Trials

LDS Quotes on Trials

Neal A. Maxwell Headshot

Each of us comes to know his cross quite well. We know its configurations; we know its weight. We feel its rough edges. It would be so much easier for us to carry it if we could develop the faith which would permit us to cast our cares upon our Father in heaven, because he cares for us, as Peter reminds us. It would be so much easier to carry if we could do as Paul suggests and rid ourselves of the weights that we need not carry. We may think these are a part of carrying the cross when, in fact, they are a function of our own stupidity or our own sin. We can rid ourselves of these so that we may take up the cross and move swiftly and deliberately on to our journey.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell  |  “Taking Up the Cross,” Fireside BYU, 4 Jan 1976

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“Now a word to the single parents. … [You] carry exhausting burdens in fighting the daily battles that go with rearing children and seeing that their needs are met. This is a lonely duty. But you need not be entirely alone. There are many, ever so many in this Church who would reach out to you with sensitivity and understanding. They do not wish to intrude where they are not wanted. But their interest is genuine and sincere, and they bless their own lives as they bless your lives and those of your children. Welcome their help. They need to give it for their own sakes as well as for your sake.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Teachings of the the Presidents of the Church: Gordon B Hinckley

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“The Savior teaches that we will have tribulation in the world, but we should ‘be of good cheer’ because He has ‘overcome the world’ (John 16:33). His Atonement reaches and is powerful enough not only to pay the price for sin but also to heal every mortal affliction. The Book of Mormon teaches that ‘he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people’ (Alma 7:11; see also 2 Nephi 9:21).

“He knows of our anguish, and He is there for us. Like the Good Samaritan in His parable, when He finds us wounded at the wayside, He binds up our wounds and cares for us (see Luke 10:34). Brothers and sisters, the healing power of His Atonement is for you, for us, for all.”

“Lucifer whispers that life’s not fair and that if the gospel were true, we would never have problems or disappointments. … The gospel isn’t a guarantee against tribulation. That would be like a test with no questions. Rather, the gospel is a guide for maneuvering through the challenges of life with a sense of purpose and direction.”

Sheri Dew  |  “This Is a Test. It Is Only a Test,” The Best of Women’s Conference (2000), 134–35

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“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”

George Bernard Shaw  |  Mrs. Warren’s Profession, in Plays by George Bernard Shaw, New York: New American Library, 1960, p. 82.

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Neal A. Maxwell Headshot

“You and I cannot really expect to glide through life . . . naively petitioning, ‘Lord, give me experience but not grief, a deeper appreciation of happiness but not deeper sorrow, joy in comfort but not in pain, more capacity to overcome but not more opposition; and please do not let me ever feel perplexed while on thy errand. Then let me come quickly and dwell with thee and fully share thy joy.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

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Neal A. Maxwell Headshot

“Daily hope is vital, since the ‘Winter Quarters’ of our lives are not immediately adjacent to our promised land either. An arduous trek still awaits, but hope spurs weary disciples on.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell  |  "Brightness of Hope," Ensign, Nov. 1994, 36

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Neal A. Maxwell Headshot

“How can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, ‘Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then, let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!’ ”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell  |  "Lest Ye Be Wearied and Faint in Your Minds," Ensign, May 1991, 88

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“…the truer measure of sacrifice isn’t so much what one gives to sacrifice as what one sacrifices to give. Faith isn’t tested so much when the cupboard is full as when it is bare. In these defining moments, the crisis doesn’t create one’s character it reveals it.”

Lynn G. Robbins  |  "Tithing, a Commandment Even for the Destitute," Ensign, May 2005, 34

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“I love those who can smile in trouble…”

Leonardo da Vinci

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Neal A. Maxwell Headshot

“Our faith in God must be strong, therefore, not only in behalf of ourselves and our own trials, but also upon seeing those human conditions involving human wickedness which are truly wrenching but which are permitted by God because of God-given but morally misused agency.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

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