Hard Can Be Good

Elder Stanley G. Ellis: Do We Trust Him? Hard is Good

I had the honor of going to the Sunday Afternoon session of General Conference with my fiancé. It was the first time of us going together. He just moved to America from South Africa, so I thought this would be an especially nice session for him. Our various backgrounds are full of unique trials, which is why Elder Ellis's talk really stood out to me. He spoke about how hardships can truly be for our good.
          Alluding to early saint pioneers and ancient prophets, he gave examples of people overcoming extreme hardships in order to show his audience, those within the sound of his voice, that it is indeed possible to overcome trials. He uses a question to get his audience really thinking: "do we trust Him (the Lord)?" This question is piercing in context of what predicated it. Elder Ellis's last talk was about how the Lord trust us, which is why his next question effectively pierced my heart. Of course Heavenly Father can trust me if I do what He asks. But even when He does what I ask, I do not always trust Him when times are tough. Elder Ellis then alludes to the Plan of Salvation stating that hard times are vital to that plan. It is important to keep a big perspective as suggested by the speaker.

Overall, this talk really helped me to look back on my own experiences and see how they have really helped me become a better person. If life was not hard, then we would not have strength to become better. Muscles are developed by working against resistance. The same is with our spirits. Hard is, indeed, good.