went virtual-only for the first time. RootsTech is the largest genealogy/family history conference in the world. When they first announced the all-online version of RootsTech, they projected 40-50K people would sign up. Soon, they realized their projections were significantly off. In the end, over 1.1 million people participated in the 2021 RootsTech conference! And leaders of the conference realized, through the constraints COVID presented, that they could make materials available all year around and thus serve more people than ever before. (See https://www.deseret.com/faith/2021/3/3/22307976/what-drew-more-than-1-1-million-to-attend-rootstech-connect-2021-family-history-genealogy for more on RootsTech 2021, or RootsTech Connect)

COVID has been a difficult challenge, to be sure, but stories like this are legion. I don’t share any of this to minimize the horrible things that have happened, including millions of lives lost, numberless jobs lost or impacted, long-term health impacts from the disease for too many, mental and emotional challenges experiences or exacerbated by the stress and increased isolation many have suffered…and the list can go on.

And, as has already been mentioned, there is so much of division and contention around the politicization of the pandemic, and that has put wedges in families and cities and nations and religious communities and beyond.

This week, after wrestling (again) with some weariness from it all, I was reminded of a scripture that means a lot to me. For a little background, I’m struck by the statement from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about encouraging precautions such as vaccines and masks. Before they mention precautions, however, I’m intrigued that they call this time a time of war. “We find ourselves fighting a war against the ravages of COVID-19 and its variants, an unrelenting pandemic.” Wartime situations call for different measures than what we are used to as normal.

As I think about this, I think: The war is not supposed to be against each other, but against the disease. Still, the length of this war has brought frustration, weariness, even hopelessness. “Does the journey seem long?” a hymn asks. I think most of us would say, “Yes! This pandemic just feels like it’s dragging on forever. I want it to be over!” “I’m so done with COVID!” I’ve heard many exclaim. Experts and prophets alike predict it will eventually move into an endemic phase. But we aren’t there yet. It’s not over yet. And, I remind myself, I need to not forget that for too many in the world, war is just part of their normal. (There it goes again….my heart can feel heavy even at the thought.)

So what can be done to keep from being buried in frustration or weariness…or even apathy or enmity toward others in times of war?

I love this scripture from Alma 62:41 in the Book of Mormon.

“But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of the war…many had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because of their afflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility.”

When the journey seems long, when whatever wars we may be fighting — be they collective (such as this one against a global pandemic or other physical or philosophical wars that plague our world), or personal battles — turning to God for help can help us not lose hope (or help us find it again). He can help us heal from the impact of hard things. In His way and time, He can show us how He can make beauty from ashes (see Isaiah 61:3), and turn all things to our good (see Romans 8:28 or Doctrine and Covenants 122:7-9). What if, in the end, no matter what the specifics of the war, the invitation is to let it all turn our hearts more toward God?

President Russell M. Nelson has said (a message that was repeated by many during the last General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ) [emphasis added]:

“The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives

and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”

We are encouraged to have that focus be on the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Elder Russell M. Ballard recently said, ““The pandemic will [eventually] wear itself out, but don’t let it wear you out.”

I’m recommitting this week to seek God’s help so that my heart can stay soft as COVID and other wars continue to have such an impact on our world. I know I can’t do it without His help, but I have felt Him reminding me that He is there, wanting to send strength in time of need. [There are many Bible and other verses that explore seeking God’s strength in hard times. I just included a link I found on an internet search. See what other verses you can find in your own searches online or in your paper copies of scriptures.]

How do you recenter or seek for God’s strength in times of difficulty?

The post “Does the journey Seem long?” God can help with COVID-19 pandemic burnout appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

During the pandemic, I’ve often thought of people in past generations who have gone through difficult, long-lasting trials and journeys. The “Mormon pioneers” have been among the people who have come to mind. Cast out from place to place, they were compelled to walk across the barren plains of then unsettled territory in the United States to find a new place to settle. July 24, 1847 was the day that the main company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. In Utah, Pioneer Day is celebrated every year to mark this day. But members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all over the world celebrate Pioneer Day in different ways, and also sometimes celebrate their own pioneers in their respective lands, areas, or families.

COVID-19 has changed a lot of things, but it has also allowed for resources to reach across the globe. For example, BYU Women’s Conference this year was all virtual, and you can get access to 35 different presentations for six months. And there are free presentations available as well at the following links.

• The Church News 
• BYU Women’s Conference YouTube channel 
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints YouTube channel
• sesiones complementarias (en español)
• sessões gratuitas (em português)

RootsTech (the “world’s largest celebration of family” [genealogy, family history, family connection] even before 2021) reached 1.5 million people in 240 countries. Because of this impact, the 2022 conference will all be virtual.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can find online resources to celebrate Pioneer Day no matter where they are in the world. For example, an Evening from the Pioneer Museum will be held this week on July 22 from the Museum on Facebook Live: By Trail, Sail, and Rail: Pioneer Journeys to Zion.

