Aug. 12, 2019

The work is going amazing! We're finding a good amount of success and we are having fun. I went on an exchange with Elder Legas this week. It was awesome! I love that man! I told him about the struggles I'm having and we counseled together for a while. He gave me some great advice. And it relates to the message I wanted to share with y'all this week. I wanted to talk about focus. I wanted to talk about peace, and joy, and how to find it. 
 
Life gets hard, we all know that. We have to go through trials and tribulations and we have hard times. We get depressed. I know this. You know this. But the peace that the Gospel brings is real. The joy that scripture study, and church attendance, and daily, sincere prayer brings is undeniable. I know this, but this one you may not know. Recently I have been struggling with staying 100% focused on the work. It isn't a big thing, but I know that my time out here is very limited, and I don't want to take it for granted. I want to be completely focused. I want to devote all my time and energy to the Lord. But the distractions I have are very hard things to give up. Elder Legas read me a quote to help. "A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation." 
 
I realized that I needed to let go of these distractions. I realized that there are things I need to sacrifice. Then, in personal study I read another quote. This one by President Monson. "The greatest decision I ever made in my life was to give up something I loved to the God I love even more. He has never forgotten me for it." The decision to give up this thing for me has been so incredibly hard. I have felt so incredibly overwhelmed, and discouraged. But I have felt peace. I have felt joy. Slowly it has been getting easier and easier. Slowly the pain has left, and happiness has filled it in. This is because I have put my heart and soul into what God wants me to do. I have focused my will toward His will, instead of trying to bend His will to mine. And the same applies to all of you. To everyone. Are you discouraged? Are you stressed? Are you in pain? Depressed? Feeling inadequate or vulnerable? What are you doing that is not what God wants you to do? Are you reading your scriptures daily? Are you praying multiple times a day? Real, sincere, full-hearted prayers? Are you going to church willingly every Sunday? No? Then don't sit and wonder why life feels overwhelming. Don't sit and whine about how you're depressed and things are hard. You want your life to be happy and good, then go do it. You want to find peace, then get up and look for it. I promise you this Gospel brings it. I promise you that as you sacrifice the things that hold you back, the grudges you hold, the thoughts that drag you down. Even the very desires of your heart that don't live up to what God wants. A you sacrifice these things, you WILL find the peace and the joy and the happiness you are looking for. I promise that sacrifice brings blessings. It is a principle from the beginning. It is woven into the very Plan of Salvation. Even the Godhead has to make hard sacrifices. God had to send His only perfect Child. Had to watch Him leave. Watch Him suffer, and eventually, had to withdraw His own presence from Christ, because it was needed for the Atonement to be infinite. That had to be a hard sacrifice. Even for God. Christ had to come down, and get persecuted, denied, and eventually crucified. The Atonement is the most wrenching moment in history. The pain He felt had to be such a hard sacrifice. The Holy Ghost has to go around, trying to persuade people to choose the right, but is denied repeatedly. Is rejected and is mocked. But He still tries to do it. He still influences us for good. That seems like a hard sacrifice to me. So man up and make the sacrifice. Put it before God and say, "This is what I struggle with. Please help me as I try MY HARDEST to let it go." I promise your Heavenly Father loves you. He is listening to you. And He will help you find the peace and joy you want. I love you all. Please do the things you need to to be able to find this happiness for yourself. 
-Elder Trezise

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