IT IS BETTER TO LOOK UP!

Dear Sisters,

Do you have any idea how much I love you?  Truly my capacity to “mourn with those that mourn” has been expanded with this calling because I care so much about you.  Certainly, I am given ample practice.  There are times when I feel weighed down by your burdens, and then I remember that that isn’t really my job.  The Savior has already done that through the atonement.  I’m learning to leave my cares at his feet and pray that he will also lighten your loads.  What a loving, kind, merciful Savior he is.  Our loads would be too heavy without him.

I was feeling particularly heavy during my scripture study this last week, and a scripture and thought struck me that I want to share.

In 2 Ne 9:3 it says:

"Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things that ye may rejoice, and lift up your heads forever, because of the blessings which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children."

At first, I read that and was really cheered, right up until the last two words, selfishly thinking, “Now wait a minute!  Why not bestowed on me?  I could really use those blessings.”

Then I thought of my pioneer ancestors.  This promise must have been what kept them going.  Their vision was for the future, for their children.  Many of their blessings weren’t realized in their life-time. 

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I recently read of a pioneer family that buried an infant son in a violin case along their journey across the plains.  They settled in Brigham City in a make-shift cellar dug-out covered with poles and willow branches.  They nearly starved, and after a year, the father walked the whole way to Salt Lake City to buy a pound of nails so that he could build a home for his family.  They were so grateful for their new “palace”.  The trials and sacrifices of our Pioneer forefathers were great, but they pressed on and “lifted up their heads” because they knew that the Lord would bless their posterity—they had hope that better times were coming, even if it wasn’t during their life-time.  Certainly the Lord has fulfilled his promises—we don’t have to look very hard to realize how abundantly we’ve been blessed.  I thought of that brother walking the SLC for a pound of nails when I made a quick ten minute run to Home Depot for my husband.  We have it so good, don’t we?

A great talk was given a few years back by Elder Carl B. Cook.  He shared the experience he had after his first week of serving as a General Authority.  He felt weighed down and troubled about how he could possibly accomplish the task at hand.  He looked down at the floor of the elevator, thinking about his troubles.  President Monson boarded, but he didn’t look up to notice.  He was soon asked, “What are you looking at down there?”  Then the Prophet told him, pointing heavenward, “It is better to look up!”  He said:

"Experience has taught me that if we, like President Monson, exercise our faith and look to God for help, we will not be overwhelmed with the burdens of life. We will not feel incapable of doing what we are called to do or need to do. We will be strengthened, and our lives will be filled with peace and joy.³ We will come to realize that most of what we worry about is not of eternal significance—and if it is, the Lord will help us. But we must have the faith to look up and the courage to follow His direction."

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I know the Lord loves you.  He is mindful of each of us, and if we rejoice, look up, and seek him, he will help us through any difficulty.

Sincerely,

Lydia