You can also find links to many Pioneer Day Concerts from past years here.

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Many thanks to Susan Noyles Anderson for giving us permission to share this poem with you. (You can see more of her poetry here.) This poem emerged recently as the three-year anniversary of her son’s death was coming up.

I’m reminded of an insight shared by a friend not long ago, which was shared with her by another friend. We all are acquainted with grief at some point or another in our lives. This friend noted that the Savior, Jesus Christ, talks about His bowels being full of mercy (see verse 6 in 3 Nephi 11 or Alma 7:11-12 for examples)…and that perhaps there is a reason for this. The scriptures teach that all things testify of Christ. That must mean even how our bodies work can teach us.

Perhaps grief is something that is meant to pass through us, to not stay with us too long, at least not in that intense, overwhelming kind of way.

I love how Sue explores this notion in her poem.

Grandma Said
by Susan Noyes Anderson

Soon or late, life teaches lessons
few would choose to learn.
Ours is, at best, a rocky path
with many a twist and turn.

We used to hear, "When things get tough,
the tough get going," right? —
To suck it up, not muck it up,
keep smiling, and hang tight.

Today it's all about self-care
and focusing on feelings.
Hold space, give place to loss and pain,
wade through, make room for healing.

The world has given us hard times
in recent years; it's true.
Most seek relief from current counsel,
and that's good to do.

Embrace those seas of strong emotion:
swim in grief and sorrow.
Be real. It's needed—but past ways
are also good to borrow.

No psychic tool precludes the rest.
No balm is always better.
The bold use methods new and old
to hold themselves together.

It works, sometimes, when down and out
and feeling quite bereft
to focus less on what is lost
and more on what is left.

{My grandma said it best.}

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Some people who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints share some of their thoughts in response to this question.

This video from Latter-day Saints in Canada includes several people’s thoughts, including youth and children.

What brings you peace? Missionaries in Australia share some of their thoughts and invite people to do the same.

“Before I decided to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I had faith, but it wasn’t very strong. My life was not as happy. I had happy moments, but didn’t have that lasting peace that faith in Jesus Christ brings. I remember the day that I decided I was going to start growing that faith.I was going through a rough time in my life, and wanted a change. I started by praying every day. It was difficult at first, remembering to pray in the morning, but I found that as I continued to pray my faith in my Savior, Jesus Christ, was strengthened. I then wanted more so I started reading the scriptures, both the Bible and the Book of Mormon….I am [a] different person than I was five years ago, and I would never go back to who I was. I know that it’s all because of my faith in Jesus Christ.” Sister C

Krista shares how a reminder about trusting in God when struggling when family members have made hurtful decisions has allowed her to show more love to her family, and brings her peace regardless of the choices others make. “Putting trust in God, that’s having faith….I’m so thankful to know about Jesus Christ, about God. I’m so thankful for my faith, because that’s what makes life beautiful.” [Krista’s thoughts start at about 2:30 in the video]

A family from Canada shares this: “The gospel [of Jesus Christ] has brought direction and guidance to our family during these difficult times. The song, “there is peace in Christ” is one that our children really enjoy singing. The gospel and our Savior have brought peace to our family. In our everyday, we often face little challenges and family prayer has helped us spiritually and brought peace into our home. We are especially grateful for the plan of salvation which allows all families to be together forever.”

Other young missionaries share experiences that have strengthened their faith here.

A family from Australia shares this: “When the world is full of discontent and strife. I am grateful for my little family, and our home where the cares of the world disappear and we can enjoy our times together. We find peace reading from the holy scriptures each day and and discussing our eternal natures. We especially love watching the Tv series, The Chosen together. The life of Jesus is brought to life with his teachings and miracles put into real life scenarios. One of the greatest teachings that gives us peace and hope for the future is knowing that we can live together eternally. The Son of God conquered death and offers eternal life to his true disciples. If I can teach my children anything I hope they can learn that they have a Father in heaven who they can rely on. And that by following the Lord Jesus Christ and his teachings they can find true joy in living this life and eternal life in the world to come.”

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We recently had some activity on a former post about what to do when a family member decides they don’t believe anymore (or feels like they never really did).

This interview, hosted by Hilary Weeks on her Live All In Live channel, includes reflections from a woman named Wendi who has been walking that path for going on a decade. She has some heartfelt insights for others who may be experiencing this in their lives.

Bonus: Hilary sings her song “His Promises.” We’ve also included the music video for that song below.

[We get nothing for sharing this. We’re just sharing it because we hope it could be helpful for some of our readers.]

