Steady in the Storms

“We must become as a child – a little child.”

I know we shouldn’t have favorites, and I mean it when I say I love and respect each member of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, but President Henry B. Eyring holds such a tender place in my heart. He always leaves me teary eyed (in the best way) and encouraged. He is such a gentle man and I love learning from him.

And what an important lesson he gave us all this spring. President Eyring spoke of the troubling times we live in. No argument there. We all see and feel that. But then what? There is hope… “hope in the promise God has made of a place of safety in the storms ahead.” I loved that. God has made us a promise of safety!

But we have a choice. We have to choose Him. We choose Him by letting Him change us. We stay steady in the storms of life by giving him the wheel. By letting go of our pride and trusting in Him. We choose Him by becoming like a little child. To be like our Savior. That act of submission doesn’t weaken us – it strengthens us!

Oh that feels so much easier said than done sometimes though. That has been a lesson that was long and difficult to learn (and one I pray daily to remember). I have truly cried and begged to get my way with Heavenly Father. Not maybe using those words exactly, but basically, begging for the Lord to give me what I want. What I think is best. That’s acting childish – which President Eyring made a point of differentiating between childish and childlike. To be childlike we become obedient to God, more loving, more meek, more submissive. The only thing we are giving up – is the “natural man” within us.

That is one of the biggest lessons my Father in Heaven has tried to teach me in recent years – there is deep peace when you allow yourself to stand on the rock of your faith. When you don’t demand all of the answers right now. I want to follow the examples of my children. I want to trust more. I want to accept the will of my Father in Heaven. Be meek.

And if I can do that. God will change me. He can change each of us. He invites us to follow Him because He loves us and He wants us to feel peace now, “He knows the way. He is the Way.”

Highlights

“My prayer is that I might help you stand steady in the storms we face, with a peaceful heart.

The place to begin is to remember that we are each a beloved child of God and that He has inspired servants. Those servants of God have foreseen the times in which we live.

The perils of greatest danger come to us from the forces of wickedness. Those forces are increasing. And so it will become more difficult, not easier, to honor the covenants we must make and keep to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is hope in the promise God has made of a place of safety in the storms ahead.

The misery and endless woe…are the terrible effects of sins should we not fully repent of them. The growing storms are the temptations and the increasing attacks of Satan. It has never been more important than it is now to understand how to build on that sure foundation.

Build on the only sure rock of safety, who is the Savior. We are free to choose between right and wrong and…we cannot avoid the consequences of our choices.

We find the way in this life to have our natures changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That is the only way we can build on the sure foundation and so stand firm during the storms of temptations and trials ahead…We must become as a child – a little child.

It is to be like the Savior, who prayed to His Father for strength to be able to do His Father’s will and atone for the sins of all of His Father’s children and then did it. Our natures must be changed to become as a child to gain the strength we must have to stand steady and at peace in times of peril.

We receive that change as we make and renew covenants with God. That brings the power of Christ’s Atonement to allow a transformation in our hearts. We can feel it every time we partake of the sacrament, perform a temple ordinance for a departed ancestor, testify as a witness of the Savior, or care for someone in need as Christ’s disciple.

In those experiences, we become over time like a child in our capacity to love and obey. We come to stand on the sure foundation. Our faith in Jesus Christ brings us to repentance and to keeping His commandments. We obey, and we gain power to resist temptation, and we gain the promised companionship of the Holy Ghost.

Our natures change to become as a little child, obedient to God and more loving. That change will qualify us to enjoy the gifts that come through the Holy Ghost. Having the Spirit’s companionship will comfort, guide, and strengthen us.

The Holy Ghost speaks most often in a quiet voice, heard most easily when one’s heart is meek and submissive, like that of a child.

When the storms in life come, you can be steady because you are standing on the rock of your faith in Jesus Christ. That faith will lead you to daily repentance and consistent covenant keeping. Then you will always remember Him. And through the storms of hatred and wickedness, you will feel steady and hopeful.

More than that, you will find yourself reaching out to lift others to safety on the rock with you. Faith in Jesus Christ always leads to greater hope and to feelings of charity toward others, which is the true love of Christ.

I bear you my solemn witness that the Lord Jesus Christ has given you the invitation, “Come unto me.” He invites you, out of love for you and for those you love, to come to Him for peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come. He knows perfectly the storms you will face in your test as part of the plan of happiness.

I plead with you to accept the Savior’s invitation. Like a meek and loving child, accept His help. Make and keep the covenants He offers in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They will strengthen you. The Savior knows the storms and the places of safety on the way home to Him and to our Heavenly Father. He knows the way. He is the Way.”

FULL text and video of President Henry B. Eyring’s talk can be found HERE.

Other messages from the April 2022 General Conference that I have found particularly impactful:

• The Power of Spiritual Momentum by President Russell M. Nelson
• But We Heeded Them Not by Elder David A. Bednar
• Your Divine Nature and Eternal Destiny by Elder Dale G. Renlund
• Divine Love in the Father’s Plan by President Dallin H. Oaks
• Our Heartfelt All by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf