You can gain strength to face life’s challenges by remembering the blessings of the gospel of Christ.
As we move in to the new year, the brightness of the holiday season is often quickly forgotten in the cold days of January. The pursuit of personal goals can replace the focus on serving others. And gifts received can become a distant memory until rediscovered during Spring cleaning. Isn’t it exciting when you find a treasured present that was lost? The memories and emotions come flooding back and you wonder why you stored the gift away in the first place.
Similarly, my enthusiasm for the gospel of Christ goes missing at times in the barrage of daily demands. Then something will remind me of the joy of the gospel, and I regain renewed focus on my faith. But I do not have to wait for these reminders; I can be intentional about remembering what the gospel of Christ is and why I am so grateful for it. Being intentional helps keep my faith at the forefront of my mind.
What is the Gospel of Christ?
Christ said, “This is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father…. No unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end…. For the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do…. Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day” (3 Nephi 27:13-22).
In summary, the gospel of Jesus Christ is “God’s plan of salvation, made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The gospel includes the eternal truths or laws, covenants, and ordinances needed for mankind to enter back into the presence of God.” I am so grateful that, in His mercy, God has provided a map to guide us back to Him. Sometimes I wander off the path but remembering the gifts of the gospel points me in the right direction again.
What gifts of the gospel of Christ are most meaningful to me?
The gift of knowing there is purpose to this life. God truly is my Father, I lived with Him before this earth, He knows me, I am His daughter, and He wants me to return home and inherit all He has. God’s very purpose is to help us gain eternal life and He wants us to succeed! We are here to learn from our experiences, allow Christ to change our hearts, and prepare for continual growth in eternity. This knowledge gives me peace and a desire to keep going. Trials, pain, and suffering have meaning because they provide opportunities for us to decide whether we will have faith, trust in God, and choose His way.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks said:
“Because we have the truth about the Godhead and our relationship to Them, the purpose of life, and the nature of our eternal destiny, we have the ultimate road map and assurance for our journey through mortality. We know whom we worship and why we worship. We know who we are and what we can become (see D&C 93:19). We know who makes it all possible, and we know what we must do to enjoy the ultimate blessings that come through God’s plan of salvation.”
On days that are hard, allow the gospel to give context to your challenges. Remember that you are not alone and that God will help you learn and conquer because that is the plan!
The gift of understanding why obedience to the gospel (faith, repentance, etc.) is so important. Christ saved us by grace but then He asks us to keep His commandments. Why? Because the commandments help us learn to submit our will to God and allow Him to change our hearts. When we choose to obey the commandments, it is not because we are trying to earn our way back to heaven. It is because we love God, want to be with Him, and the gospel is what He’s asked us to live to be prepared to be with Him again.
Brad Wilcox stated:
“Christ asks us to show faith in Him, repent, make and keep covenants, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. By complying, we are not paying the demands of justice—not even the smallest part. Instead, we are showing appreciation for what Jesus Christ did by using it to live a life like His.… He can forgive what justice never could, and He can turn to us now with His own set of requirements (see 2 Nephi 2:7; 3 Nephi 9:20).…
If Jesus did not require covenants and bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost, then there would be no way to change. We would be left forever with only willpower, with no access to His power. If Jesus did not require endurance to the end, then there would be no internalization of those changes over time. They would forever be surface and cosmetic rather than sinking inside us and becoming part of us—part of who we are.”
Take a minute to think – “Am I choosing obedience because I love Christ and want express gratitude for His Atonement?” “Am I becoming a more kind, gentle, diligent, and wise person because I choose to follow Christ?” As we look inward to see the beauty added to our souls through living the gospel of Christ, we will be filled with gratitude for knowing and following His way.
The gift of grace through the Atonement of Christ. Sometimes this adventure called life is hard and daunting! Often, we experience obstacles outside our control. How do we find the energy and hope to keep fighting? Other times, we may fail in our attempts to do the right thing. How do we become clean again and change weakness to strength? The answer lies in grace – divine help to do things we cannot do on our own – available through Christ’s Atonement. Because of Him we can find peace and the will to continue trying.
The Lord assures us through ancient and modern prophets that He will strengthen those who seek His help. “[God] giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.… They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles.… For… the Lord… God will hold [their] right hand, saying unto [them], Fear not; I will help thee” (Isaiah 40:31).
Elder D. Todd Christofferson explains how we access this help on a daily basis:
“Jesus is teaching us, His disciples, that we should look to God each day for the bread—the help and sustenance—we require in that particular day.… The Lord’s invitation to seek our daily bread at our Heavenly Father’s hand speaks of a loving God, aware of even the small, daily needs of His children and anxious to assist them, one by one. He is saying that we can ask in faith of that Being “that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given” (James 1:5).
That is, of course, tremendously reassuring, but there is something at work here that is more significant than just help in getting by day to day. As we seek and receive divine bread daily, our faith and trust in God and His Son grow.”