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~by Victoria

This is an adaptation of a talk that Victoria gave in her local ward congregation (a congregation of young single adults) before beginning her service as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As you will read below, Victoria joined the Church two years ago, and now she is teaching others about it. If you are curious to know more about the Church, see https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist

I am overjoyed to say that I am about to leave on my mission to serve our
Savior, Jesus Christ. I could not be here without all of the love, kindness, and support of so many people, and the way you inspire me to be better through the strength of your characters and testimony.

I have wanted to be a missionary since I was investigating The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Less than two years ago, I was blessed to be confirmed a member of the Church, and since then, my life has never been the same. Such a transformation is something I could never have predicted, and has changed the course of my life in eternally beautiful and incredible ways, as well as just making every day a thousand times more sweet and meaningful and fulfilling. Life with and without the Gospel of Jesus Christ is starkly different. So to everyone, my friends and family all over, thank you, because you have been an instrumental part of that exponential increase of joy in my life. I know that watching someone
change and choose a new path can be difficult, so for those especially who knew me before and still love me today and are so so supportive, thank you.

As a matter of fact, for all of us, throughout life, we are met with the unexpected, whether it is for me, joining a new church and then serving a mission for that church, or unexpected changes, losses, or successes, and all of these things can throw us if we do not have an eternal perspective only gained through faith. Psalm 61:2, says, “When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” When in the midst of trials, or difficulty like experiencing a global pandemic and mourning the loss of so many people and moments, I am so grateful to know that I trust in Christ as my rock in the midst of life’s ever raging storms.

Learning to trust in the Lord and His plan can be a difficult journey full of humbling experiences. But Christ assures us in Matthew 11:30 that “His yoke is easy and His burden is light.” All we need to do is be willing to take it upon ourselves, to desire to become more like our Savior, and to begin taking steps, no matter how small, towards Him. As Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “if you trust the Lord and obey Him, His hand shall be over you, He will help you achieve the great potential He sees in you, and He will help you to see the end from the beginning.” In order to follow Christ, we have to first believe that He is, trust that He can heal our wounds, and strive to
emulate His example by letting God prevail in our lives.

First, to trust in the Lord, we must have faith that He is. Having faith does not need to be a complicated process, we simply need to give space to believe, even, as Alma says in chapter 32 of the Book of Mormon, a seed of faith, just giving place that the word of God could be true, and allowing that seed to grow within you as you nourish it. For me, this is the story of my
conversion. I did not believe in Christ before I found this church, and I did not have a real desire to, either. It was not until I opened my heart and humbled myself, allowing myself to be teachable, to believe that I could be wrong and to listen to the whisperings of the Spirit, that I could plant my mustard seed of faith that has now grown into a small tree. Now, I could never think to deny Christ.

Developing faith in Christ, even just a mustard seed worth, unlocks the
power of God in our lives. As the prophet Moroni says in the Book of Mormon, God “worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men.” In Alma 32:27 it says “behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle
of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.” The Lord does not ask for our faith to be perfect, He simply asks us to try to believe, and by the power of that effort, His
work is manifest in our life.

Second, we will all make mistakes along the path of life, so to trust in the Lord means to trust that He can heal our wounds, that He can love us despite our many imperfections, and that salvation is possible in and through Jesus Christ, essentially to trust that we are redeemable, and
worth redeeming. I remember as an investigator in the Church, I often felt like I could not be good enough to be a member, I saw all those around me as perfect, and myself in all my sins and imperfections.

A hymn that I love says, “Come ye sinners, poor and needy, bruised and broken by the fall. Jesus ready, stands to save you, full of pardoning love for all. He is able, He is able, He is able, doubt no more.” None of us are perfect, but there is one who sacrificed Himself in His perfect glory to allow us to be freed from every mistake. However, it was then that I realized, as Elder Gerrit W. Gong highlighted in his recent General Conference talk, that there is room for all in Christ’s Inn, or His Church, and we are not meant to come perfect, but rather to come as we are. Or as Elder Renlund says, quoting from a mother of a convert in the Church, “the Church is like a big hospital and we are all sick in our own way.’” No member of this church is yet perfect, we are all sinners climbing the paths of repentance and singing the song of great redeeming love together. Through thinking like this, I realized it is okay to come to Christ broken, in need of repairs, and actually, this is exactly how we should come to Christ, for as it says in Isaiah 53:5 and Mosiah 14:5, “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.” Indeed, I have learned in my life that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is not only to heal us from sins and return us to who we were, but to change us into new and better people through repentance. The Atonement is part of God’s plan for each of us, not just because God knew we would make mistakes, but because He knew those mistakes were vital to our progression. In Ether 12:27 it says, “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” Our weaknesses, our very sins and trials and challenges are all a part of God’s plan for us, to help us to grow, for if we were perfect, we would have no need for a Savior, if we were perfect, none of us would be here. Sometimes our greatest trials, the very sins and weaknesses that bring us to our knees begging for forgiveness, later help us to minister and have compassion on our brothers and sisters. We become the hands and feet of the Savior, being able to better empathize and love one another as He does. All by the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, our greatest shame can change into the foundation of an unshakable testimony and love for the Gospel and the Savior.

