2024 April General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session
Elder Mathias Held
of the Seventy
Summary
- To be able to exercise our agency, we need to have opposing options to consider.
Gospel Doctrine & Principles taught
The Plan of Salvation, The Atonement of Jesus Christ, Commandments, Jesus Christ, Agency, faith in Jesus Christ
Scriptures
2 Nephi 2:16, 2 Nephi 2:11, 2 Nephi 2:5, Moroni 7:16, 2 Nephi 2:5, Alma 7:11, 12; Helaman 5:12, 3 Nephi 9:14, 2 Nephi 2:2, Deuteronomy 29:4, Doctrine and Covenants 6:36
Other Sources
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Related talks:
- See Russell M. Nelson, “Think Celestial!”
Look for Jesus Christ:
- Testimony of Christ.
- Jesus Christ lives and stands there at every moment, waiting for us to choose to call upon Him to provide succor, strength, and salvation.
- Description of His Atonement.
- Jesus promised to “take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people … that he may … succor,” or help us as we turn to Him.
- Jesus Christ’s infinite sacrifice was certainly the greatest example of pain and suffering ever seen, but it also brought about the wonderful blessings of His Atonement to all of God’s children.
- Description of His relationship with us.
- (God) loves us and sent His Beloved Son to help in our trials and to open for us the door to return to Him.
- Words of Christ
- Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.
- Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.
Inspiring Words & Phrases
- …In our lives we sometimes make wrong decisions and … we must live with the consequences humbly and patiently until we are able to change our course again.
- Life is all about making choices. Our Father in Heaven gave us the divine gift of agency precisely so that we could learn from our choices—from the right ones and also from the wrong ones. We correct our wrong choices when we repent. This is where growth happens. Heavenly Father’s plan for all of us is about learning, developing, and progressing toward eternal life.
- To be able to exercise our agency, we need to have opposing options to consider.
- Even though we usually cannot choose between these kinds of situations because they just happen, we are still free to choose how to react to them. We can do so with a positive or with a pessimistic attitude.
- We choose how to react to these circumstances.
- Remember that we are agents and not objects.
- We can choose to build our foundation on the rock that is Jesus Christ so that when the whirlwind comes, “it shall have no power over [us].”
- …Opposites don’t exist apart from each other. They can even complement each other. We would not be able to identify joy unless we had also experienced sorrow at some point. Feeling hungry at times helps us to be especially grateful when we do have enough to eat again. We would not be able to identify truth unless we had also seen lies here and there. These opposites are all like the two sides of one same coin. Both sides are always present.
- These contrasting experiences taught us that we are never alone in moments of suffering, and they also showed us how much we can carry with the Lord’s succor and help. These experiences helped to shape us in wonderful ways, and it has all been totally worthwhile. Is this not what we came here for?
- Our world today is often characterized by fear and anxiety—fear of what the future might bring for us. But Jesus has taught us to trust and “look unto [Him] in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”
- Where there is sunshine, shadows must be there too. Floods can bring destruction, but they usually bring life as well. Tears of grief often turn into tears of relief and happiness. Feelings of sadness when loved ones depart are later compensated with the joy of meeting again. In periods of war and destruction, many little acts of kindness and love are also happening for those with “eyes to see, and ears to hear.”
- Our difficulties, sorrows, afflictions, and pains do not define us; rather, it is how we go about them that will help us grow and draw closer to God. It is our attitudes and choices that define us much better than our challenges.
Lists
Heavenly Father’s Plan for us is all about:
- Learning
- Developing
- Progressing toward eternal life
Things Lehi taught Jacob:
- the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself
- it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things
- We’ve been instructed sufficiently to know good from evil
Some of the important choices we confront in life are:
- Choosing whether or not we will follow God’s commandments.
- Choosing to have faith and recognize when miracles happen or to skeptically wait for something to happen before choosing to believe only then.
- Choosing to develop trust in God or to fearfully anticipate another challenge the next day.
Things we can do when we’re suffering the consequences of our own actions:
- choose to receive comfort through the divine process of repentance
- make wrong things right again
- learn some life-changing lessons
Opposition and trials from things outside of our control, but we can choose how to react to them:
- In general, with any trial, we are free to choose to react with a positive or pessimistic attitude
- (positive) we can seek to learn from the experience and ask for our Lord’s help and support
- (pessimistic) we can think that we are on our own in this trial and that we must suffer it alone.
- When things don’t go how we expected them to
- (positive) we can “adjust our sails” to the new reality
- (pessimistic) we can decide not to change anything.
- Moments of health and periods of sickness.
- (positive attitude) we can seek medical and spiritual help
- Times of peace and times of war
- Hours of day and of night
- (positive attitude) in the darkness of night, we can turn on our lights
- Seasons of summer and of winter
- (positive attitude) in the cold of winter, we should choose to wear warm clothes
- Times of labor followed by times of rest
Examples in the scriptures that illustrate that opposition helped realize blessings:
- Lehi taught his son Jacob that the afflictions he suffered in the wilderness helped him know the greatness of God and that “[God] shall consecrate [his] afflictions for [his] gain.”
- During Joseph Smith’s cruel incarceration in Liberty Jail, the Lord told him that “all these things shall give [him] experience, and shall be for [his] good.”
- Finally, Jesus Christ’s infinite sacrifice was certainly the greatest example of pain and suffering ever seen, but it also brought about the wonderful blessings of His Atonement to all of God’s children.
Invitations/Challenges
- We can always choose to receive comfort through the divine process of repentance, make wrong things right again, and in doing so learn some life-changing lessons.
- Make a conscious effort to see both sides of every coin allotted to us in our lives
- How we choose to react to our trials will help us grow and draw closer to God.
- When in health, cherish and be grateful for it every moment.
- When in sickness, seek to patiently learn from it and know that this can change again according to God’s will.
- When in sorrow, trust that happiness is around the corner; we often just cannot see it yet.
- Never forget to be grateful.
- Choose to believe.
- Choose to have faith in Jesus Christ.
- Choose to always trust God.
- Choose to “think celestial,” as President Russell M. Nelson recently taught us!
- Let us always be mindful of our Heavenly Father’s wonderful plan for us.
Warnings
- Never forget to be grateful.
Blessings/Promises
- Even though both sides might sometimes not be immediately visible to us, we can know and trust that they are always there.
Stories:
- Elder Held tells the story of when he and his wife were driving to visit a friend, they made a wrong turn and wound up driving miles out of their way to find a place where they could turn around again.
- Elder Held gives an example from his own life, that marrying and having children brought both great joy and profound pain. He said that the contrasting experiences taught them that they were never alone, and that with the Savior’s help they could do so much more.
Application Ideas
- Choose one of your current challenges. Prayerfully consider this trial in light of these admonitions from Elder Held:
- How can I be grateful, given the situation I’m in?
- How can I choose to have faith in Jesus Christ?
- How can I choose to trust God?
- How can I choose to ‘think celestial’?
- Set aside time each day this week to list things you are grateful for in your journal.
- Once a week, have a prayer wherein all you do is thank Heavenly Father for your blessings.
- Consider if you are letting difficulties, sorrows, afflictions, and pains define you and your mortal experience. If you are, choose to pray for strength and inspiration to change.
