Thank you choir for that beautiful hymn. I appreciate the Spirit that music brings into our lives.
In my office hangs this picture that says, “I can do hard things.” I like to keep this reminder around because I haven’t always believed that I could do hard things, and sometimes I still need that extra reassurance that I can do hard things. As I have gotten older and looked back on my life, I have discovered I am stronger than I ever thought I could be, even when I was faced with hard things. Have you ever been overwhelmed and just thought to yourself, “I can’t do this; this is just too hard”? Trust me, I have done this many times in my life. We all have hard experiences or trials that we will go through in life. No one is exempt! We are sent here on this earth to experience the good, the bad, joy, and sorrow. How do we get through these trials? How do we overcome our fears and press forward?
When I have struggled or felt unsure of myself there has always been one constant in my life that helped me get through hard things. That one thing is my Savior Jesus Christ. This picture of the Savior by Yongsung Kim hangs in my bedroom, and it is the first thing I see when I wake up. I love this because it reminds me no matter how hard things get, the Savior is there to lift me up and save me when I am feeling overwhelmed.
I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, and at the age of 16, my dad received a job transfer to Miami, Florida. I had to leave my friends, my school, and everything I knew and move to the other side of the United States. The weather was different, the culture was different; I felt like a fish out of water. My first day of school in Miami was one of the scariest days of my life. Here I was in another state, and I didn’t know anyone but my family, and they weren’t there to help me. I was alone and scared, but I remember praying to make it through each class and each day. Just so you know, I didn’t have a cell phone back then to just text my friends back home. The only way to call them was by long distance, which was expensive, so I couldn’t call my friends very often. We also didn’t have Facebook to just reach out and see what people were doing. It was a very hard time in my life. Slowly, day by day, I made new friends and Miami became my new home. In fact, after high school, I met the love of my life, and we were married and all three of our boys were born in Miami.
My husband and I were married for about 16 years when he decided to be baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was an exciting time for our family, but two weeks before he was baptized we had a little scare. My husband worked outside for the parks department and would get bit by ants frequently. Eventually he became allergic to the ants. This was not any ordinary ant; this was an elongate twig ant.[1] I know because I collected some and took them to an entomologist in Miami to find out what this ant was. This little ant was hurting my husband and wreaking havoc on my family, and I needed to know more about it. This ant stings like a bee and packs a big punch if you are allergic to them. My husband would go into anaphylactic shock when he got bit. It had happened several times, and when it happened, he would administer his EpiPen and come home and go to bed for hours. It made him very sick and weak. The last time he got bit it happened at work. He passed out before he could administer his EpiPen and had to be revived and rushed to the hospital; it was getting a lot more serious. After this incident, my husband told me we needed to move out of Miami or he was scared that the next time he got bit he was going to die. When your husband says something like that you listen. The 16-year-old scared girl that moved to Miami now loved it there and didn’t want to go anywhere. I was happy in Miami. We had so many good friends and family there, and my kids were happy. Miami is where we were going to live into our retirement age. Well, you know what happens when you get too comfortable? Something inevitably changes. I knew my husband was right, and his health was more important than a location, so we decided to move to Idaho where most of my family was living. If we had to move, we wanted to be close to family. So we sold our house, packed up the minivan with my husband and I, three boys, two turtles, a dog, and a guitar, and we headed to Idaho. We were starting completely over without jobs. Not only was I scared, but my whole family was nervous about the move. My three boys were about to face what I faced when I moved to Miami: new schools, new friends, new area. I was not only worried for them but worried about my husband and I and how different our lives were going to be. Once again, there were a lot of prayers said before and during the move asking our Father in Heaven for strength to do hard things. We were comforted as we prayed and knew that we were making the right decision for our family.
Looking back, the Lord had guided and directed our family to Idaho. A few years after we got here, my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away a short 18 months after he was diagnosed. I will always treasure the few short years we got to live by my parents before my dad passed away. I watched my dad still serve people up to days before he died. He was suffering but always tried to put others first. Through his example, my dad taught me that I can do hard things.
I’ve asked some of your fellow students to tell us about some hard things that they have gone through and how they were able get through their trials. Let’s watch a video about Cooper and some hard things that he has gone through.
Cooper was faced with anxiety and depression, but he found a way to push through the hard things, and as he did this, he strengthened his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This reminds me of a quote by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in a talk titled “Don’t Give Up.” He said, “Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. . . You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.”[2] Cooper did not give up; he kept walking. I’m sure when you are struggling with anxiety and depression that is hard advice to hear, but Cooper found his strength with the assistance of others and was able to come out on the other side of his trial with faith and resilience.
Cooper found his help through a couple who became his mentors. Our Savior Jesus Christ puts people in our paths that will help us along the way. Help can come from family members, missionaries, friends, or sometimes a stranger who does something kind for you. Do you know someone who is struggling? I encourage you to be the type of friend who will be there to listen when someone needs you. We are all here on this earth struggling together. Let’s try to be there for someone else and make their life easier.
When I first met Cooper, I noticed what a radiant smile he has. His smile can light up a room. I enjoyed meeting Cooper and learning more about him. He is now majoring in social work and is a student instructor for the College Success program. He loves to cook, read, and laugh. I admire Cooper’s strength. He has shown me that he can do hard things.