Finally, we must follow Christ by learning to become like Him, by using our agency, or ability to choose, to follow God’s plan for us. Christ is our greatest exemplar in this matter, for He knew the end from the beginning and still He chose to allow His will to be swallowed up in the will of the Father, to atone for the sins of all mankind and think not of His own self. For “The
Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John 5:19), for “I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning” (3 Ne. 11:11). Furthermore, as our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson said, “only by aligning our wills with God’s is full happiness to be found. Anything less results in a lesser portion (see Alma 12:10–11).” So, how can we better follow Christ’s example and truly align our will with God’s, trusting that His plan is better than our own, or President Russell M. Nelson would say, to “let God prevail” in our lives. As we have faith and repent, we
can better come to know the Savior, to draw nearer to Him, and to better Hear His voice in our lives. This allows us to know God’s will for us that we may follow it.

However, sometimes it may feel like despite our best efforts to seek the will of the Lord, we cannot discern His will. This is not by accident. At times, we have to make our own decisions, to use all that the Lord has taught us to find His will and to follow it, in a way, to show that we are growing into
independent, self-sufficient children who do not need to be constantly lectured in order to do the right thing. The lord provides us the gift of revelation, the scriptures and other tools to help us on the way. He never leaves us comfortless or directionless, and has provided His Holy Spirit to be our constant companion and guide in this life, and to send course corrections when we lose our way. Think of all the beautiful covenants we make with the Lord while on this earth, think of the beautiful temples in which those covenants are made in, as well as the blessings we receive,
inside or outside the temple, and the way all of those things help us remember Him, hear Him, heed Him, and most importantly: trust in Him. It can be difficult when we can’t see the end from the beginning, but we must always trust that there is one that does. And not if, but when we make a mistake, we can trust that through the healing and perfecting power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can become not only whole again, but better than we were before. By learning about the Lord’s will for us and aligning our will with His through everyday actions of increasing our faith in Christ and His Atoning Sacrifice, we can learn to make everyday decisions that are
aligned with the will of God. This state, also referred to as “waiting on the Lord” was described by President Ballard and Elder Gong as a state of action, and even in Elder Gong’s talk, a state of holiness.

To me, this makes perfect sense: because having to seek out answers and make decisions for ourselves is a position where we learn to better hear the Savior’s voice in our lives as we strive to learn of His will. As Young Single Adults (YSAs), many of us are in this state of waiting on the Lord, perhaps hoping to get a job, an education, get married and start a family, or many other righteous goals, as well as determining our priorities with how much time we will devote to the Lord in our day to day. These decisions impact the rest of our lives. If we aren’t feeling guided or we feel certain blessings are not being fulfilled quick enough, it is vital to remember that the Lord knows the end from the beginning, and His wisdom is far greater than ours.
For me, I waited over a year to be baptized into the church, and during that time I would sometimes be sad as I watched friends go on temple trips or enjoy other similar blessings, feeling somewhat left out or left behind; it felt unfair. However, I later learned that that time would bless me in unforeseen ways and have prepared me to be a missionary and a compassionate friend, and have equipped me with a testimony I will never forsake.

In my life, I have come to many decisions where I did not feel a strong impression one way or the other, but had to first act in faith, even for large decisions like where I would attend college or how to make a mission possible in my life. I had to first put in the leg work myself, learn all I could, pray all I could, and seek counsel from trusted sources, until ultimately, I just had to make a decision and trust in His correcting influence to steer me right if I got it wrong.

Oftentimes, as (D&C 88:118) states, we must “seek learning even by study and also by faith.” In those moments when we feel we do not know the will of the Lord, let us give thanks that He is trusting us to make a decision, and let us trust Him that He will correct us in our mistakes.

And a word of caution, while the Lord will immediately correct us when we steer wrong, we have to be listening and be humble enough to accept those corrections. And when He tells us we have chosen well, that does not mean we will not face challenges along the way, because trial is an essential ingredient of growth. Trust in the revelations you have received and do not doubt when the winds begin to howl.

I would like to conclude by bearing my testimony that the Savior lives, that He loves us and that we are all children of God.

Yo sé que Jesucristo es amoroso, que Él es misericordioso, y
que Él es la cabeza de la iglesia. Jesucristo es el Hijo de Dios, y es nuestro Rey. Estoy agradecida por saber que soy una hija de Dios, y que Jesucristo es mi Salvador. Truly, the Savior loves each and every one of us and we all have a place in His Church. However bruised or broken we feel, however far, OR close to the path, each one of us can take daily steps to better align our will with His.

