Chapter 11: Growth in Endurance

"Ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours." Doctrine and Covenants 78:18 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7 I've come to understand on my mission that life is not always so clear, easy, and bubbly. I'm learning to accept this because I know growth is the reason we are here. Divine improvement and change are the ultimate ends of the mortal experience. Well, it turns out that the means therefore have to be some pretty hard experiences. Sometimes, hard experiences even when we are being good. Doing what's right. Striving every single day to be better. Putting our all into it. It doesn't seem to make sense because, well, if we are doing our best and trying our hardest shouldn't we be blessed? Define blessed. I think this is where it comes down to: is our faith in God conditional on a set of blessings that we ourselves have already determined? If this is the case, then I don't believe that faith is properly placed. Faith is always in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. This includes their will and timing, two very important factors. When we strive to have this pure faith in God, then we don't have to carry around those expectations. We can simply trust Him. We can do what's right no matter what because we aren't feeling cheated out of blessings we think are deserved now. I guess let God determine that. Endurance. I believe perhaps this is what that means. I feel as if endurance must be a process of growth and in order for that to be true there has to be, well obviously that faith previously mentioned, but also hope. Hope that one day, God will fulfill all the blessings He has clearly promised us, in His own way and timing. When we have hope, we are firm. It doesn't matter what we are "missing out on" now because we know we are doing what's right to be worthy of all God has promised. With that comes a power that will enable any child of God to press forward through any circumstance with confidence. Clear catalyzing confidence. Peace will come as we endure. This peace "passeth all understanding" because we don't need to understand. In fact, we can't understand it all because we have to grow in faith and hope: endurance. The peace is what helps us to know we are doing what's right and doing all that we can. If you feel as if you are having a hard time right now, search for peace. Peace is often described as a stillness of the soul, a sense of ease and steadiness in the fiber of one's person. If peace is there then you can know you are doing what's right, and continue pressing forward in pure faith and hope. Life is good, but hard. God is wise. Never give up, endure. Elder Childers

Cool wartime harmonica I found from Germany. Definitely gotta clean it haha.

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