Elder Neal A. Maxwell gave a talk years ago entitled “Be of Good Cheer.” One might ask, in this day and age, “How does one go about being of good cheer? How is it possible?” This talk gave me much to think about.

Elder Maxwell says:

Jesus has given that same instruction [to “be of good cheer”] to others before, when the stressful circumstances in which they found themselves were anything but cheerful. For instance, he told the original Twelve to be of good cheer when, on the surface, there was nothing to be cheerful about….[H]ow could Jesus expect the Twelve to be of good cheer? Because, the Savior said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33; emphasis his.)

With such discouraging, depressing, despairing events soon to transpire, Jesus Christ gave instruction to his apostles that must have seemed impossible as they moved through those events. They likely did not understand His final phrase, “I have overcome the world.”

Elder Maxwell continues:

Because Christ had overcome the world, the Atonement was about to be accomplished! Death would be irrevocably defeated! Satan would have failed to stop the unfolding plan of salvation! All mankind would be given—through the grace of God—immortality! Additionally, for those who would earn it, there would be the richness of eternal life! These were among the resplendent realities and the fundamental facts which justified the Twelve’s being of good cheer—not their grim, temporary circumstances! The precious perspectives of the gospel give to us this gospel gladness!”

Ah! Now we see. And gradually the Twelve saw, too.

It isn’t always easy to consistently be of good cheer. There are days when temptations and trials and afflictions threaten to get the best of us—days when we feel we have been given more than we can bear. And yet:

Thus we see, brothers and sisters, how we are justified in being of good cheer for ultimate reasons—reasons to be distinguished, however, from proximate circumstances. If, for instance, our attitude towards life depends upon the praise of men, the level of interest rates, the outcome of a particular election or athletic contest—we are too much at the mercy of men and circumstance. Nor should our gratitude for the gift of mortal life depend upon the manner in which we die, for surely none of us will rush eagerly forward to tell Jesus how we died!

Instead, Jesus calls upon us to have a deliberate trust in God’s unfolding purposes, not only for all humankind but for us individually. And we are to be of good cheer in the unfolding process.

Keeping an eternal perspective is absolutely essential in getting through this mortal life, intact and with good cheer, learning the lessons that our Heavenly Father would have us learn. Life isn’t always easy, but it isn’t always hard, either, and those respites can give us a breathing space to stop and remember our blessings and our knowledge and to remind ourselves of eternity. The things of eternity are far more important than the things of this world. It is just that right now we are in the midst of the things of this world and so it requires effort and focus to remember that this is not all that there is.

Elder Maxwell’s talk is encouraging and instructive. It gives me hope and reminds me to do my part—and to be of good cheer in the process.

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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.

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