How to Overcome Trials

I totally had something in mind about which I wanted to post, but I felt prompted to take today's post in a different direction. First, though, I want to pose two questions to you. What do you do when you have challenges and problems? and How does Heavenly Father help you through your challenges and problems? Think about these for a minute. Ponder. Search deep within your soul. Haha.

What did you find? Some things you like? Answers you didn't like? More questions?

I am going to answer these questions for you. As I have traveled down the metaphorical road that is life, I have come across many trials, as have you, I'm sure. I want to share how I deal with them. One can never have enough tactics to fight hardships.

When I have challenges and problems, I sometimes turn to my friends first. However, this doesn't usually prove very fruitful. As much as they love us, and as helpful as they can be, our friends are mere mortals. And while I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't let our friends help us through difficulty, I am suggesting that Heavenly Father is the best person to turn to. He, in His perfection and infinite love, cannot fail us. Turning to the Lord in the face of adversity, however, requires faith. We must trust that He will answer us, and that He will provide a way for us to understand His answer. This used to be very hard for me. I knew without a doubt that God would answer my prayers, but I didn't have faith that I would be able to comprehend or recognize the answers when they came. These doubts were from Satan. He doesn't want us to be close to our Heavenly Father. He doesn't want us to have the powerful help that God can grant us. Once I realized that because God loves us and is perfect, I knew He would provide a way for me to recognize and understand the answers He gives to my prayers.

So, what does Whitney do when she faces challenges and problems? She prays. She prays and prays and prays and prays. Often these are tearful prayers, seeking relief from negativity and frustration. After she is sure her prayers were with real intent and heartfelt, Whitney reads the scriptures. Just as praying is how we talk to God, the scriptures are how He answers us. Often, I find answers to my prayers within the scriptures. This happens when I pay close attention to the words I am reading, and apply them to whatever I'm struggling with. This takes work, and practice. I'm not always super great at it, but the Lord blesses us for our effort. I have found so many answers to prayers through reading the scriptures after praying about a specific problem.

Heavenly Father helps me through my challenges and problems through the Holy Ghost. Time and time again my prayers have been answered through this member of the Godhead. The Spirit answers my prayers in many ways including: warm feelings of love, promptings, specific thoughts and conclusions coming to my head, or a literal voice in my head telling me something. Every person feels the influence of the Holy Ghost in different ways. These are just some of the ways I feel it. One must practice and develop a knowledge of how the Spirit communicates with them. No two people are exactly alike in this regard. For example, here's a time when Heavenly Father helped me through something recently:

I have a friend who I love very, very much. He is one of the people I love most. He is like an older brother to me. This friend (let's call him Leo) has been super stressed out and upset for a long time. He has more on his plate than he can handle right now. Leo is worried about college applications, AP classes, college auditions for violin, his family, his work, etc. For as long as I can remember, Leo has shared feelings with me about not being happy and feeling like he is missing something in his life. I have been trying to share the gospel with him. I have invited him to meet with the missionaries, come to church, and more. He's not against it, but hasn't shown enthusiasm for the church. Many-a-night I would cry, and pray, and cry, and pray that the Lord would soften his heart. I fasted for him numerous times. I did ALL I could to share the gospel with this person I love so dearly. I want for Leo to have the happiness I have. One night when I was particularly upset about him and was praying about it, the thought came to my mind that Leo is God's son. Heavenly Father loves Leo just as much as He loves me, and that He will take care of Leo. I felt that I should trust that the Lord will let him partake in the gospel when the time is right, and that I can't take it upon myself to be solely responsible for that. With this thought came a simple feeling of peace and my worries left me. The thoughts, assurance, and peace were from the Holy Ghost.

I know that the Lord loves us and wants us to be happy. Just as He will take care of Leo, He will take care of each of us. He wants us to come to Him with our sadness, struggles, hardships, and also our joys and triumphs. I testify that He will answer your prayers.

Two Testimonies of the Book of Mormon

Hey everybody!  How's it going? I just got back from Girl's Camp, so I'm super tired, but I really want to share this video that one of our leaders showed us. 

    

       How one man gained his testimony of the Book of Mormon.

I just want to let you know that I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. When I was twelve, I decided that I really wanted to know for myself if the Book of Mormon was true or not. I knew that my parents and teachers believed, but I was ready to know for myself. So, I read. And I prayed. I did that for a long time. But nothing came. I kept reading, and praying. Still, nothing came. I started to get discouraged, but still, I read and prayed. At that point, I didn't actually read the whole thing, the thought of doing so daunted me. Looking back, I realize that I was expecting to feel a burst of emotion, a fire in my bosom, and warm tears running down my face to know that the Book of Mormon was true, but that never happened. My testimony came slowly. I would read some, and I would feel peace. The next day I would read and pray some more. I would feel at home. The day after, I would read and pray again. I would forget my cares. After a while, I realized that all of these seemingly small feelings added up. I knew that the Book of Mormon was true. I didn't see a pillar of light, but the Holy Ghost did whisper the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon into my heart.

