Does God really send us trials? A comforting truth about adversity

There are few moments so touching in the New Testament as that memorable day when the Savior of the world bid the children in the crowds to draw near to Him. Said Jesus, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God" (Luke 18:16).

There are certain roadblocks or barriers to communion with the Infinite, things that get in the way and prevent us from enjoying the kind of closeness with our Heavenly Father that we could have. We all could volunteer examples of such roadblocks. Let me suggest but a few.

It's almost time to say goodbye to 2018 and hello to a new year. And what better time to reflect on the stories that brought us hope, made us laugh, and showed us the power of the gospel?

I’m just going to say it: Married people should wear wedding rings. Hear me out.

Conference Talk

It hasn’t even been a year since President Nelson became President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but in this short time, we have seen numerous blessings and experienced massive changes in the Church.

Years ago, before the Church instituted the three-hour block schedule for our Sunday meetings, we used to go to the chapel for meetings three times every Sunday—once in the morning for priesthood meeting, a second time for Sunday School opening exercises and classes, and finally a third time for a ninety-minute sacrament meeting. When I was a very young man, our ward’s Sunday School superintendent, Brother Marchant, came to our class one Sunday to ask for volunteers who would be willing to give the prayer, the 2½-minute talks, and the sacrament gem (a verse of scripture shared before the sacrament was passed) in the following week’s Sunday School opening exercises. My strategy was to quickly volunteer to say either the prayer or the sacrament gem. I was motivated by the desire to avoid having to give a talk at all costs! Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t the only person in the class with that strategy, and I missed out on my first choice, the prayer. I was quick enough, however, to score the sacrament gem assignment. Given the other alternative, I felt lucky.

If I had to pick the most universal and painful human experience, I’d probably say heartbreak. It’s something all of us understand, as it comes in many forms and degrees throughout our lives. There’s the heartbreak of divorce or a hard breakup, the heartbreak of losing a loved one or watching a loved one make wrong choices, the heartbreak of seeing our families hurting, or the heartbreak of our lives going in a direction we never wanted them to.

I’ll admit it: sometimes I get tired of the scriptures referring so extensively to men, and I wish I didn’t have to work so hard to apply them to me as a woman. Just to keep sane, I have painstakingly collected scriptures in which Jesus compares Himself to a woman, refers to Zion as “she,” or calls the temple “the house of the daughters of Zion” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:11, 26–27). So I really appreciate scriptures like those above that refer to all of Israel, men and women alike, as the bride of Christ. I’m sort of sadistically grateful that when men read such verses they get to do the same mental gymnastics I have to do in order to remember how we all fit into the picture of God’s relationship to man. Mankind. Humanity. Huwomanity. People. All of us. You know what I mean.