What I love about Elder Andersen’s talk is the juxtaposition of broken hearts and strong spirits. He declares:
I testify that those who keep His commandments will grow in faith and hope. They will be given strength to overcome all of life’s trials.
It is easy to fall victim to the line of thought that when our current trials or concerns are over, we will be in a better position to do what we should do. In this talk, we are reassured that “hope, with its attendant blessings of peace and joy, does not depend upon circumstance.” It is possible to find strength and power even in, maybe especially in, the hard spots of life.
How has your testimony of the Savior rescued you from dark times? What stands out to you from this talk?
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Diapers and Divinity 
How good of him to give such a simple and profound reminder of what is most important in our life. I love the question posed by the dying man ‘Does anybody in this room have a problem with the plan of salvation?’ I’m so glad this was the talk this week. My personal and petty grievances are about things that just don’t matter in the long run. If somebody bugs me, I can find a reason to love them while still avoiding needless interaction with them. We all have hope to hold on to because we’re all children of a loving Heavenly Father. And thank goodness we know that He has a plan for us.
I was told yesterday that I was a lurker because I read blogs and never respond. So I decided to comment today on this talk.
There were a lot of talks in conference about trials. I loved that he said the early saints were homeless but not hopeless.
What also stood out to me in this talk was how the Lord shows us He is watching over us during our trials if we notice. He sends us small miracles & tender mercies, we will see if we are looking for them. Like the missionaries that were uninjured and the church bldgs that were useable after the earthquake in Haiti. I know that He shows us his tender mercies in times of trials. We can have hope no matter how hard our trials are. Like Elder Andersen said “He will never forget or abandon us, for He has graven us upon the palms of His hands.”
Thanks Stephanie for this book club, I enjoy each of your comments and reading the conference talks again.
Thanks, Cherylanne, and welcome to the “club.” Loved your comments and look forward to more of your participation.
*giggle* Lurker. I love that word. I’m glad you posted your comment, because it took me back to the talk to look at it again and notice more what you had noticed. It added another dimension for me. Thanks!!
I have leaned on my covenants….those covenants give me the strength to go on. They help me when I feel all is lost, they help me perceive tender mercies, they help me understand…they connect me to the Savior. The more I renew those covenants, the stronger I get.
Remembering the Savior is the key to our lives. Remember, Remember…..
Loved this talk! What a great reminder of how pure and simple faith can carry us through the difficult times, and give us hope in this troubled world. Thanks again for doing this!
I didn’t realize I hadn’t posted yet. I love this quote that Stephanie already pointed out.
“hope, with its attendant blessings of peace and joy, does not depend upon circumstance.”
My husband is in the military and has been deployed the last four months. So many spouses act like our lot is the hardest one out there. But it’s not. I think there are many families outside the military whose circumstances are more trying. My point is that it doesn’t help to feel sorry for ourselves. But it does help to have faith and to keep doing the things we know we should do.
For my own personal application what I got out of the talk is that our faith and hope takes work on our part. I especially like this paragraph from his talk:
Faith in the Savior requires more than mere belief. The Apostle James taught that even the devils believe and tremble. But true faith requires work. The difference between the devils and the faithful members of this Church is not belief but work. Faith grows by keeping the commandments. We must work at keeping the commandments. From the Bible Dictionary we read that “miracles do not produce faith but strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in other words, faith comes by righteousness.”
It’s the ever enduring to the end, working out our salvation type of thing. We can’t just say we have hope or faith we have to show it by our actions. It also reminded me of our homeschool quote and motto by James E. Faust:
“Work is another deterrent to evil. The symbol of Utah is the beehive. Our forefathers fostered industry and work. Elder John Longden, an assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, quoted Herndon as saying, “Satan selects his disciples when they are idle; Jesus selected his when they were busy at their work either mending their nets or casting them into the sea.” . . .I testify that there are forces which will save us from the ever-increasing lying, disorder, violence, chaos, destruction, misery, and deceit that are upon the earth. Those saving forces are the everlasting principles, covenants, and ordinances of the eternal gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. May we dedicate our lives to serving the Lord and not worry about offending the devil.” (James E. Faust, “Serving the Lord and Resisting the Devil,” Ensign, Sep 1995, 2)
I need to get up off my duff, stop being lazy, and WORK to build my faith and hope.
This is brilliant–thank you SO MUCH for including that thought from President Faust!! I’m going to tape it on my fridge. 🙂
Hi guys!
Wasn’t this a great talk?! A few years ago (when I was better at studying my scriptures than I am now) I was doing a topical study of “Faith” and was amazed as I began to realize that belief led to faith which led to *hope.* I had always considered hope to be, somehow, a weaker thing than faith. I had it reversed. But this truth slowly dawned on me at that time–the absolute power of hope. The blessing that it is from the Spirit. So this talk absolutely delighted me and reaffirmed what I had felt, inside, to be true.
“For without faith, there cannot be any hope.”
I wonder if that’s also why there is, to some degree, a lack of hope in our world now?? The dwindling of faith? Hm…
Thanks Stephanie, and everyone for your comments. 🙂