CHAPTER 1
Remember that while discouragement and darkness have real power, we
have The Lord on our side.
1 We all have troubles, but the �ggerm�h of discouragement, to use
Fitzgerald�fs word, is not in the trouble, it is in us--or to be more
precise, I believe it is in Satan, the prince of darkness, the father
of lies. And he wants us to have it in us. It�fs frequently a small
germ, but it will work and it will grow and it will spread. In fact it
can become almost a habit, a way of living and thinking, and there the
greatest damage is done. Then it takes an increasingly severe toll on
our spirit, for it erodes the deepest religious commitments we can
make--those of faith, and hope, and charity. We turn inward and look
downward, and these greatest of Christlike virtues are damaged or at
the very least impaired.
2 And thus, they go on, living only a shadow of the life they could
have led, never rising to the potential that is their birthright. As
the poet lamented, these are among those unfortunate souls who �gdie
with [most of] their music [still] in them.�h No one likes to fail.
And we particularly don�ft like it when others--especially those we
love--see us fail. We all want to be respected and esteemed. We want
to be champions. But we mortals do not become champions without effort
and discipline or without making mistakes. Brethren, our destiny is
not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of
times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward.
3 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
4 A just God has placed us here on the planet earth where we
experience suffering and imperfection all around us. And this life and
estate are necessary because in this life we experience something we
cannot do any other place. The life we had before and the life we will
have hereafter will leave our bodies, spirits, and minds in a more
perfect state. But we did not and will not have the opportunities to
give of ourselves in the same way as we can in this life. What a
simple truth of a gospel principle! As we suffer and serve in this
life, we are fulfilling a very essential part of the gospel plan.
5 Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest
seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming
stronger, wiser, and happier as a result. Learning to endure times of
disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job
training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the
time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our
understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for
others.
6 All of us sometime, and some of us much of the time, suffer remorse
of conscience from things we did wrong or things left undone. That
feeling of guilt is to the spirit what pain is to the physical body.
7 I am speaking of something more serious, of an affliction so severe
that it significantly restricts a person�fs ability to function fully,
a crater in the mind so deep that no one can responsibly suggest it
would surely go away if those victims would just square their
shoulders and think more positively--though I am a vigorous advocate
of square shoulders and positive thinking! Believe in miracles. I have
seen so many of them come when every other indication would say that
hope was lost. Hope is never lost. If those miracles do not come soon
or fully or seemingly at all, remember the Savior�fs own anguished
example: if the bitter cup does not pass, drink it and be strong,
trusting in happier days ahead. Trust in God. Hold on in His love.
Know that one day the dawn will break brightly and all shadows of
mortality will flee. Though we may feel we are �glike a broken
vessel,�h as the Psalmist says, we must remember, that vessel is in
the hands of the divine potter. Broken minds can be healed just the
way broken bones and broken hearts are healed.
8 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
9 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome
them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are
with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
10 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud
of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
11 Behold, I send you out to prove the world, and the laborer is
worthy of his hire. And any man that shall go and preach this gospel
of the kingdom, and fail not to continue faithful in all things, shall
not be weary in mind, neither darkened, neither in body, limb, nor
joint; and a hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed.
And they shall not go hungry, neither athirst.
12 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast
down, but not destroyed;
13 Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is
Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when
the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the
whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon
you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of
misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built,
which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they
cannot fall.
Younger Elder Brooksby
1-For Times of Trouble by Jeffrey R. Holland, January 1982
2-You Can Do It Now! By Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October 2013 General Conference
3-Romans 12:2
4-We Can�ft Do It Alone by Robert D. Hales, October 1975
5-Come What May, and Love It by Joseph B. Wirthlin, October 2008
General Conference
6-The Touch of the Master�fs Hand by Boyd K. Packer, July 2001
7-Like a Broken Vessel by Jeffrey R. Holland, October 2013 General Conference
8-Ephesians 6:12
9-Revelation 17:14
10-Hebrews 12:1-2
11-D&C 84:79-80
12-2 Corinthians 4:8-9
13-Helaman 5:12
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