Stop Believing

Original post August 11, 2022 @ 9:08am

Did anyone else start singing, “Don’t Stop Believing?”

The first words that came to mind as I input words onto the internet (can’t quite call this typing, can’t quite call this writing… thumbing? Anyways..) were “Don’t stop believing.” But I’m here to tell you to stop believing.

Stop believing you can do this alone

Stop trying to do this by yourself

If you’re crying and your heart is hurting

Keep on going, but

Stop trying to do this by yourself

Stop believing you can do this alone

The hardest part of recovery for me right now is complete honesty. Honesty with when I need to pray and ask for help. Honesty with when I need to reach out and tell someone I’m not okay.

Why is this so difficult?

Pride is my first thought… sarcasm is my second thought. I don’t use sarcasm as much anymore, buy I am very prideful. I often want to do things alone or on my own. These are the times most crucial to reach out, first in prayer. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland states,

It will be required of each of us to kneel when we may not want to kneel, to bow when we may not want to bow, to confess when we may not want to confess—perhaps a confession born of painful experience that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are his ways our ways, saith the Lord (see Isaiah 55:8).

[We must] “yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit,” and “through the atonement of Christ . . . becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Stop believing you can do it on your own.

Recovery will come if you start believing you need to ask for help. First, in the form of prayer. Seek the Lord’s guiding hand then move forward with what you feel prompted to do.

It’s hard, especially if you’ve been hurt, abused, or experienced any form of trauma. You may need to seek help from a competent counselor and/or medical professional. Prayer, Honesty, and truth-telling with yourself, first, will lead you to more truth, peace, and joy. It won’t be easy. It will be hard, but it will be worth it. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

–

the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us. -David A bednar

Perfection Pending

Original Post March 18, 2018 4:17 PM

Revised updated Feb 17. 2022 10:42 AM

Photo by Darina Belonogova from Pexels

Today in Relief Society, the sisters shared stories about how many folks online create this appearance of perfection through social media which causes us to look at our lives through a tainted lens. Not all posts are this way. I have seen others that are filled with complaints, venting, and other negative outbursts. I believe we are to share and bear one another’s burdens, but continuously reading rants and raves is drains my mind.

In many posts I’ve seen, the person’s life is captured and captioned in one perfect moment for all too see. As I followed these posts, I was left feeling aggravated, agitated, anxious, low, sad, secluded, isolated and did not realize I was allowing myself to wallow in these emotions. Each time I would stare at a friend’s, or even stranger’s post with Pinterest perfect hair, clothes, home, food and life, my brain registered, “You’re not good enough because you’re life doesn’t look like this.”

I’d view friend’s postings of marriage, engagements, or new friendships developed, and I would think, “What’s wrong with me?” It was so subtle, but I didn’t realize I was developing a dangerous cycle of thinking. Friends would say, “Did you see about so-and-so’s post??” referring to a new relationship, break-up or engagement. Somewhere inside, I felt hurt that I found out about a close friends engagement through someone else. This seemed to be a regular basis for quite some time, especially going through college. Social media is so great, but I’ve learned that I must be careful with it.

I was raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; however, I was inactive for a time. I traveled the beaten path because I was nonconformist. I didn’t believe in following the traditions of my family because it just wasn’t for me. I was never big into certain social media practices such as Facebook or Twitter, but when I came back to church nearly 3 years ago I felt very strongly to get rid of my Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. It was so hard in the beginning, but I came across the scripture that read, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” [Luke 9:62]. I had many triggers, and one of them was seeing others from my past. I didn’t realize how bad my cycle of thinking was until I got a Venmo recently and saw transactions between friends with little drinking emojis, and thought “Oh look..” I shake my head at the thought. Yes thoughts of drinking still haunt me, but I am learning my triggers and am trying to be every so careful. Social media is a trigger, so that is one area that I may have to avoid for a while.

