Adversity

Adversities... We all have them.  We all face them.  We watch helplessly as loved ones struggle through them.  Some are small, some overpowering.  Some are very public, visible, and noticeable.  Some are very private, personal, unseen and unknown by others.

I often wish I didn't have to face adversity.  More often I wish those that I love didn't have to face adversity.  As a wife and mother it breaks my heart to watch my husband and children struggle through some pretty difficult things. 

I'm a fixer. I always want to fix the things that are broken, or causing my loved ones pain. It is very difficult for me to acknowledge that there are many, many things that I cannot fix. However, I know that, through our faith, our Father in Heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ can fix all things.

During the last General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Elder Richard G. Scott shared an amazing message called, The Power of Scripture.  While listening to his message I was reminded that I need to turn more to my Father in Heaven when things are tough.  I was reminded that I need to search the scriptures for the answers I seek and the comfort I need.  Elder Scott said;

"Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high... Scriptures can calm an agitated soul, giving peace, hope, and a restoration of confidence in one’s ability to overcome the challenges of life. They have potent power to heal emotional challenges when there is faith in the Savior."

While I have watched the deep and difficult struggles of my beloved husband, I have often asked, "Lord, where is thy hiding place?"  As I turned to the scriptures for answers the following passage penetrated my heart and calmed my agitated soul. 

"Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend."  Mosiah 4:9

I know that the Lord loves us and that He knows all things and that my knowledge is limited.  I know that Jesus Christ overcame all.

Adversity is necessary for our growth and with the Lord's help we can overcome.

Thomas Paine once said, “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly;”

I Do Not Know The Meaning Of All Things

It has been a pretty hard couple of months at our house.  I'm not exaggerating when I say it has been the worst time of my life.  My husband has been in the hospital for a total of 27 days in the last six weeks.  The treatment we thought was the answer to prayers has turned into my worst and most terrifying nightmare.

It has been very hard for me to "Keep the faith".  I have found great comfort in the prayers of so many family and friends.  I am still not sure how this is all going to turn out but I am sure that it will.  I am truly hoping that I can someday look back and see the path clearly and understand why things have had to happen the way they did. 

In the Book of Mormon the great prophet Nephi is visited by an angel of the Lord.  He is shown many things, including the coming of the Savior.  The angel asks Nephi a question.  In his answer I have found great truth and comfort.

"And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?  And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."  1 Nephi 11:16-17

I certainly do not know the meaning of all of things but Ido know that God loves his children and that He is with us.  I know that He comforts me.  I know that He has promised to never give me anything I cannot handle with His help.  So... I may not know the meaning of all things, but like Nephi I know that my Father in Heaven and my Savior, Jesus Christ love me and are they are always with me.

This knowldege is helping me to keep the faith.

Build your foundation upon the rock of our Redeemer

I have missed a few Sunday Scripture Posts.  The Fraser Clan has had a very difficult month.  My good husband has been having a very difficult time.  He has been in the hospital three times since July 17th.  He is still in the hospital now, and will be for a while longer. 

I have cried many tears, even cried myself into a migraine on one occasion.  I have been terrified, angry, frustrated, confused, scared, and hopeful.  This has truly been a trial of my faith.

When I was at one of my lowest points I received an email from a very special friend.  This amazing friend has endured more than most and had trials I cannot comprehend.  Through it all she has remained an amazing example to me.  I know she has had very low days, and her faith too has been challenged, but she finds strength in her family, strength in her Savior, strength in prayer, and strength in studying the word of God. 

Her message to me was simple yet powerful.  She reminded me where I too could turn for the strength that I need, especially in the hard times.   Her message included a scripture.  She said when she read it she thought of me and knew she needed to send me a message.  I know the Lord was guiding her to help me. 

The Lord knows us so intimately.  He knows when we are struggling.  He often uses others to answer our prayers.  As I struggled through a difficult day, praying for comfort and aid, an email arrived with words of encouragement and love, for which I will always be grateful.

Helaman 5:12

"And now, my sons, 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."

Sweet Comfort

2 Nephi 1:15 - But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.

For some reason this has been a rough week for the Fraser Clan.  It's been nearly a year since we made the move from Missouri to Iowa.  This week my oldest daughter and I have been very, very homesick.  We miss our friends and loved ones and simple comforts of the familiar.  We also miss our family in Utah.  We always miss them and wish we could live closer to them.  But for some reason this week has been particularly difficult. 

As I thought about my Sunday Scripture post, I thought of loneliness and the feeling of being so alone.  I came across an article, Sweet Comfort, in the Nov. 2002, New Era, a publication by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints geared toward the youth of the gospel.  The article is a touching story about a young woman away from home for the first time.  As she longs for her mother's hug she turns to her Father in Heaven for comfort.  As she opens her heart to Him and expresses her need for a hug she can feel the comfort of the spirit surround her. 


I am grateful for the comfort I often receive.  I know that I am not alone and that my Savior is always available to comfort me when I am in need, or feeling lonely.

Come Follow Me!

"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.  And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.  And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.  And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him."  Matthew 4:18-22


Today is July 24th.  This is a special day for members of the LDS church.  July 24, 1847 is the day that Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley, in what is now Utah.  Therefore, I feel that my Sunday Scripture post should be about Pioneers.


As a descendant of Mormon pioneers.  I am very proud of my heritage and so very grateful for my ancestors who gave so much for the love of God and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I find a lot of strength and comfort from their faith, strength, and willingness to follow what they knew to be true.  They left their homes, their businesses, and everything they had, to follow the Lord. 

Thomas S. Monson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, said; “A dictionary defines a pioneer as ‘one who goes before, showing others the way to follow.’ Oh, how the world needs pioneers today!”


I love the words of the Primary song, "To Be a Pioneer".
     "You don't have to push a hand-cart, leave your family dear, or walk a 1,000 miles or more to be a Pioneer.  You do need to have great courage, faith to conquer fear, and work with might for a cause that's right to be a Pioneer." 
 
"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." Deuteronomy 31:6


Happy Pioneer Day!  Let's all be Pioneers for the cause of good in our lives!

He is Risen!

My Sunday School lesson for today is about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  Therefore, I feel it is a fitting topic for my Sunday Scripture.

"He is not here, but is risen..."  Luke 24:6

“'He is not here, but is risen", contain all the hope, assurance, and belief necessary to sustain us in our challenging and sometimes grief-filled lives” -- President Howard W. Hunter.

A testimony of the risen Lord from a living Prophet can be viewed here:  He is risen!

I too know that He lives!

Fear Not I Am With Thee

Isaiah 41: 10 - 13
10 - Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

11 - Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.

12 - Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

13 - For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

My Savior Suffered All



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 Alma 7:11

11 - And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.


12 - And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 - Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.