In
times of uncertainty and hardship nothing soothes my soul more than
prayer. Having a direct connection to my father in Heaven and knowing
that he hears and answers my prayers is a huge comfort to me. It's
not always easy to hold on and have faith in times of trial, however
one of my favorite stories from the scriptures, show me that it is
worth it.
In
Matthew Chapter 9 a man comes to the Savior and asks him to raise his
daughter from the dead, as he rises to follow this man and heal his
daughter, a woman comes up behind him. This woman had had an issue
with blood, as the scriptures say, for 12 years, and she knew that if
she even just touched the Savior's garments, that she would be made
whole. The Savior turns around and in verse 22 says, “Daughter, be
of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.”
This
story taught me that faith will make me whole. When I am filled with
endless worry and doubt, and have a hard time seeing the path before
me, I know that if I just have faith, that everything will be okay.
President
Ucthdorf says in a talk in the October 2011 conference called You
Matter to Him, “what you see and experience now is not what forever
will be. You will not feel loneliness, sorrow, pain, or
discouragement forever. We have the faithful promise of God that He
will neither forget nor forsake those who incline their hearts to
Him. Have
hope and faith in that promise. Be assured that if you but hold on,
believe in Him, and remain faithful in keeping the commandments, one
day you will experience for yourselves the promises revealed to the
Apostle Paul: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for
them that love him.”
It
is easy to get lost in the shuffle, to feel discouraged, to feel that
maybe no one truly sees you after all, but as the scriptures also
say, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God, there is not
one soul numbered among this earth or in the heavens that Heavenly
Father is not aware of, that he does not know by name. I know that he
knows me, I know that He loves me, I know that He has a plan for me.
I know that He knows my weaknesses, that he knows my fears, but I
know that when I have faith, and when I pray that He will give me the
strength and the happiness and the courage to go on in the dark.
President
Uchtdorf also says, “God sees you not only as a mortal being on a
small planet who lives for a brief season—He sees you as His child.
He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He
wants you to know that you matter to Him.”
There
is nothing so all-encompassing as God's love and knowledge of us.
There are few things more comforting than knowing that my Father in
Heaven knows everything about me. He also knows the best ways to help
me. I know that sometimes when I ask for help, it is not always given
right away, but I do know that when I move forward with faith and
hope that at some point I'll figure out what I'm doing, or at some
point he'll help me.
Richard
G. Scott gave a talk called The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of
Uncertainty and Testing, and in this talk he says, “A fundamental
purpose of earth life is personal growth and attainment.
Consequently, there must be times of trial and quandary to provide
opportunity for that development. His plan of happiness is conceived
so that we will have challenges, even difficulties, where decisions
of great importance must be made so that we can grow, develop, and
succeed in this mortal probation. 1 Gratefully,
in His perfect love, He has provided a way for us to resolve those
challenges while growing in strength and capacity. I speak of the
sustaining power of faith in times of uncertainty and testing. God
has given us the capacity to exercise faith, that we may find peace,
joy, and purpose in life. However, to employ its power, faith must be
founded on something. There is no more solid foundation than faith in
the love Heavenly Father has for you, faith in His plan of happiness,
and faith in the capacity and willingness of Jesus
Christ to
fulfill all of His promises.”
I
think faith also centers on trust. Trust that God will do what's best
for you, that he knows what is best for you, and that he will never
leave you helpless of comfortless. But in return for his help and
comfort we must show our faith and trust in him. We must stand up
boldly and confess our beliefs. We must live and act in ways that
there are no doubts as to who our beliefs are centered in. As
disciples of Christ, we are examples of Him. We take upon ourselves
his name each Sunday, and we must act in ways that glorify his name.
We must stand forth as Captain Moroni does in the Book of Mormon and
raise our own personal “Titles of Liberty” telling, and more
importantly showing the world our faith, and our beliefs. It is not
always easy to do, none of us are perfect, and none of us will do the
right thing every time, but that is what repentance is for. I am
beyond grateful for my Heavenly Father, for his love and
understanding. I am grateful for my family, who have raised me in the
Gospel, and have given me a solid foundation to build my testimony
on. I am so thankful for all of the wonderful examples that the
members of this ward have provided me with. I know that as we hold on
and have faith, as we testify of Christ through our words and actions
that we will be blessed every day. As we take those steps in the
dark, as we move through hard and uncertain times, when we have
faith, our paths will always be lighted.