We live in an amazing time. Elder David A Bendnar states that,

“We are blessed to live, learn, and serve in this most remarkable dispensation. An important aspect of the fullness that is available to us in this special season is a miraculous progression of innovations and inventions that have enabled and accelerated the work of salvation: from trains to telegraphs to radios to automobiles to airplanes to telephones to transistors to televisions to computers to satellite transmissions to the Internet—and to an almost endless list of technologies and tools that bless our lives. All of these advancements are part of the Lord hastening His work in the latter days” [To Sweep the Earth as with a Flood, Elder David A. Bednar,Campus Education Week at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah].

The draining emotion I felt, was coming from my actions and my thinking. I must try to focus on the positive and focus on the joy we are meant to experience in this life ( 2 Nephi 2: 25). President Russel M Nelson taught

“When comparing one’s personal performance with the supreme standard of the Lord’s expectation, the reality of imperfection can at times be depressing. My heart goes out to conscientious Saints who, because of their shortcomings, allow feelings of depression to rob them of happiness in life” [OCTOBER 1995 General conference address].

I’m trying to remember to find the joy in the journey.

“Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.” -Gordon B Hinckley

Step 4: Truth – Make a Fearless Moral Written Inventory

I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.
Nephi

I’ve been working on step 4 across a five year period. I’ve completed the 12 steps in the Addiction Recovery Program (ARP) through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints once in 12 years. I’ve restarted the Program several times, but tend to get stuck on step 4.

It seems self-abusive patterns sneak back into my life when things get hard. As I took step 4, I discovered underlying emotions and beliefs that were symptomatic of pride, envy, bitterness, and resentment. I learned the importance to supplement each day with gratitude, faith, prayer, and scripture study. Other vital steps include striving to remember my divine heritage as a child of God, striving to counsel with the Lord, and striving to follow promptings I receive. These daily practices help me step away from addiction and step toward Jesus Christ.

SELF-ABUSE

I’ve experienced varying forms of sobriety. In 20 years, this is the longest length of time I’ve resisted temptation, including self-abusive patterns, yet many days I make choices which slide me back to neglect my needs whether temporal, spiritual, or emotional.

I used to physically harm my body, especially during the ages of 15-17. Now, when I self-abuse, it’s in a verbal/emotional form. I look in the mirror or sit on the sofa and listen to the thoughts pick apart my body, my looks, my character, and who I am as a person. I could choose to walk away, I could choose to hum a favorite hymn or familiar tune, but when I’m tired, weary, and worn down, it becomes increasingly difficult to battle the adversary’s blasts of attempts to tear me down.

When we listen to the harmful thoughts, it engages our minds in an emotional self-destructive warfare. We have the ability to choose to tune our mind differently, but we must become aware of what’s happening. Typically, these patterns have seed in our childhood, are immensely difficult to break, and cannot be done alone.

To overcome these harmful cycles, Step 4 deals with telling the truth and making a fearless written moral inventory. It doesn’t mean we won’t have fear in writing our inventory.

The following ARP passages have helped me to navigate difficult memories as I’ve worked on my personal inventory:

Look beyond your past behaviors and examine the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that led to your behavior. Your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs are actually the roots of your addictive behaviors.

Unless you examine all your tendencies toward fear, pride, resentment, anger, self-will, and self-pity, your abstinence will be shaky at best.
ARP – STEP 4

REFLECTION ON ADDICTION

This last week, abusive thoughts and temptations infiltrated my mind more often than usual. I’ve been dealing with sickness and lack of sleep. It seems these are times when harmful thoughts are most prevalent. Regardless, I continued to work on my inventory and came to realize how mentally crippling beliefs, attitudes, and emotions affected my destructive decisions.

I was concsciously unaware of feelings, thoughts, and beliefs which existed and continue to influence my reactions, but as I’ve addressed them and made a physical copy of my inventory, I’ve slowly begun to process examine these tendencies in the situations that come to my mind. Prayer and trusting the Lord through your process is key.

