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I was asked to speak gainging strength from trials

Elder Maxwell Encircled in the arms of his love.


Life is hard. We all struggle with our own problems.
sin, addiction, depression, lonelyness, loss of loved ones.
Many times bad things just happen to good people
regardless of their actions. The world can be cruel and
uncaring and they are growing more an more so it seems.
The lord said this about our times
Mathew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of
many shall wax cold.
whether we caused our problems or if our problems just
happened to us they are just as real and they can be
devastating.
When times get really bad it is easy to lose sight of the
fact that god cares deeply for us.
Elder maxwell says
Brothers and sisters, by divine appointment, these are [our]
days (Hel. 7:9), since all things must come to pass in their time
(D&C 64:32). Moreover, though we live in a failing world, we have
not been sent here to fail.
Recall the new star that announced the birth at Bethlehem? It
was in its precise orbit long before it so shone. We are likewise
placed in human orbits to illuminate.
When we are in the hum drum of everyday work and
things of the world it is easy to forget this is true. God
however does not forget us.
In Luke 12:6 Christ said
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of
them is forgotten before God?

7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear
not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
As hard as it is to comprehend god does actually watch
over an almost numberless amount of his children
personally all the time. We have all probably heard that
before but if we truly believed that would we have reason
to sin?
Keeping an eternal perspective is one of lifes great
secrets.
We take the sacrament every week at church.In the
sacramental prayer it says
"that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and
always remember him"
Always remembering him will help us keep away from sin
and do the things that would be pleasing to god instead. It
is not easy to always remember him but we must strive to
do so.
During these troubles we must remember that God loves
and knows each of us individually and wants us to suceed.
Elder Maxwell Says:
How can we know that God is aware of us and loves us? He tells
us by the scriptureslikewise, by our honestly counting the
blessings and bestowals of His grace in our lives. Most of all, He
tells us by the still, small voice of the Spirit! (see Alma 34:38;
D&C 78:1719).
Discipleship may seem roller-coaster like, as soaring revelations
bring the gravity of humbling perspective. It was so with Moses,
who fell unto the earth and exclaimed, Man is nothing, which
thing I never had supposed (Moses 1:910). Then came,
however, the divine, reassuring disclosure: For behold, this is my

work and my gloryto bring to pass the immortality and eternal


life of man (Moses 1:39).
How can we always remember him especially in our trials?
How can we have that spirit that helps us remember god
loves us?
We have to listen to him when he tries to help us. God
wants to communicate with us and help. We to
consistently keep the simple commandments.
1. Pray daily
2. Scripture study
3. Go to church
These are so simple and yet I am as guilty of forgetting
them at crucial times in my life.

Pray
36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy
doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in
the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea,
let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
If you think about the sacrament prayer this really echoes
that I think

Scriptures
I cant tell you how many times I have been told to pray
and read my scriptures. But apparently just keep telling
me.
Scripture study is not that hard. I am ashamed to think of
the things that have replaced it at times in my life.
Excuses that are so weak its sad stand in my way.
The same excuses can be used for church and prayer and
we just have to decide if we want to be happy or not and
just do it.

In my younger days my bishop once asked me if I was


reading my scriptures regularly and I told him that
truthfully I wasnt. He told me that he noticed a pattern
serving as bishop. Whenever people come into his office
with problems they are almost always leaving out the
simple daily scripture study and prayer.

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