Change and Trials

Everyone goes through changes and trials. Spend some time discussing with your children some of the things that might bring them sadness and pain. Explain that their feelings are valid, but that joy can be theirs again through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Quotes:

James E. Faust: “Into every life there come the painful, despairing days of adversity and buffeting. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and often heartbreak for everyone, including those who earnestly seek to do right and be faithful. The thorns that prick, that stick in the flesh, that hurt, often change lives which seem robbed of significance and hope. This change comes about through a refining process which often seems cruel and hard. In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master in building lives of faith, usefulness, beauty, and strength. For some, the refiner’s fire causes a loss of belief and faith in God, but those with eternal perspective understand that such refining is part of the perfection process.”

Spencer W. Kimball: “If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life could be a calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.”

Bruce C. Hafen: “Our understanding of the Atonement is hardly a shield against sorrow; rather, it is a rich source of strength to deal productively with the disappointments and heartbreaks that form the deliberate fabric of mortal life. The gospel helps us to heal our pain, not necessarily to prevent it.”

Russell M. Nelson: “We need not look upon death as an enemy. With full understanding and preparation, faith supplants fear. Hope displaces despair. The Lord said, ‘Fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full.’ …[An] eternal perspective eases [the] pangs of death.”

Russell M. Nelson: “Mourning is one of the deepest expressions of pure love. It is a natural response in complete accord with divine commandment: ‘Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die.’ … The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life.”

Richard G. Scott: “It is important to understand that [the Lord’s] healing can mean being cured, or having your burdens eased, or even coming to realize that it is worth it to endure to the end patiently, for God needs brave sons and daughters who are willing to be polished when in His wisdom that is His will.”

Merrill J. Bateman: “The Savior’s Atonement in the garden and on the cross is intimate as well as infinite. Infinite in that it spans the eternities. Intimate in that the Savior felt each person’s pains, sufferings, and sicknesses. Consequently, He knows how to carry our sorrows and relieve our burdens that we might be healed from within, made whole persons, and receive everlasting joy in His kingdom.”

Plan of Salvation Power Point
The Refiners Fire Video