GRATITUDE

In his 96 years, President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has seen many trials. But he says there’s a simple remedy to help us find joy in hard times—gratitude.
President Russell M. Nelson on the Healing Power of Gratitude

Gratitude precedes miracles. Thomas S. Monson, 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, described the following biblical experience to illustrate this truth:

In the book of Matthew in the Bible, we have another account of gratitude, this time as an expression from the Savior. As He traveled in the wilderness for three days, more than 4,000 people followed and traveled with Him. He took compassion on them, for they may not have eaten during the entire three days. His disciples, however, questioned, “Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?” Like many of us, the disciples saw only what was lacking. “And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And [the disciples] said, Seven, and a few little fishes. “And [Jesus] commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. “And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.” Notice that the Savior gave thanks for what they had—and a miracle followed: “And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.” We have all experienced times when our focus is on what we lack rather than on our blessings. Said the Greek philosopher Epictetus, “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” Gratitude is a divine principle. The Lord declared through a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. … “And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.” In the Book of Mormon we are told to “live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which [God] doth bestow upon you.” Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings.
The Divine Gift of Gratitude

Gratitude, combined with faith can bring about miraculous events, including healing. I still have a long ways to go, but I’ve gone almost a year without a MAJOR relapse into eating patterns, gaming, or pornographic pursuits. I’ve had micro relapses but nothing compared to my past addictions. I could not have made it this far without Jesus Christ and His infinite sacrifice through The Atonement. Gratitude is one way to combat these patterns.

I could not have made it this far without the Saviors merits, mercy, and grace. I could not have done this without The Lord and all those people he has placed in my life to help me along my way. I would be a completely different person without my Lord, my God. My Redeemer. The truths I have learned through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ have given me the direction to take, one step at a time.

I am grateful for the knowledge I have gained, the experiences, the trials, and hardships. They have brought me to my knees and have brought me closer to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They have brought me closer to my family and relationships that uplift and inspire. I have worked on making reconciliation in many relationships and have been working to right wrongs that I didn’t realize needed addressing until going through another one of the Church’s Programs, The Emotional Resilience Course.

EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE

My cousin Audrey and I have been working on the emotional resilience course through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints too. This has been a huge help. Yesterday here’s what we covered:

You are a child of God. He is the Father of your spirit. Spiritually you are of noble birth, the offspring of the King of Heaven. Fix that truth in your mind and hold to it” (Boyd K. Packer, “To Young Women and Men,” Ensign, May 1989, 54).

“Be careful how you characterize yourself. Don’t characterize or define yourself by some temporary quality. The only single quality that should characterize us is that we are a son or daughter of God. That fact transcends all other characteristics, including race, occupation, physical characteristics, honors, or even religious affiliation” (Dallin H. Oaks, “How to Define Yourself,” New Era, June 2013, 48).

“You are unique. One of a kind, made of the eternal intelligence which gives you claim upon eternal life.
“Let there be no question in your mind about your value as an individual. The whole intent of the gospel plan is to provide an opportunity for each of you to reach your fullest potential, which is eternal progression and the possibility of godhood” (Spencer W. Kimball, “Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters,” Ensign, Nov. 1978, 105).

My Foundation: Our Divine Identity and Purpose

MY TESTIMONY

I know as I remember the truth that I am a child of God and that everyone around me are children of God, a loving Heavebly Father, then I can begin to change my patterns of self-objectification and objectifying others. We are not objects to be acted upon. We are human beings with hearts and souls with divine worth and potential. As I remember these truths I can see others as they really are and I can see myself as a true daughter of a Heavenly King who loves me infinitely and truly wants whats best for me, but I mist choose. It is my choice. A choice a make daily to either follow after truth and light, or to turn away from the Savior. Many times, I turn away! But because of the gift of repentance and because of Jesus Christ, I can change! Glory glory hallelujah I can change!