Next, let’s watch a video about Ellie and let’s see how she has endured hard things in her life.
Ellie used scriptures and her patriarchal blessing to give her strength to get through her trials. I know you’ve heard it a million times before but reading your scriptures daily will help guide and direct you. There are many stories in the scriptures about people going through hard things and overcoming them with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you remember the story of Job? Job was a righteous, prosperous man. He had a large family, an abundance of animals, and a good life. Job lost his family, his animals, his servants, and was plagued with boils. Through it all, Job did not curse God. In Job 19:25 it says, “For I know that my redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” Job knew without a doubt that Jesus Christ lives and would redeem him. We can receive strength like Job did from our Savior Jesus Christ and from reading these and other accounts in the scriptures. The scriptures are filled with many stories that will lift us and inspire us. Ellie read the scriptures and received strength from them, and you can do the same.
Ellie is one of the student schedulers in my office, and I have enjoyed getting to know her. She is a smart, beautiful young woman. She has been through a lot in her life, but she hasn’t let that stop her. Can you imagine having to learn to walk and talk again in high school? The time and effort and patience that must have taken. Ellie told me she didn’t know if she would be able to come to college because learning was very difficult for her after her brain surgery. It is a big blessing for her just to be here. She is currently a sophomore majoring in psychology and doing great. She said she has gained a stronger testimony and is more confident in herself because of this trial. Ellie also said it is a huge blessing for her to be able to help others with their trials. Ellie impresses me and has shown me that she can do hard things.
Finally, I have a video from Colin, another student that works for me. Colin is a communications student and only has one more semester before he graduates. Let’s hear about some hard things he has gone through.
Colin had to deal with health problems that kept him from serving a mission. After Colin had been home for a while, he was struggling with not being able to serve. He told me the following story, and with his permission, I will relate it in his words:
"When I found out that due to my health a mission wasn't plausible, one thing kept bothering me. It was something my stake president said to me when I was being set apart to be a full-time missionary. He told me that he got a strong impression that there was someone out there waiting to receive the gospel from me. It was this line that kept going through my head when I got released, and slowly it started to hurt my faith. I struggled to understand how I would bring the gospel into someone's life if serving a mission was now seemingly impossible. Then, one Sunday morning while I attended my home ward, the missionaries approached me and asked for my help. They told me that they had a young man around my age investigating the Church and wanted my help teaching him the gospel. I agreed, and soon we became great friends and before too long, he asked to be baptized. It was at this young man's baptism that it clicked. I had found the one my stake president told me about."
Colin’s faith was strengthened by serving others, even though it wasn’t the way he thought it would be. This experience helped him feel the love of his Father in Heaven and strengthened his faith.
Colin said he also used prayer to get through his trial. Over time, he realized that this was the plan for his life and felt comfort from his prayers.
In last week’s devotional, Elder Alfred Kyungu said, “Sometimes you get discouraged, you get depressed, you get left out, you get disappointed, and you lose hope. What to do? As I did with my father Kyungu, you can also approach your Heavenly Father and talk to Him, express your feelings, needs, difficulties, and plans. The best way to do this is through prayer of faith, with honesty, sincerity, and real intention.”[3]
Prayer is a simple but powerful way to help us deal with challenges in our lives. I know any time I feel overwhelmed or unsure of myself I say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to strengthen me. Even our Savior Jesus Christ faced hard things when He was on the earth. People spit on Him, despised Him, and didn’t believe He was the Son of God. Do you remember Jesus Christ’s prayer to Father in Heaven when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane? In Matthew 26:39 it says, “And he went a little further and fell on his face and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Jesus Christ knew He would be crucified, He knew what He was about to do was hard, but He was willing to do it for me and for all of you. He prayed to do His Father’s will and for strength, just like you and I can pray for strength.
I am grateful for your comments on the devotional discussion board. So many of you talked about how prayer has gotten you through hard times and provided comfort. As we get on our knees and pray regularly, we will come to feel our Father in Heaven’s love for us. We will become stronger and able to handle the challenges in our lives. We cannot assume that we can pray once and things will be better. We need to create that relationship with our Father in Heaven and pray regularly.
There is not one person here in this audience who hasn’t had a trial or had to do something hard in their life. We were all sent to this earth to experience life and to make choices. Sometimes we make things harder for ourselves by the choices we make. Sometimes there are just hard things we don’t want to do, but I can personally testify if you can push yourself to do hard things, you will come out stronger on the other end of the trial. If you find something is too hard, take baby steps. Take that small leap of faith which can eventually help you to do that hard thing. The Lord doesn’t expect you to be perfect all at once. Remember, line upon line and precept upon precept. Sometimes your “hard” might just be to reach out and ask for help. We don’t have to go through trials alone. With Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ on our side we can all do hard things.
I testify that Heavenly Father answers prayers and strengthens us when we need Him. Exercise your faith and you will see what the Lord will do for you. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Stephanie Sanchez, “BugGuide.net,” Jun. 2, 2012, https://bugguide.net/node/view/664841.
[2] See Jeffery R. Holland, “An High Priest of Good Things to Come,” Ensign, Nov. 1999.
[3] Alfred Kyungu, “Finding Hope in Our Lives,” BYUI devotional, Mar. 22, 2022.