This month's visiting teaching and First Presidency messages remind us of the importance of striving to align our will with God's will and enduring trials well.
Visiting Teaching Message
“Jesus achieved perfect unity with the Father by submitting Himself, both flesh and spirit, to the will of the Father,” taught Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
“… Surely we will not be one with God and Christ until we make Their will and interest our greatest desire. Such submissiveness is not reached in a day, but through the Holy Spirit, the Lord will tutor us if we are willing until, in process of time, it may accurately be said that He is in us as the Father is in Him” (D. Todd Christofferson, "That They May Be One in Us,"Liahona, Nov. 2002, 72, 73).
Read the entire message on lds.org
Additional Reading Suggestion: "Thy Will Be Done, O Lord," by Franklin D. Richards
First Presidency Message
"The Reward of Enduring Well," by President Henry B. Eyring
When I was a young man, I served in the Church as a counselor to a wise district president. He was constantly trying to teach me. I remember the advice he once gave to me: “When you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble, and you will be right more than half the time.” I thought then that he was pessimistic. Now, more than 50 years later, I can see how well he understood the world and life.
We all have trials to face—at times, very difficult trials. We know that the Lord allows us to go through trials in order for us to be polished and perfected so we can be with Him forever.
The Lord taught the Prophet Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail that the reward for enduring his trials well would help qualify him for eternal life:
“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (D&C 121:7–8).
Read the entire message on lds.org
Additional Reading Suggestion: "If Thou Endure it Well," by Marvin J. Ashton