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible, swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

[Chorus]
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

2. He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat.
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer him; be jubilant my feet!
Our God is marching on.

[Chorus]
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

3. In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me.
As he died to make men holy, let us live to make men free,
While God is marching on.

[Chorus]
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

Text: Julia Ward Howe, 1819–1910
Music: Anon., ca. 1861

Alma 5:50
Doctrine and Covenants 65:1–6
Battle Hymn of the Republic

God is truth. God is light. God is love. As I have trusted Him, and let Him direct my path, my joy is fuller, my happiness is more glorious, And my life is more uplifting and fulfilling. I promise that if you look to God, even if you can no more than desire to believe to know the truth for yourself, God will guide you. Just pray. I promise He is there. I promise He is listening. If it weren’t true. I would not be here today! God lives! He will hear you and answer your prayer if you but ask in faith, nothing wavering, to know the direction you must take to follow after truth. I promise if you ask God, our eternal Father in the name of His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, in faith, he will answer your prayer.

In the sacred name of My Lord and Savior, He who is most divine, most Holy, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

Step 1: A Story of Honesty

Feb 27th, 2021

I love the ARP videos. They remind me that others who struggle with addiction overcame it one step at a time through Jesus Christ and His infinite atonement which provides a way for healing, mercy, justice, and grace.

Somehow, I’m still here. Still struggling, yet, I believe I can be healed. Why? Because I’ve come so far. I’ve overcome so much. I make hundreds of mistakes each day, but I know as I’m honest to what I know is true and keep trying, keep believing, and keep repenting I will draw closer to the Savior and become who I truly desire to become, and it is through the enabling power of Jesus Christ’s atonement I will be able to withstand temptation for a minute longer. Even if it’s just for a second longer than before, I’ve progressed.

Step 4 – Truth

May 31st 2020

KEY PRINCIPLE: Make a searching and fearless

written moral inventory of yourself.

Little Children Don’t Always Tattle-Tale

I can trace my first experience with secrecy to when I was about 5 years old. A neighbor boy I didn’t know too well wanted to play a “game,” and he told me not to tell anyone about the game. It’s the same game played by many regardless of age. It’s basically an attempt to explore the sacred physical aspects of our bodies in a degrading manner. The game didn’t last long, but I must have felt confused and conflicted with what just happened.

He was around age 8. I didn’t tell anyone what happened, and I’m not sure why. I may have been afraid of what my mom would do because she said, “Don’t ever let someone touch your private parts.” I may have thought it was my fault. Maybe I thought he’d get in trouble, and I didn’t want to get him into trouble. I still don’t understand what happened there, but I wasn’t the kind of child to ask questions or talk about things.

When I came across pornography at age 8, the friend I was with told her mom, and her mom called my mom. I remember my mom walking into my room while I played with my little ponies, and she mentioned something about getting a phone call from my friend’s mom and asked if there was anything I wanted to talk about. I didn’t make eye-contact with her, I remember that. I must have said “no” then she closed the door behind her. After that I felt like I had this “dark secret,” and I felt I had two dark secrets I couldn’t tell anyone. Looking back, I understand these are common experiences just in talking with friends and family, unfortunately, but I was always scared to talk to anyone about what I went through.

Grade School to High School

I would mark that I did my school reading every day, so I could watch TV or earn a pizza. I cheated on a test in second grade because I wanted to get the answer right. I lied about eating my brothers sugar-crystal science project because I didn’t want to get in trouble. These are common feelings! We all have pride and we’re all selfish. It’s just part of the natural man.

Eventually, these lies lead me to change my behaviors and habits. I wanted some type of approval from my family and friends. It seemed that many people around me obsessed over relationships. Whenever I’d see a certain family member, they’d ask me how all of my boyfriends were doing. I would always blush because I didn’t understand why I didn’t have any boyfriends.

