Never Alone...

Through my life I have wondered at times if anyone knew what pain I was going through.  Of course I had freinds, like most do, who are willing and ready to come to the rescue and help us.  But what about the times when the pain we go through, our friends have not experienced?  Their words bring momentary comfort, their affection brings a small sense of security, but pain creeps back in once they have left.  

I have come to rely on, and find solace in the selfless act the Savior provided or us.  There is a pain that we cannot understand, but we can know that he did it for us, that "he may know...how to succor his people" (Alma 7:11-12).  I have felt devastating holes of disappointment and discouragement filled through the power of His atonement.  I have felt the hopeless pains and ever lonely sorrows of life experience lifted from my life and an abiding peace and heavenly assurance fill holes I thought would never heal.  One recently has said, "The Savior is not a silent observer. He Himself knows personally and infinitely the pain we face" (The Atonement Covers All Pain).  Let us always remember, especially through our pains, we are never alone, nor will we ever be.  "Come unto me...and ye shall find rest to your souls" (Matthew 11:28-30).

Power to Heal

Let The Children Come

Elder Bohnet and I just got done teaching one of our friends about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  As we have reflected upon what that consists of; faith, repentance, baptism by immersion, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and enduring to the end, we thought of why we love talking about this so much.  We both decided it is because of Jesus Christ, and how he makes us feel!  

As I have come to know my Savior and older Brother, Jesus Christ, one thing I always marvel at is the power that he has to heal us.  I think of the mistakes that overwhelm our past, the worries that cloud our future, and the burdening guilt that once weighed down our hearts.  I think of that only for a moment.  I have come to accept, apply, and appreciate the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life.  I have felt the power he has to lift burdens and heavy hearts, diminish worries, and replace doubts with a bright hope.  He has all power to heal us physically, but there is a healing that takes a perfect love and patience, and that healing is spiritual healing.  I think of a scripture in the Book of Mormon, when the Savior appears to the people and tells them, "come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal [you]..."(3 Nephi 18:32).

I know that the Lord will heal all who come unto Him, with full purpose of heart.  I know that is because he has an unconditional and an everlasting love for us.  He can heal us. He can make us whole.

"We are the children of God"

Worth of a Soul

Someone close to me expressed something that she fears, as she is changing her life and trying to come closer to the Savior.  As my companion and I shared with her our desire for her to come to understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ more fully, I found myself pondering upon my life and how change had brought up some of my worst fears.  As we listened closer, I have come to feel that this fear was more internal; the question of self worth. 

There is a worry that comes to us when we change our lives, when we come to wonder if we must truly move past the places where we once felt most comfortable.  Will we be good enough for the new group of people that we will associate with, or will these new set of values that we will live really make me free?  I have pondered about this for a few days and a certain hymn comes to mind, which touched my heart and awakened my spirit to a sense of healing that Christ offers to us all, as we change and become something new.

"Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish;
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.

Here bring your wounded hearts; here tell your anguish.
Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot heal."

"Come Ye Disconsolate"

There are fears, doubts and pains that trouble our souls, but as we go though these experiences a feeling of hope and joy may flood our souls as we read the words of prophets of old, Romans 8:16-17.  We are all God's children, and he loves each of us.  Doctrine and Covenants 18:10, 13.  We are of worth to Him.