"...We realize that the purpose of our life on earth is to grow, develop, and be strengthened through our own experiences."
All of us have gone
through some sort of trial whether its the death of a loved one or losing a
job, whatever it may be, we have all experienced some form of hardship in our
lives and if you say you havent, you're lying. How do we respond to situations
like these? Are we angry, sad, offended, ask God why is this happening to me? I
know we've all had these thoughts and feelings run through our heads. I know I
have, many times. Elder Bradley D. Foster, Quorum of the Seventy, also asked,
"When sorrow, misfortune, or tragedy strike, how will we respond? If we trust in the Lord and if our testimony of the Savior’s gospel and Resurrection is strong, we will be able to respond with faith..."
With faith and and confiding with our Heavenly Father, he will
be there to comfort us, whether its a trial that we were not in control of, or
something that we may be struggling with personally, He will never forsake you.
For those of you that haven't read this talk, "Trials, Tribulations, and Trust in the Lord," I recommend you read it. There are so many excerpts that I am using in this post and they explain everything so perfectly! Elder Foster also says he learned
"...much from a book titled Why Did This Happen to Me? by Ray Pritchard. He says: “Sometimes we will face things for which there is no earthly explanation. In those moments we need to erect a sign that reads, ‘Quiet: God at Work.’ Meanwhile, hold on, child of God. Keep believing. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Let God do His work in you. The greatest tragedy is to miss what God wants to teach us through our troubles.”
One of
the trials I have seen many go through in this life and that really hits home,
is adoption. I am adopted and I am so grateful for it. My mother and father
were not able to have their own children and when they found out, my mother
was devastated. My mother wanted so many kids, 12 to be exact. She was
confused and upset. Her Patriarchal blessing stated that she
would be a mother in zion and she did so many procedures to try to get
pregnant. It was a very trying time in her life. All she wanted to be in this
life was a mother and at that point of time in her life all she could do she
said was to have faith and trust in the Lord. It took 5 years for her to
finally adopt her first child. Two years later, she was blessed again to adopt
again. However, another trying time came and they had to wait 10 years, after
much prayer and faith, to be able to adopt again. It took her 10 years
to receive answers to her prayer, but through those trying times, she
gives me strength, because she never lost faith in her Heavenly Father.
I have watched many people in my ward and family go through this trial. I have watched people have the trial of giving up their child for adopted to give them a better life. That is how I was blessed with the family I have now, and I am so grateful that my birth mom overcame that trial and did the right thing. My birth mom gave birth to my twin brother and I prematurely 6 weeks early and we had a very rough beginning. We had to be have withdrawals of drugs and go through many surgeries and our birth mom struggled in giving us up. I know it was a very hard trial for her to give us up, but I know that she wanted to give us to a better family that could give us the love and opportunities as well as the gospel in our lives. If my birth mom did not overcome this trial of giving us up for adoption, I know I wouldn't be where I am today. I am so grateful for her strength in overcoming it. I know that we will be blessed when we overcome these hard times. We might not understand why at the time, but thats okay, we will know one day.
I found this video on the Mormon Channel, and I LOVE videos! Its a new series called "His Grace," and there was video I found about a month ago about a woman who had to give up her daughter for adoption and she said it was one of the hardest things she ever had to do in her life. She had to go through this trial, give up her daughter, yet she relied on her Father in Heaven and He never left her. This trial strengthened her testimony and helped her grow and it not only helped increase her faith but others as well. Grab a box of tissues, you're going to need it!
This video literally had me in tears and really struck home to me and made me imagine how hard it was for my birthmother to give my brother and me up. I can't even comprehend how hard it was for her, and it makes me so grateful for her and her strength to give us to a better home that could give us an eternal family and the Gospel.
I’ve had many
trials where I’ve found myself on my knees pleading with my Heavenly Father for
comfort. My freshman year in high school is a time where I fervently prayed for
my mom as she battled a cancer scare. I couldn’t even bear the thought of
losing my mom at the age of 14. I went to bed every night, not only praying for
a miracle, but just for the feeling of comfort knowing that I was not alone and
that I would have strength to make it through this trial. With constant prayer,
I found that my fear was replaced with faith. Because of the faith I put into
the Lord, knowing he has power to do all things, I was blessed with strength I
didn’t know I had along with a new peace and comfort knowing that my mom would
be okay. In Mosiah 27:14, Alma’s prayers were answered because of the faith,
which he had in the Lord. The Lord hears our prayers and answers them according
to our faith. Heavenly Father wants nothing more for us to come to him and ease
our burdens and through prayer he can do that. My mom has also taught me that
and always repeated this quote to me growing up, “When life gets to hard to
stand, kneel.” This has carried me through many of my struggles and worries.
Im sorry, I could go on, as I'm sure many of you, where you have had hard and trying times. We all experience it daily, big and small. Its how we overcome them that matters. These trials are part of our mortal journey on earth and is the only way we can return to be with our Father in Heaven again.
Elder Foster concludes his talk with a perfect ending:
"I testify that the Savior will abide with you in your darkest hour. He is there, and He has declared, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33)."
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