Our Rough Drafts

D&C 98:1-3, 11-14

This life is not always easy, nor was it meant to be; it is a time of testing and proving…We know from the scriptures that some trials are for our good and are suited for our own personal development. We also know that the rain falls on the just and the unjust. It is also true that every cloud we see doesn’t result in rain. Regardless of the challenges, trials, and hardships we endure, the reassuring doctrine of the Atonement wrought by Jesus Christ includes Alma’s teaching that the Savior would take upon Him our infirmities and “succor his people according to their infirmities.”

-  Quentin L. Cook, “Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time” 

D&C 98:39-48 

When someone has hurt us or those we care about...[i]t can feel as if the pain or the injustice is the most important thing in the world and that we have no choice but to seek vengeance. But Christ, the Prince of Peace, teaches us a better way. It can be very difficult to forgive someone the harm they’ve done us, but when we do, we open ourselves up to a better future. No longer does someone else’s wrongdoing control our course. When we forgive others, it frees us to choose how we will live our own lives. Forgiveness means that problems of the past no longer dictate our destinies...

-  David E. Sorenson, Forgiveness Will Change Bitterness to Love  

D&C 100:1-8, 12

[O]ne of your crucial missions throughout your life is to become a disciple of Jesus Christ and to follow the impressions of the Spirit. As you do this, God will bless your life; He will bless your current or future family; and He will bless the lives of His children who you encounter…Whenever we seek to bless the lives of others, the Lord takes mercy upon us even more; He strengthens us and helps us in our lives. Please remember that the Lord Jesus Christ is your Savior and understands you personally...He has the power to bless you in everything if you believe in Him and do not doubt.

-  Gregorio E. Casillas, God Loves All His Children

D&C 101:5-9 

President Nelson said, “Because the Savior, through His infinite Atonement, redeemed each of us from weakness, mistakes, and sin, and because He experienced every pain, worry, and burden you have ever had, then as you truly repent and seek His help, you can rise above this present precarious world.” That is the relief Jesus Christ offers us!…Repentance, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, is what relieves us of the weight of the rocks of sin. And by this exquisite gift, God’s mercy relieves us from the heavy and otherwise insurmountable demands of justice.

-  Camille N. Johnson, Jesus Christ Is Relief 

D&C 101:13-16 

As I... reflected on the often hectic pace of our modern lives—the busyness, noise, diversions, distractions, and detours that so often seem to demand our attention—a scripture came to my mind: “Be still, and know that I am God.” I believe the Lord’s admonition to “be still” entails much more than simply not talking or not moving... “be still” may be a way of reminding us to focus upon the Savior unfailingly as the ultimate source of the spiritual stillness of the soul that strengthens us to do and overcome hard things. 

-  David A. Bednar, “Be Still, and Know That I Am God”

D&C 101:44-54

[A] perfect and loving Father in Heaven has chosen the pattern of revealing truth to His children through a prophet, someone...God has personally prepared, called...sanctified, and sustained. That is why we are never spiritually at risk in following prophetic counsel… Current conditions in the world have caused some to panic. As God’s covenant children, we do not...need to fear... we cannot be a source of confusion about the importance of following prophetic counsel. It is that very counsel that will allow the rising generation to see “the enemy while he [is] yet afar off; and then [they can make] ready” to withstand the enemy’s attack.

-  Allan D. Haynie, A Living Prophet for the Latter Days   

D&C 98:1-3, 11-14

D&C 98:39-48 

D&C 100:1-8, 12

D&C 101:5-9 

D&C 101:13-16 

D&C 101:44-54