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It’s a wonderful thing to talk about the scriptures with other people, because often others see things I’ve never seen before, or help me see a scripture in a whole new way.

Recently, I was in a small group discussion about the plan of salvation (God’s plan for our happiness and help in this life and life with Him in the next). We were talking about Jesus Christ’s central role in that plan, and considering scriptures from the Book of Mormon that help teach about the Savior.

There are a lot of scriptures from the Book of Mormon that come to mind for me, but I was so moved to hear what scripture a friend chose to focus on.

It’s found in 1 Nephi 21:16.

But first, some context for the verse.

In this part of the Book of Mormon, Nephi, an ancient prophet-historian whose father, Lehi, had been guided by God to leave Jerusalem with his family (around 600 B.C.) and come to the American continent. They were brought out of Jerusalem to protect them from the destruction that came when Babylon invaded Israel. They also were guided to create a record of prophecies of Jesus Christ and His dealings with a branch of the house of Israel people who came to the New World.

Nephi was teaching his people about Christ — and writing for people in the future as well, especially the house of Israel — quoting or summarizing the teachings of various prophets from the Old World.

But he focused a lot of his attention on the writings of Isaiah, which writings they had with them.

“And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their Redeemer. Wherefore, I speak unto all the house of Israel, if it so be that they should obtain these things…

“Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read many things to them, which were engraven upon the plates of brass, that they might know concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old. And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah….”

(1 Nephi 19:18-19, 22-23)

My friend shared one of the beautiful, short verses from Isaiah that Nephi quotes.

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. (See also Isaiah 49:16)

Many scholars (and others) interpret the walls in this verse to mean the walls of Jerusalem or Zion, and that is always what comes to mind when I hear or read this verse. Historically, this interpretation makes sense. Isaiah was always writing for both the present and the future.

But my friend shared the verse in a personal way to illustrate Jesus’ love for us, and he said something to this effect: “Jesus knows about the walls in your life. He knows what barriers are troubling you, what things feel like they are in the way as you move along in your journey.”

I believe this, and I was grateful for my friend’s insights into this short but power-packed verse about the mercy and love of Jesus Christ. I recommend the entire chapter for more about God’s love for us, His children, and His commitment to help and care for us.

The post “Thy walls are continually before me” appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

~by Michelle

The Book of Mormon is another book of ancient scripture, a companion to the Bible. We have the stories of God’s dealings with ancient peoples in the Old World in the Bible, and we have more about His dealings with scattered peoples from the house of Israel who were led to the Americas in the Book of Mormon.

The book begins with the story of Lehi and Sariah and their family. Lehi was a prophet in Jerusalem around 600 B.C. (around the time of Jeremiah), and people were plotting his death because he was preaching about the destruction that was coming (destruction that we know actually happened, historically speaking, after Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and destroyed the city and the temple ca. 589-587 B.C.)

But the people in Jerusalem weren’t the only people plotting Lehi’s death. Two of his own sons, Laman and Lemuel, who reluctantly followed their parents out of Jerusalem, did not believe in Lehi’s prophecies, and constantly wished for their life back in Jerusalem (even though Lehi had seen, once they left, that the city had indeed been destroyed).

Nephi, who writes the record of his family’s experiences, was the younger brother. He received his own answers and confirmations of the truth of what Lehi was teaching and doing, and so he tried to help his brothers see and understand. But repeatedly, they rejected what they both saw and heard (including angels).

Nephi says this to his brothers at one point:

 Ye are ^aswift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an ^bangel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were ^cpast feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder. (1 Nephi 17:45)

It’s pretty easy for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to roll their eyes a bit at Laman and Lemuel, but I think there something for each of us in their story. Even though this family actually existed and this is a story of their lives, as is often the case with scripture, there is also archetype in the story.

As humans and spirit children of heavenly parents, we all have a divine spark in us that wants to follow light and truth (like Nephi wanted to). As struggling mortals, we also all have a part of us that wants comfort, ease, control, or other not-so-good things as a way to get through the hard stuff of life.

As I recently contemplated the above verse, I realized that the archetype can also capture elements of our mortal experience that may not always be about willful rebellion but could relate to struggles that are just part of what it means to be human, to be fallen creatures in a fallen world.

Take anxiety and depression, for example. A friend of mine named Wendi recently shared in a podcast about her struggle with bipolar disorder. She says,

There’s a spiritual dynamic of depression that people don’t always know about. It’s almost as if there’s like a force field around you where it’s very hard to feel answers to prayer. It’s very hard to feel the Spirit, it’s very hard to feel anything light, or good, or spiritual. That’s the most tragic part, I think, of depression is that the thing that can help most is sometimes the thing you can feel least.

Consider the pain of grief as another example. Words can’t really capture the examples I’ve encountered, particularly of friends who have lost children, but grief…grief can put one in a place where feeling God just isn’t possible for a time, and sometimes for a long time. A body and brain in trauma sometimes just have to do what they have to do to process the trauma in very temporal, sometimes tedious ways before the light of God’s peace can break through again.