From my perspective, as a fourth and fifth grader, the boys liked the girls who weren’t so tall and awkward. They liked the girls who were more “girly,” and I dressed like a boy sometimes. I liked wearing baggy jeans and a plain white Tee or add a button up shirt, and leave all the buttons undone, like my brothers and many other who followed the 90’s grunge trend.

All of my friends seemed to have their own boyfriends, and on TV, it seemed that by having a boyfriend, I would gain approval, friendship, and popularity. I made this promise to myself that I would become popular no matter what it took to get “revenge” on my friends for abandoning me in fifth grade. Maybe I got this idea from films like Never Been Kissed, Clueless, She’s all That, Miss Congeneality, or the Princess Diaries. I’m still not sure where it came from, but I pursued it.

I began cursing, piereced my navel, changed the way I dressed. I “went out” with boys in middle school just to have a boyfriend, and I continued this pattern through my sophmore year. I began drinking at age 15 and experimenting with others substances until age 17. My mom pulled me out of high school which was one of the best decisions she could have made to help me.

I didn’t go to Senior Graduation, but I graduated high school. I remember on the day of graduation, I had one friend message me. Out of the people I considered my friends, I had one person message me. I remember feeling shocked and empty, but at the same time grateful for this one friend. In my experience, it’s rare to find a genuine friend whoe is honest and has integrity during high school – I know I didn’t possess these qualities.

College

I still kept in touch with my high school friends. At age 18, I went to a party where my friends were going to college. I wasn’t going to drink that night, but I had one or two beers. The police showed up, and I hid from them. They found me and questioned me. They asked if I had anything to drink, and something inside of me knew I could lie and get away with saying, “No.” But for some reason, I chose to be honest. I went to the local correcitonal facility and spent the night there. I remember the song “A Child’s Prayer” coming to my mind. I sang it, and clung tight to my knees in a sitting fetal position on the cold cement bench inside the cild narrow holding cell.

In the morning, my dad and uncle showed up. I had made a phone call to a friend when I first arrived to the facility, but I didn’t realize that at the beginning of the message when they answer the phone, something like “An inmate at ‘XYZ’ Corrctional Facility wants to speak with you.” She and her mom called my mom, which really hurt my mom that I wouldn’t call her. I just didn’t want her to know. I’m still not sure why, but whenever I did something wrong, I just didn’t want my mom to know. Maybe it’s because “she raised me better.”

I was fined $500 and had to enter into an addiciton recovery program. I also had to start seeing a psychologist. I can’t say the psychologist helped because I felt he was blaming my mom for my choices rather than helping me to see my own choices for what they were: rebellion, secrecy, and trying to self-medicate from school bullying. I had also developed an eating disorder around age 15, so I didn’t realize this may have influenced how I was processing and making my decisions too.

After the Addiction Recovery Program, I thought I was good. I wasn’t interested in drinking anymore. I moved out into my own apartment with a friend, but I was still dealing with my eating disorder (e.d). I would spend many nights up late exercising or tyring to purge the food I binge-ate. I would starve myself, and I would go on intense diets. I followed one diet when I learned my friend had lost 15 lbs in 2 weeks. We went on it together, and it required a 2-3 day binge then for 27 days we ate 500 calories. I lost 20 lbs, but less than two months later I had gained over 30 lbs. I continued to gain weight until I gained close to 55 lbs (and to think I just wanted to lose 10 lbs to begin with; 10 years later, my hair is still thin and brittle).
Ironically, during my time of extreme caloric restriction, I felt to quit my job at a restaurant I was working at. I didn’t follow this thought (which I now recognize as the Holy Ghost trying to guide me) because the thought didn’t make sense. “I have bills to pay! I can’t quit my job!” Several months later, I found myself in a room with my coworker, Tucker* and his friends, and they were doing drugs. I just wanted to leave, but apart of me wanted to stay. I had already put my two weeks notice in at this point at the restaurant, but at this point I had already met Tucker’s friend, Jake*, who got me a job where he was working.