Elder Christofferson learned to seek daily bread through a trial that lasted years. He expressed, “I learned that manna today can be as real as the physical manna of biblical history. I learned to trust in the Lord with all my heart. I learned to walk with Him day by day.” This is the gift of grace. As you navigate life’s challenges, remember that there is a Savior waiting to give you the strength to keep going. He is only a prayer away.
My Story
The gifts of the gospel have become even more precious to me throughout this past year. As I struggled through a devastating and undiagnosed health challenge, I woke up many mornings scared to get out of bed because I did not know what that day would bring or if I would have the strength to face it. Admittedly, there were many days that I was angry at Heavenly Father and wondered if He had abandoned me. I cried out for an understanding of why I was experiencing this trial. There were months that felt like mere survival. I felt so alone.
While I am not completely out of the woods, healing has slowly come – both physical and spiritual. In the moment, it was difficult to see how the Lord and my faith were sustaining me. But looking back, I see how the gospel anchored me during this storm and it now helps me to find meaning in this experience. I recognize that if the purpose of life is for me to become more like Christ, then God was wise not to remove this trial.
I pled many times for rescue, but instead the Lord walked with me and allowed me to discover the strength of my soul, a depth of resilience I did not know I had. I experienced pain, confusion, anger, and fear beyond any I had felt before, and in turn it opened my heart to deeper love, compassion, patience, and peace. I am better able to love and serve others because of who I became through this year.
At times I found it difficult to spend time in prayer or scripture study because most of my energy was focused on survival. I began to wonder if I was being denied relief because I was not faithful enough. But my husband helped me find peace when he said, “You are exercising faith by choosing to get up every morning and try again.” He reminded me that God knew my heart – that I love the Lord and was trying to follow Him, even though my efforts seemed less than I was able to give previously.
As I look back, I can see the grace of Christ supporting me all the way. Each time I got to the edge of giving up, I would hear His voice. Sometimes it was a quiet thought, other times it was through the words of a friend, but an answer would come to provide enough light and hope to walk a little further. I began to turn to Him more quickly and as my first source of knowledge. I have learned to love silence because that is when I can hear Him most clearly.
This song expresses so perfectly what I have seen through looking back on my experience:
And I saw only two footprints in the sand
Thought you’d abandoned me and
Let go of my hand
But you were carrying me
Carrying me to safety
Two footprints, your footprints in the sand
The gospel of Christ has helped me come to peace with the intense pain I felt this past year. We each experience trials that penetrate our souls and test our physical and spiritual strength. The Savior promises to be with us, and we can trust His promise because He already lived through our pain. He chose to suffer all our anguish, so we never have to walk alone. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:28).
If you are struggling under the weight of trials, whether they are from poor choices or outside influences, we can find rest in Christ. But it is our choice to accept His help.
Elder Holland has said:
“In this promise, that introductory phrase, “come unto me,” is crucial. It is the key to the peace and rest we seek.… He is saying to us, “Trust me, learn of me, do what I do. Then, when you walk where I am going,” He says, “we can talk about where you are going, and the problems you face and the troubles you have. If you will follow me, I will lead you out of darkness,” He promises, “I will give you answers to your prayers. I will give you rest to your souls.”
Are you battling a demon of addiction—tobacco or drugs or gambling, or the pernicious contemporary plague of pornography? Is your marriage in trouble or your child in danger? Are you confused with gender identity or searching for self-esteem? Do you—or someone you love—face disease or depression or death? Whatever other steps you may need to take to resolve these concerns, come first to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Trust in heaven’s promises. In that regard Alma’s testimony is my testimony: “I do know,” he says, “that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions.”
This reliance upon the merciful nature of God is at the very center of the gospel Christ taught. I testify that the Savior’s Atonement lifts from us not only the burden of our sins but also the burden of our disappointments and sorrows, our heartaches and our despair. From the beginning, trust in such help was to give us both a reason and a way to improve, an incentive to lay down our burdens and take up our salvation.
There can and will be plenty of difficulties in life. Nevertheless, the soul that comes unto Christ, who knows His voice and strives to do as He did, finds a strength, as the hymn says, “beyond [his] own.” The Savior reminds us that He has “graven [us] upon the palms of [His] hands.” Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion and Atonement, I promise you He is not going to turn His back on us now. When He says to the poor in spirit, “Come unto me,” He means He knows the way out and He knows the way up. He knows it because He has walked it. He knows the way because He is the way.”
My amazing mom shared this thought with me. “The gospel is the gift! What is left is for us to choose. Do we truly want the gift?”
Invitation: Do you want to rediscover the precious gift of the gospel of Christ? Take some time to ponder the great blessings you have because of it and then turn to Christ. Let Him help carry your burdens, fill you with faith in your ability to succeed, and wrap you in the gift of His incredible love.
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