for times of trouble

this post is a long time coming. i started it way back in december and then didn't want to bum people out, so i put it on the back burner. but here it finally is: some thoughts about dealing with adversity. 

a couple weeks ago i taught my last institute lesson, on the topic of adversity. that happens to be something i think a lot about anyway, so i was kind of excited to put together all of my favorite quotes and scriptures. my two main mantras for my college years: 1) "i can do hard things" and 2) "things will work out".

also, this picture is awesome. he's so happy!

the sunday before my lesson, driving home from salt lake and listening to soft sunday sounds, i heard an ad for elder holland's new book, for times of trouble. perfect, i thought. this is exactly what i need (for my lesson and for life :)) so i headed to deseret book and forked out the money for the book, and people, it's amazing. he approaches the topic through the psalms, and i can't believe i've never studied them more closely. they are so beautiful. and elder holland is such an incredible thinker and writer anyway, so i'm learning a lot. i just wanted to share a few thoughts from the book today. and as i was reading through again to find what i wanted, almost every page had something awesome to think about. this is only the tip of the iceberg.

psalm 56:9: "whenever we go out and always when we come in, no matter what the trouble and trial of the day might be, we start ad finish with the eternal truth that God is for us. He loves us. He is our Heavenly Father. He never sleeps nor slumbers in His watchcare over us. His work and His glory are to save us, to exalt us, to see us safely home with Him."

psalms 19:1-3; 8:3-6: "by name, place, and personal circumstance God knows us and our needs. He knows our hopes and dreams and He knows our fears and frustrations. Above all, He knows who we really are and what we can become through faith in Him."

psalm 27:4-5: "when a difficult moment comes or an important decision faces us, we instinctively go to the temple. we find peace there and we find answers. it is the setting for tranquility, purity, and revelation. the tangled complexities of life fall away and the path we should walk or the action we should take--or just the safety and peace we desperately seek--becomes clear. the temple truly is a rock upon which God sets us when the winds and the waves are strongest."

psalms 30:5; 42:5; 130:6: "all of us need to believe that things will get better. no matter how dark the night or how long the struggle, we all need to believe that the dawn will come and that the tears of the night will be dried in the rays of the morning sun."

there are so many more gems i could share, but who knows what the plagiarism laws are for this kind of thing--don't want to get in trouble with the church! also, you should all read elder holland's book anyway. can't you just hear him saying all of these things? i know i'm always in need of comfort in the face of various trials, and elder holland's words have brought me some peace.