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.}

The post Poetry: “Grandma Said” appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes life can present what feels like impossible situations that we don’t know how to face. The scriptures can give us insight into how we can trust in the Lord in such times.

Here, Rachel, a Latter-day Saint college student, writes some insights from chapters 21-23 in Mosiah (in The Book of Mormon) about relying on God in times of trial.

In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 21 talks about the people who were living under King Noah until captured by the Lamanites. This bondage was prophesied by Abinadi when he was speaking to King Noah and his priests (Mosiah 12:2). The promises the Lord makes in the following verses describe this bondage, stating they will be smitten (verses 3-7). These promises are “shall” and “will” statements, completely unconditional. However, in verse 8, there is one conditional statement. The Lord (through Abinadi) states that the people will be completely destroyed EXCEPT they repent.

In Mosiah 21, we see the fulfillment (a lot of the same wording from Mosiah 12:2-7 is in Mosiah 21:3). In verse 5 it states, “there was no way that they could deliver themselves out of [the Lamanites’] hands.” Yet verses 7, 11, and 12 tell of three attempts by the people to deliver themselves.

To put this in the context of our lives, how many times do we try to save ourselves from “bondage”? Our sins, sadness, fear, anxiety, etc. can only be taken away through help of Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement. These people in chapter 21 suffered major losses because they tried to save themselves, but were not destroyed because, as it says in verse 13-14, “they did humble themselves… and they did cry mightily to God.” God slowly helped their situation, softening the hearts of the Lamanites (verse 15) and helping them “prosper by degrees” (verse 16). Ammon later comes and frees them from bondage. 

In contrast, Mosiah 23 tells of the bondage of the rest of King Noah’s people. Even though Alma and the righteous people who followed him had escaped King Noah’s guards and started their own lives, the prophesy of bondage still applied. The Lord followed through, but their reaction was different. Before the Lamanites even arrived at the land of Helam, the people ran to Alma, the prophet, and he calmed the people, and told them to rely on God (verse 27). They were in the same situation as the people of Limhi; verse 23 says that “none could deliver them but the Lord.” But because they chose to rely on His strength, instead of their own, in Mosiah 24:15, the Lord makes their burdens light. Because of their faith, the Lord helped them escape bondage the next day. 

If we choose to rely on God, and his strength and power, before, during, and after the bondage comes, our burdens will be made light.

Both of these groups of people eventually arrived in the Land of Zarahemla. One just took a longer and harder road. Burdens and trials will come, so we might as well make it easier for ourselves by relying on God.

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