Elder Donald L. Hallstrom
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4 comments:
This was a great talk for me. This week I have tried to focus on really turning to the Lord. It hasn't been the easiest thing for me to do, but it has been so good for me to remember what's important. It seems that these past few months, it's been easy for me to readily forget Heavenly Father and my responsibility as a daughter of God. This talk, and this week, has helped me remember what my priorities should be.
While reading this talk, my thoughts kept turning back to the "hard" times in my life and how I reacted to them. In the middle of the talk, Elder Hallstrom says "no matter the size of the issue, how we respond can reset the course of our life." I think back to my time with Emilia. I am so grateful of the blessings that have come from an error in my judgement. I want Emilia to grow up knowing that I learned from her and responded in a way that Heavenly Father (and she) can be proud of. That was a pretty major turning point in my life. What have I done with it? So often, I think, "well, at least I am not where I was before Emilia" or "look how far I've come since then." Truth be told, it doesn't matter where I was or how far I have come...I am here now. In Alma 36:20, Alma is talking about his feelings about returning to the Lord. He says "my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain." For how much pain I have felt from MY decisions in life, I have felt the same (if not more) joy from my response to those mistakes.
In Mosiah 7:33, Heavenly Father gives us a promise, "if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart and put your trust in Him...He will...deliver you out of bondage." I have learned as I have gotten older and learned from my mistakes, that bondage is not the rules and commandments of the church. Bondage is the constraints that I put on myself when I don't obey the commandments. The happiest I have ever been in my life is knowing that I have relied on Heavenly Father because I have the spirit. The quote about 'no matter the size of the issue..." rings true for following the commandments as well as not following them. The things that I think are small and "don't matter" DO! It's the small stuff that I need in my everyday life to help me with the big stuff.
In the last part of the talk, Elder Hallstrom says "giving up is not an option." I want to live by that. Although it may be easier not to go to church or read my scriptures, that is what I have to do...otherwise I am giving up.
I really enjoyed reading this talk. I loved the quote, "In the most difficult circumstances of life, there is often only one source of peace. The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ ..." I know sometimes when hardships come upon me, I almost always think why is this happening to me. I have to force myself to refocus my thoughts and turn to the Lord for help. I believe that some things happen to us for that mere purpose. We have forgotten to turn to the Lord and sometimes it takes something really hard for us to get back in the habit of turning to the Lord.
I also liked this, " Throughout the world and among the membership of the Church, there is great joy and great pain. Both are part of the plan. Without one, we cannot know the other. 'Men are that they might have joy'". This is so true. We would never know how great we have it, if we didn't go through rough spots. It makes us really appreciate what we have.
I too, like JJ, liked the quote, "No matter the size of the issue, how we respond can reset the course of our life." Just like the stories in the beginning of the talk. One couple turned against the Lord and affected 4 generations for the bad. The second couple turned to the Lord and affected 4 generations for the good. I hope I can look at all my situations and respond in a positive matter and first and foremost turn to the Lord for the faith and help I may need.
I liked this talk. It was interesting how in each of the circumstances from the stories how differently people react to trials. It made me think how I react and what I should be doing differently. There have been many times during my trials that I have turned away from the Lord rather than to Him. In order to have joy on Earth, we do have to experience the pain, and as hard as it is, it is apart of the plan. Sometimes I wish the trials could be over and I can have a break, but I just have to remember that Heavenly Father has a greater plan for me.
Shauna's thoughts made me think of a talk I just read. In this talk, the speaker said the importance of persevering through trials and understanding that God has a greater plan for us. The speaker said that it's easier if we decide ahead of time that we are going to rely on the Lord, half the battle is already won. If we wait until there is a trial, we will have to decide then what we are going to do. I am deciding now that I will ALWAYS rely on Heavenly Father. At times, it may be difficult, but if I can make up my mind now, I will have built my strength for my trial. He doesn't give us anything that we can't handle.
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