Eyring - Adversity - April 2009

President Eyring talks about adversity in our lives. He talks about periods in our lives where adversity is small and manageable, sometimes give way to longer periods of distress. It is in those times of distress that our faith is tested and we sometimes lose our focus that trials are part of life and help us grow.

• We all must deal with adversity. There may be periods, sometimes long ones, when our lives seem to flow with little difficulty. But it is in the nature of our being human that comfort gives way to distress, periods of good health come to an end, and misfortunes arrive. Particularly when the comfortable times have gone on for a while, the arrival of suffering or the loss of material security can bring fear and sometimes even anger.

He talks about the love that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us. He talks about the plan of salvation and that adversity is a part of that plan. We must be tested and prove that we are worthy of the great blessings that will be given to us. It is through adversity that we place our faith in His hands and we are made better people.

• My purpose today is to assure you that our Heavenly Father and the Savior live and that They love all humanity. The very opportunity for us to face adversity and affliction is part of the evidence of Their infinite love. God gave us the gift of living in mortality so that we could be prepared to receive the greatest of all the gifts of God, which is eternal life. Then our spirits will be changed. We will become able to want what God wants, to think as He thinks, and thus be prepared for the trust of an endless posterity to teach and to lead through tests to be raised up to qualify to live forever in eternal life.
  

President Eyring gives several examples of people in his life that have faced adversity and have come out on the other side, better, more faithful, and more determined to stay on the straight and narrow path. He uses these examples to inspire hope and faith within us that we can endure through our trials and succeed despite the adversities in our lives.

• I have seen faith and courage come from a testimony that it is true that we are being prepared for eternal life. The Lord will rescue His faithful disciples. And the disciple who accepts a trial as an invitation to grow and therefore qualify for eternal life can find peace in the midst of the struggle.

I don't know why some people have bigger trials than others. I don't know why some people seem to live their entire lives going from one trial to another. But I do know we have a God who loves us and wants what is best for us. I have been so blessed in my life. I have no been without trials or adversity, I have not had perfect children, and I have things in my life that cause me to need to repent. But through all these trials, I see the love of the Savior. I see His hand in the outcomes. I see his influence for good in those around me.