I’ve also watched hundreds of women experience betrayal trauma (work here led me to create a separate space for such women, as their cries for help via internet searches stretched far beyond the confines of what this website was created to be). As I have walked with women suffering from intense, PTSD-like symptoms, they, too, often will start that journey of healing first in a place where they cannot feel God. They wonder where He could be in such agony. Sometimes they experience anger toward God. “Why would He have guided me to marry this person knowing that I would be betrayed?”

In other words, channeling the language of the scripture above, sometimes one can struggle with mental or emotional or relational wounds or illness, or other life struggles, that can inhibit one’s ability to feel God and His words and His truth.

I recently read a book [The Power of Stillness: Mindful Living for Latter-day Saints**] that talked about how even just the pure overload of life stresses can leave one feeling past feeling — enough so that some may even doubt that their faith or experiences with God were ever even real at all.

Compounding the struggle for some can be a sense of self-doubt on top of it all which can look something like this: “What am I doing wrong? I must be doing something wrong because I can’t feel the Spirit. I can’t feel God’s love.” Or perhaps worse is the guilt of being angry at God in the process of experiencing grief, pain, or traumatic injuries (physical or emotional).

Perhaps you have walked your own Via Dolorosa that looks different from the above examples, but that has similar effects of leaving you feeling numb. Past feeling.

I have tasted some of that walled-off-from-heaven feeling many times in my half century of life. I have struggled with anxiety and dysthymia (persistent but low-level depression) for most of my life, and have also had a couple of pretty major depressive phases that left me feeling a bit like I was walking through a tub of tar.

During one of these difficult times, I told a bishop (leader of our local congregation) that I felt like I was living behind a glass wall. I could see things that were real and true in some sense. But I struggled to feel God’s love for such stretches that I felt like I was living in another space, separate from what I believed and knew to be true. It’s like it all felt true for others, but I couldn’t get past the glass to feel it again myself. I’ve also felt that proverbial “my prayers aren’t getting past the ceiling” feeling more times than I can count.

As I’ve gotten older and had more experiences with the ups and downs of my struggles with mental illness and other challenges — and even just with the ebbs and flows of life — I am more able to walk through these times knowing that the feeling may not always be there in the moment, but I can still find ways to find God.

I started this site years ago because I have such a firm belief in God’s love, and His love for women. He knows me, He knows you. He knows the number of hairs on our head (or those we people may have lost). He knows the number of tears we have shed. He knows of the sparrow’s song and its fall. He knows the prayers we speak and those we cannot utter (see Romans 8:26).

But when I cannot feel these truths, I look for tender mercies — because I can see them. They are tangible, even when I can’t feel God in any given moment or period of time.

I’m grateful for David A. Bednar who first helped me understand that I can treat such “coincidences” as real evidence of God’s awareness of me. He repeated three times in his talk that it is often the timing of things that can help us identify something as a tender mercy. When it just seems too coincidental, or when the universe seems to be lining things up in a perceivable way (some call this sychronicity), that can be a tender mercy of God at work.

Take bluebirds as a simple example. The string of stories is too much to share here, but suffice it to say that bluebirds are one way that God says, “I am here.” The painting at the top of this post was given to me by my daughter to remind me of this simple way God shows up for me. Tender mercies can include running into someone at just the right time, having patterns and themes of ideas or principles cross my path repeatedly in a short period of time, reading a scripture or having someone say something that was exactly what I needed to hear at that time. Tender mercies are like God telling me, as Elder Tai said as he shared his own tender mercy memory in April 2020: ““I am here, and I know where you are. Just do your best, for I will take care of the rest.”

The more I look for and pray for eyes to see tender mercies (and record them, wherever possible), the more I have stored up for the wilderness times when I my feelings are clouded with anxiety, fear, self-doubt, or other emotions. Of course, I continually try to use tools I have learned to foster good mental health, but my mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health improve when I am seeking to practice gratitude and to look for and acknowledge tender mercies in my life. I’m often so delighted — even shocked — by what I see that I sometimes call tender mercies delightful surprises!

What helps you hold onto faith during hard times when it may be to feel God’s love?

**I received nothing for mentioning this book. I’m sharing because it was a helpful book for me to read. 🙂

The post When I can’t “feel His words” appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

This has been distressing information, to say the least, all the more so because the mob’s chaotic and violent actions were praised and encouraged by the outgoing president of our country. I believe his behavior and the mob’s behavior should be publicly condemned. I think it is wrong. I will speak no more of this, however.

Because as I sit in the sunlight, I am also basking in peace. I feel God has seen my broken heart and baffled mind, and has reached out to comfort me.

