Continuing from yesterday’s post ‘Trust in the Lord,’ Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote:
Please learn that as you wrestle with a challenge and feel sadness because of it, you can simultaneously have peace and rejoicing. Yes, pain, disappointment, frustration, and anguish can be temporary scenes played out on the stage of life. Yet behind them there can be a background of peace and the positive assurance that a loving Father will keep His promises. You can qualify for those promises by determining to accept His will, by understanding the plan of happiness, by receiving all the ordinances you are able to obtain, and by keeping the covenants you have made, to assure their fulfillment.
The Lord’s plan is to exalt you to live with Him and to be greatly blessed. The rate at which you qualify is generally set by your capacity to mature, to grow, to love, and to give of yourself. He is preparing you to be exalted. You cannot understand fully what that means, yet He knows. As you trust Him, seeking and following His will, you will receive blessings that your finite mind cannot always recognize or understand here on earth.
Your Father in Heaven and His Holy Son know better than you what brings happiness. They have given you the plan of happiness. As you understand and follow it, happiness will be your blessing. As you willingly, obey, receive, and honor the ordinances and covenants of that holy plan, you can have the greatest measure of satisfaction in this life—yes, even times of overpowering joy. You will prepare yourself for an eternity of glorious life with your loved ones who qualify for the highest kingdom.
I know the principles we have discussed are true. They have been tested in the crucible of personal experience. To recognize the hand of the Lord in your life and to accept His will without complaining is a beginning. The decision does not immediately eliminate the struggles that will come for your growth. But I witness that it is the best way to find strength and understanding. It will free you from the dead ends of your own reasoning. It will allow your life to become a productive, meaningful experience, when otherwise you may not know how to go on.
I testify that you have a Heavenly Father who loves you. I witness that the Savior gave His life for your happiness. I know Him. He understands your every need. I positively know that as you accept Their will without complaint, They will bless and sustain you no matter what the challenge. ~Elder Richard G. Scott, Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2007), 93-95