From this point, I began waking up at 2:30am to exercise rigorously, so I could go to work by 4am, and do an online class through the summer. I was hardly sleeping or eating, and I was overexercising constantly. Towards the end of summer, I met a coworker, Dan* from my new job, who was also living at Jake’s home and who was also friends with Tucker. I eventually went back to drinking and began dating Dan on and off for close to 5 years.

To this day I can’t help but wonder, “What if I followed that prompting to quit my job at the restaurant?” Another thought that came was “What if I had chosen to live at home and go to school to save money?” I can’t say I felt super good about moving out because I was still struggling, but I never once prayed to know what was best for me. I just wanted to be independent. So, there is no “what if.” There’s only, “Now I know, I just need to remember to listen.”

Step 2 – Hope

May 21, 2020

I have been suffering from addiction for nearly 20 years. My addictions began out of curiosity and were fueled by secrecy, rebellion, and the high. In taking the first step to be honest, I had to be honest with the one person I’ve deceived the longest, myself.

I was first introduced to the Addiction Recovery Program (ARP) through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at age 18. In the last 11 years, I’ve tried and failed many times to overcome multiple addictions, but “no failure ever need be final” (Thomas S. Monson). I began to accomplish more than I could imagine once I tried to learn true doctrine, true principle, and apply what I learned in the ARP manual. I have been able to abstain from multiple destructive behaviors for over 4 years and have experienced for myself and know that “The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. “ –Boyd K. Packer

A PDF version of the ARP manual is available here and an online version of the ARP manual is available here.

Step 2 – Hope

KEY PRINCIPLE: Come to believe that the power of God can restore you to complete spiritual health.

I go between steps 1 and 2 most often. I’ve made it through the entire 12 steps once in the course of 11 years. Many of those years I wasn’t really trying. I believed I was happy, but happiness is the wrong word to use (see Alma 41:10). I was content. I was going with the flow. I believed in philosophies similar to Karma and Nirvana. I believed that “if it were natural” and made me feel good then I should pursue it. There wasn’t a need for hope, until I came to realize the “awful state” of my situation. Once I came to this understanding, and was honest with myself about my situation, I tried to move in a different direction.

To progress, I had to sever ties to relationships, move to another city, get rid of items that triggered temptation, thoughts, feelings, or memories tied to my past. I had to completely change my media selection because when I viewed certain films, listened to certain music, or read certain material, I always, without fail, ended up where I did not want to be. This required complete honesty (Step-1) with myself and my husband about my addictions, and I continued to have hope (step-2) in the Savior’s Atonement. I believe The Lord can help me because I’ve come so far, but I haven’t come this far to just come this far! I have experienced for myself to know this truth that

[The Lord’s Spirit] will help you begin to see your choices more honestly and clearly; you will make decisions in harmony with gospel principles. For some… this miracle was almost instantaneous; for others [like me], recovery has been more gradual. However it may occur for you, you will eventually be able to say… that through “steadfastness in Christ,” you are rescued from addiction and enjoy a “perfect brightness of hope” (2 Nephi 31:20).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints ARP Manual

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a ^asteadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of ^bhope, and a ^clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and ^dendure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have ^eeternal life (2 Nephi 31:20).
Nephi

Each day, I try to act in faith as a I pray and try to read, study, and ponder the scriptures every day; this is what I cling to! I try to have faith and believe that Heavenly Father is aware of me, that Jesus Christ is His only Begotten son of God, and that I can “Hear Him!” and receive personal revelation. I know and have experienced for myself that the Holy Ghost can guide, direct, comfort and warn me of danger, so I can choose to protect myself and my family and experience joy, peace, and strength beyond my own to press forward with a steadfastness in Christ (2 Nephi 31:20).

Resources

Message of Hope from Church Leaders during Conference