It’s almost time for another LDS General Conference, and our featured Mormon blogger today, from Chocolate on My Cranium, shares some highlights from a past General Conference talk by President Henry B. Eyring, entitled Trust in God, Then Go and Do.

With this post, Cocoa explores some of the things that we can do, in addition to praying, to come to know that God is real, and that trusting Him brings peace and help in our lives. Coming to trust in God includes taking action. We believe faith is, indeed, a principle of action.

Cocoa uses President Eyring’s talk to address questions that people commonly have about the process (and it is a process!) of coming to know and trust God:

*How do we come to trust God?

Pres. Eyring says, “Trust comes from knowing God.”

*How do we come to know God?

By talking to Him through prayer, by studying His words in scripture, by learning all that He has revealed about Himself, by keeping His commandments.

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)….

*How do we find out what God wants us to do?

We have to ask. We have to listen.

Cocoa then addresses an interesting issue that some may face — that of being afraid to ask, afraid to know what God might have us know or do. She reminds us that:

We are each on different levels, at various points on our journeys.

And then, again using the words of a modern-day prophet, testifies:

Isn’t it wonderful to know, “Your needs are great and varied. Each of you is a unique child of God. God knows you individually. He sends messages of encouragement, correction, and direction fitted to you and to your needs.” (Pres. Eyring)  It behooves each of us to put our trust in God, find out what God wants us to do and the do it.

*How do we show our trust in God?

Again from Pres. Eyring: “You show your trust in Him when you listen with the intent to learn and repent and then you go and do whatever He asks. If you trust God enough to listen for His message in every sermon, song, and prayer you will find it. And if you then go and do what He would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you.“

Read Cocoa’s full post on knowing and trusting God.

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Coming to know and trust God is a wonderful journey. We hope if you haven’t begun that journey, that you will. We testify that God is real, that He knows and loves you, and that He is always there for us, no matter where we are in our lives. If reading others’ feelings and experiences about coming to know God interest you, you might also be interested in the following links about coming to know God, evidences of the existence of God, and the nature of God.

The post Knowing and Trusting God: Mormon Bloggers Testify appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Some of my friends have thoughtfully picked out words or quotes to inspire them for the New Year. I think this is a fun idea, though I hesitate to pick one for myself. I don’t know why. Maybe I’m just not that organized. Maybe things have just been so crazy for us the last few years that each year feels kind of like ten. Maybe I just don’t ever know what’s going to happen next.

My friend, Megan finally pushed me over the edge and made me really think about it. She picked the word RELAX. I really like that. In fact, I was just going to go ahead and steal it from her and make it my word, but something else kept popping into my head.

It’s that scripture–you know, the one in Psalms 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.”

It also shows up in Doctrine and Covenants 101:16: “Let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.”

Of course what kept coming to mind was “relax and know that I am God.” Not exactly accurate, but I think that’s one way of interpreting those verses. The more I thought about it the more I realized that this scripture is really what I need to think about and remember for the next year. We’re going to be moving across the country (again). We’ll be buying a business and taking it over (if all goes well). We’ll have to find a new house in a new place. We’ll have to find a new school for our son, Max and go to a new ward (again).

It’s all really scary. And intimidating. It makes me feel tired and frightened.

BUT. If I can think about it all in regards to these scriptures then I can think about it in a different way. If I can be still and know that Heavenly Father is God and that He is watching out for me then I don’t have to be so scared, or maybe scared at all. I’m not the only one watching out for me and my little family.

So maybe these big things we have to do can start to look exciting and adventurous instead of so scary.

The fact that I can’t ultimately control what happens in my life can be okay. There are divine beings watching out for us. Ultimately even if bad things happen we have hope that all will be ok and that we will be able to be together in the end.

I’ve just got to have faith. Relax, have faith and do the work.

One of my favorite men in the world, Jeffery R. Holland wrote the following in a wonderful article in the Ensign this month:

“Some of you may wonder: Is there any future for me? What does a new year or a new semester, a new major or a new romance, a new job or a new home hold for me? Will I be safe? Will life be sound? Can I trust in the Lord and in the future? Or would it be better to look back, to go back, to stay in the past?
“To all such of every generation, I call out, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11).”