In my scripture reading, as part of my Come, Follow Me study, I read the following words from President Russell M. Nelson:

I am optimistic about the future…. But I am also not naive about the days ahead. We live in a world that is complex and increasingly contentious. The constant availability of social media and a 24-hour news cycle bombard us with relentless messages….

Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again…. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

I also ended up in Psalms 27 (as part of my better-late-than-never effort in response to our prophet’s invitation to read all the verses listed in the Topical Guide about the Savior).

This Psalm, a prayer of sorts, felt soothing and so relevant. I know I’m not experiencing the mob (“host”?) action first-hand, but the emotional and mental impact on such news is real for me. It’s upsetting, confusing, concerning, unsettling. But I felt God helping me recenter myself on Him.

This is how we can make it through “a time of trouble.”

I hope that perhaps these words might be helpful to others who may be wrestling with today’s headlines (if you live in the US) or other difficult challenges facing you individually, or us collectively. With God’s help, we can find our way.

1 The Lord is my ^alight and my ^bsalvation; whom shall I ^cfear? the Lord is the ^dstrength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may ^adwell in the ^bhouse of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the ^cbeauty of the Lord, and to ^dinquire in his temple.

5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his ^apavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a ^brock.

6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

8 When thou saidst, ^aSeek ye my ^bface; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.

11 ^aTeach me thy way, O Lord, and ^blead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.

12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for ^afalse witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out ^bcruelty.

13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the ^aland of the living.

14 ^aWait on the Lord: be of good ^bcourage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: ^cwait, I say, on the Lord.

The post “[I]n the time of trouble” appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

~by Cara

If I can, I’d like to share a quick overview of some of the pandemic’s affects on our family. Know that there have been other periods of time in our life where we have felt like we were drowning and could barely keep our heads above water. There have been other years where I could not wait for them to end. Plenty of times when we have felt lost and alone. I know this year has felt like that for many, some that I know personally and others that I’ve just heard about their stories, and if this is the case for you and your situation, then my heart goes out to you. In many ways, it’s harder to watch others suffer and we wish we could step in to take away the pain.   

This list doesn’t mean we haven’t had our share of extreme disappointments, bizarre health issues, or great concern over the state of the world. But I can look back over the year 2020 with gratitude and see abundance.   

*During the months of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have felt fortunate that my husband has continued to stay really busy in his employment.

*Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve had the opportunity to put into practice using some of our food storage which is something that I’ve always had a passion for.

*Because of COVID, our oldest daughter felt miserable and lost her sense of taste and smell for two weeks while away from home at college, and even though college life is incredibly different because of COVID, she’s learning to spread her wings and discover that she can do hard things.

*Because of COVID, our 15-year old son re-evaluated his priorities and made a really tough decision to turn in his soccer cleats for multiple other activities that he is really enjoying pursuing. 

*Because of COVID, our 13-year old son has taken on new challenges and is teaching himself some new skills.

*Because of COVID, our 8-year old son was able to be baptized outdoors in a cold creek on a perfectly magical fall day that could never be replicated.

*Because of COVID, our family has slowed down, altered some of our perceptions, realigned some of our priorities, spent more time in the scriptures, and created stronger family bonds.

A week ago Friday, in the 11th month of the year, at 11:00 am, the prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson shared an 11-minute message with the world. On the surface, it may not have appeared to be a plea to us in the eleventh hour, which is a phrase we typically state as meaning right before it’s too late. But what if it was a message along those lines? What if his message is one of the most important things we could hear and implement in our lives before our Savior returns to the earth? 

This man, whom Latter-day Saints sustain as our prophet, seer, and revelator, a brilliant man who is a renowned physician offered us healing in a troubled time, said that there is a remedy — “one that may seem surprising — because it flies in the face of our natural intuitions. Nevertheless, its effects have been validated by scientists as well as men and women of faith.  I am referring to the healing power of gratitude.”

He continues,

“Over my nine and a half decades of life, I have concluded that counting our blessings is far better than recounting our problems. No matter our situation, showing gratitude for our privileges is a fast-acting and long-lasting spiritual prescription.”

President Nelson then encouraged us to participate in two activities for at least seven days: He asked us to turn social media into our own personal gratitude journal and to unite in thanking God through daily prayer. 

President Nelson asked us to notice if we felt happier and more at peace at the end of the seven days. I truly felt the flood of gratitude that Pres. Nelson mentioned in his message. I loved getting a better glimpse inside so many people’s lives and enjoyed the creative responses to things to be grateful for that I often take for granted. 

I also loved the honest posts about heartache. 

For example, a family relative that has struggled with infertility for over 14 years shared the following:

I was so happy for the call to use social media as a gratitude journal from our Prophet and loved the positivity that it brought a few days. But then came something I didn’t expect- those negative feelings that can accompany this platform: inadequacy, envy and sadness. Seeing people post their gratitude for things that I didn’t have made for a melancholy scroll. And so I didn’t post, because to think of what I was thankful for was too hard and wouldn’t be good enough anyway.