Fast forward a year. I had just finished reading the Book of Mormon, cover-to-cover, for the first time. I had just reached Moroni's Promise, in Moroni 10. I decided that since I had just read the Book of Mormon all the way through, I would pray to see if it was true. The previous experience I just told you about came to the back of my mind, but I paid no heed and went ahead and prayed to know if the Book of Mormon was true. Here's an excerpt from my journal of this experience:

"I just finished the Book of Mormon for the first time. I feel accomplished. I feel  the Spirit.  It is whispering peace to me, but really I just feel at home. I feel comfortable and at home. When I got to Moroni's Promise, I decided to pray about the Book of Mormon again, even though I'd done that before. And, [when I did] I didn't feel anything. I was afraid I'd done something wrong. So I kept reading. Then the words, "I already know" came to my mind. the Spirit was confirming my knowledge reminding me that I already knew. those words were accompanied by a very quiet sense of relief and truth. Then, exactly as I finished the last word of the Book of Mormon, I fel a gentle surge of confirmation. I felt at peace, happy, joyful, and at home. I know Heavenly Father is pleased with me." 

I am so very very grateful for the Book of Mormon in my life. As I have continued to study it, the precious confirmation of it's truthfulness keeps coming back. I love the wonderful knowledge and promises which are contained in it's pages. I know that it confirms the truths that are in the Bible. I feel so blessed to be able to read out of this holy book.

 

The Influence of the Holy Ghost

Usually I have a general topic in mind and some sort of plan for what I'll convey, if vague. But today, I'm wingin' it. I know that the Spirit will guide my words.


The Spirit. Yes. That is what I'll talk about.

The Holy Ghost has several names: The Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost, Comforter, just to name a few.

Who is the Holy Ghost?
The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead. He is a personage of spirit, without a body of flesh and bones. He is often referred to as the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Comforter.   -Holy Ghost, Study By Topic

What does He do?
The Spirit has many roles. He comforts us when we are weary. He answers our prayers. He testifies of truth when it is taught. It is through his witness that we can obtain a testimony of God the Father and Jesus Christ. He also can guide us. When we are about to make a decision, the Spirit can help us to feel which way is right. This can be a matter of choosing whether you will obey your parents, which class you should take with your two leftover credits, which college to go to, or any decision. The Holy Ghost can also protect us. He does this by warning us when we are about to make a wrong choice or if we are in danger.

How do I know if I am feeling/ have felt the Holy Ghost?
This is difficult to answer. Everybody feels the Spirit a bit differently. Most people describe hearing a "still small voice" or feeling a warmth. Some people cry when they are feeling the Spirit very strongly; they cry in a good, happy way. Sometimes you will feel at peace. Sometimes you will feel elated and jubilant. Other times you will just feel still and calm.
Often, it takes a lot of practice to figure out when your feeling the Spirit verses over-analyzing your own thoughts. Sometimes it's very obvious, sometimes it's not. You can strengthen your ability to realize the promptings and feelings of the Holy Ghost by praying for help and putting yourself in situations that are conducive to the Spirit.  Ponder the scriptures after you read them. Sit in a few moments of silence after praying so you can feel God answering your prayers through the  Spirit.

How can I feel the Spirit more in my life?
Start off by reading your scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon, daily. Pray daily with real intent and a sincere heart. Do not place yourself in places or situations where wickedness and crudeness abound. Participate in wholesome activities. Keep the commandments. Take the sacrament and keep your covenants.

I know that the Holy Ghost is real. He most definitely is! I have felt his wonderful, powerful influence in my life. Many nights I have almost cried myself to sleep, but then I have been filled with stillness, peace, and joy by the Holy Ghost. He loves us, just like Heavenly Father loves us and Jesus loves us.

Scripture for thisThursday

The scripture for this Thursday is John 3:16.  I know that this scripture is used a lot, but there are some specific things that I would like to point out.

 16  For ^aGod so ^bloved the ^cworld, that he ^dgave his ^eonly begotten ^fSon, that whosoever ^gbelieveth in him should not perish, but have ^heverlasting ⁱlife.

God watched His Son as He suffered more than anybody ever could.  He watched as His Son was beaten and mocked.  And, He also watched as His Son was resurrected and people rejoiced to see Him again.

Some people believe that God and Jesus are the same being.  We believe that God is our Heavenly Father, the Father of our spirits.  Jesus is God's Son, as this verse plainly states.  Because God is our Father and Jesus is God's Son, Jesus is our brother.  Both love us with more love than we can fathom.

In the Mormon religion, we have what are called the Thirteen Articles of Faith, which are basic declarations of some aspects of our religion.  The First Article of Faith states:

We ^abelieve in ^bGod, the Eternal Father, and in His ^cSon, Jesus Christ, and in the ^dHoly Ghost.

To see the rest of the Articles of Faith, click here.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.