Could that be more perfect and appropriate?

He writes and speaks so well. Just listening to his words brings me comfort.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

OK, I’ll try. I’ll try my best.

The post First Person: Be Still appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

My kids have a favorite Strawberry Shortcake book. We picked it up at the Deseret Industries [the Church’s thrift store — more info here]. It’s called Strawberry Shortcake and Sad Mr. Sun. The Strawberry kids write a heart-shaped note to the sun because he’s grumpy and hasn’t been shining in their valley for a while.

It says:

For days, and days,

We’ve missed your warm rays.

We thank you, dear Sun,

For all that you’ve done.

It’s been a trial –

Come back, and we’ll smile!

There was a while there recently when we had a lot of cloudy weather, and I didn’t really realize how much I had missed the sun when it came out. I’m a pretty content person in whatever circumstances I find myself in, but those couple of days with sunshine were amazing. I felt brighter, more ambitious, more perky. The kids played outside with reckless abandon. We walked to preschool. There was a spring in our step that was directly related to that dear sun shining in the sky. (Not having to worry about coats, hats, boots, gloves, etc. helped, too!)

It makes me think about my relationship with the Son. I think it’s very similar. I’m pretty content and upbeat by nature, but when I really focus on Christ and bask in the warmth of His Spirit, there’s a new level of happiness that I can enjoy. The great thing about Christ’s light, too, is that it’s available year round, regardless of the season.

So, if I could write a note on a heart-shaped leaf and send it to the sun on the string of a balloon, I would. Instead, I’ll refocus and show my thanks to Heavenly Father for His Son, and for this season of the year and this season of my life.

The post First Person: Thank You, Sun appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

One Saturday evening, I went down to the temple in St. George, Utah (45 miles (approx 72 km) from my home). My husband stayed home with the kids so I could attend an endowment session. It was lightly raining when I left my home. Seven miles into the drive, the rain started pelting the windshield. It was coming down so hard it was drowning out my music (believe me, that is LOUD). If it had been hail, it definitely would have broken my windshield. I couldn’t see the road in front of me very well; I immediately slowed down to 40 mph (approx. 64 kph) (the speed limit is 75 mph (approx. 121 kph)).

Many cars had pulled off to the side of the road. I didn’t feel safe pulling off because I couldn’t see those cars until I was practically on top of them. I even started hydroplaning a couple of times. The sky was near black. And I was scared. I thought to myself, “It’s not worth it! I’m not going to the temple. Driving in this weather is too hard and scary.”

I pulled off at the next exit, and decided to call my husband at home, where he could look up the weather on the internet and tell me what the next 34 miles (approx. 55 kilometers) would look like. I said, “Honey, this weather is bad. I’m scared. Will you please look up the radar and tell me if it is safe to go on? Or should I just come home?” He looked up the weather and said, “Oh wow. You just went through a couple of red cells (really, really bad rain). There is one more dark green cell about three to five miles away from where you are, but then right after that it is clear. The whole rest of the drive looks great.”

I decided it would be best to continue on.  If I turned around now, I would have to drive through the terrible rain storm again to get home.  I really wanted to go to the temple, and I was glad to know that it wouldn’t be too bad for the remainder of the trip.

The weather let up for about a mile, and then it got really bad again. It was almost as bad as before, and I was a little scared – but not as scared as before, because I believed what my husband told me on the phone. I noticed a few more cars pulled off to the side of the road, but I kept going.

About one mile past where those cars had pulled off, it was like a wall where the rain stopped and once I drove through it, I didn’t even need my windshield wipers anymore. And eight miles (approx. 13 km) later, the sun came out shining so brightly it almost blinded me.

As I had been praying to make it through this bad weather safely, and especially after the rain stopped right when my husband said it would, I saw meaning in my experience:

All of us go through difficult times in life, whether it is depression, family difficulties or other trials and tribulations. I saw the people pulled off to the side of the road, seemingly giving up. As I had faith in the guidance of someone one who knew more than I did, I was able to make it safely through.

But for a moment, it seemed to get worse before it got better. I had to keep going, no matter what. And then when the sun started blinding me, I saw the calmness and peacefulness after the storm.

I learned a lot on that Saturday night.

For more First person essays, please click here.

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