Then I saw a post highlighted by the church, from a woman who had the same feelings I did. In it she shared the advice her mother gave her when she spoke of the discomfort and disappointment she felt. She said “[my mother] lovingly held my pain and then gently reminded me that the #givethanks challenge was not just for celebrating the perfect things in our lives. It’s about looking for the good in what we have.

This sweet cousin to my husband then posted daily about her gratitude for hope and promises of children of her own either in this life or the next,, and the peace that brings her heart.

In Doctrine and Covenants 59:7 we read, “Thou shalt thank the Lord they God in all things.” A few verses later in the same section it says, “And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments”. 

Things were not going well when the Lord gave this “thanksgiving” commandment to the early Saints. The Kirtland Safety Society had failed; most of the Saints were in extreme poverty. Many key leaders had left the Church and were adding fuel to the fires of persecution. The Kirtland Saints experienced such severe persecution they had to leave comfortable homes and travel to Missouri in miserably cold and difficult conditions–and in Missouri they were anything but welcome. Nothing seemed to be going right for the Saints—yet it was at this time the Lord commanded them to “thank the Lord thy God in all things”.

Similarly, the Book of Mormon people were “suffering all manner of afflictions” when the Lord commanded them to “give thanks in all things” which we read in Mosiah 26:38-39. 

We too are in a time of tribulation. It’s a huge challenge to live this higher law as our adversity continues to escalate. When everything is going well, gratitude is easy, but what about when it seems that all hope is lost?

President Nelson said in his message: “Does gratitude spare us from sorrow, sadness, grief and pain? No, but it does soothe our feelings. It provides us with a greater perspective on the very purpose and joy of life.”

Russell M. Nelson is an incredible man of faith, as well as a man of science. His prescription for us to turn our hearts to gratitude is backed by many research studies. I am fascinated by our brains and their capacities and loved learning a little about the psychological effects behind the principle of gratitude. Let me share some things that you might already know or might enjoy learning:

Research is overwhelming that gratitude makes people happier. Some people are more thankful than others, whether by nature or habit, and research has shown that those people in general are happier, more hopeful, and less materialistic than their peers who are less grateful.

But gratitude is also something you can learn. In one study on the subject of gratitude, subjects were randomly divided into two groups. One group would keep a journal every day describing three problems they had faced that day, and the other would describe three things they were grateful for. At the end of two weeks the gratitude group was significantly happier than the problems group. 

Another study had people write a specific, heartfelt letter of gratitude to someone who had helped them. People who wrote these letters were happier, a week later, than a group that had written about their deepest feelings. More important, the gratitude writers were still happier three months later, and by a larger margin. 

It seems to be that when we focus on what we are thankful for, we not only feel better in the moment but also train our brains to notice more things to be thankful for.

Gratitude has overwhelmingly been shown to improve people’s relationships. Researchers have found that feeling and/or expressing gratitude helps keep relationship bonds strong in romantic and marriage relationships. This is true even when the marriage faces severe stressors.

It provides a safe foundation to a friendship. 

Feeling gratitude makes us feel more like doing things to help others. Researchers call this “prosocial” behavior and it covers everything from doing favors to offering praise and appreciation, to cooperating on tasks at work.

Thankfulness is contagious; we often respond with prosocial actions just from seeing someone else feel gratitude. 

Gratitude can also protect us from the consequences of trials and traumatic experiences. Adolescents who are more grateful are also significantly less likely to ideate about suicide, even when they experience bullying. And research has repeatedly shown that feeling gratitude, protects people from developing depression even when they are chronically ill. 

Feelings of thankfulness also protect against PTSD and other trauma symptoms for war veterans and victims of school shootings, terrorism, and natural disasters. And in areas where people are prone to physical and emotional stress, feelings of thankfulness help protect against burnout. This is especially important in health care professions, where burnout is high but need is great; a little bit of gratitude goes a long way toward keeping health care providers happy and engaged.

The thing about agency is, we don’t have to be grateful for anything. We can always tell ourselves that whatever kindness was done was owed to us; that whatever good things we enjoy, we deserve more of them; that whatever we may have gained from our struggles wasn’t worth it. We can always turn our focus away from what we do have toward the fact that others have more of it. We can choose ingratitude.

But, anyone can choose gratitude over entitlement.

If we decide to choose gratitude, in obedience to the commandments of God, we will immediately—and increasingly—feel the benefits in our lives.  Just like all the commandments of God, thankfulness provides more to us than to its recipient.

The holiday season is ending, but I am committed to make gratitude a bigger part of my daily life. 

The post Because of COVID: One woman’s reflection on COVID-19 and 2020 + her thoughts on the #GiveThanks challenge appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.