Trusting in the Lord to Obtain True Happiness

I want to share something I have been thinking about his week.
      I have depression. It's something I've dealt with ever since I was 14. There have been times in my life where I was depressed to the point where I basically shut down and wasn't able to function normally or do the things I needed to. There were some times when I considered taking my life or giving up because I didn't feel good about myself. Happiness was something I didn't have in my life in my early and mid teenage years.
     Well, what I wanted to talk about was how I have been feeling recently, and how I have found hope and happiness regardless of my susceptibility to depression.
      The past few months of my life definitely haven't been easy, but they have been some of the happiest in my life. I have really learned these past few months that I wasn't putting my trust in the Lord. I was putting too much energy into trying to control every little bit of my life and was doing it all as independently as I could. I was so worried about making sure everything worked out that I wasn't treating my friends, family, or others in my life the way I should have. In short, I was so focused on trying to make everything perfect and being as independent as I could, that I didnt give myself the time or energy to work on what really matters in life.
     I think sometimes we believe that we need to do everything alone, and that asking for help shows weakness, frailty, or lack of knowledge. I won't lie, asking for help can definitely be challenging! In fact, at times it can seem impossible! But I know that there will always be someone there to help, no matter how big or small your struggle may be. Even if no one living on this earth is there when you need them, God and Christ will always be there for you, and I know this to be true through my own experiences.
     I have finally reached a point in my life where I do not excessively worry about every little thing in my life anymore. I have finally come to a point where I am able to put my trust in the Lord and have been able to more successfully build and nourish my relationships with family, friends, myself, and God. I have learned to accept the trials in my life, even if they seem so huge and overwhelming that there is no possible way things could get worse, I have come to realize God will always be there for me, and that everything happens for a reason, including things that we have little knowledge about as to why they happen.
     I encourage everyone, whatever your position, trials, or testimony, to try to turn your life over to God. That doesn't mean you stop trying, what it means is you learn to accept what happens in life, and you do what you can to better yourself and others and try hard while you turn actively to God for help and comfort. I have a personal testimony that inviting God into your life and turning yourself over to him can help you overcome anything, and that it may not be in "your time", but that when God sees fit, your struggles, trials, and adversities will be removed or lessened for you.
     I highly reccomend checking out the 12 steps if you are not familiar with them already, particularly the LDS addiction recovery 12-steps. While they are specifically for addicts, they teach principles and concepts I think every person should know and practice in their lives. Here is a link to an LDS 12-step book: https://addictionrecovery.lds.org/addiction-recovery-program-guide?lang=eng
     Resources for depression & suicidal ideation: http://www.suicidehotlines.com/utah.html
     I reccomend checking out talks and articles about finding happiness and trusting in the lord on http://www.lds.org

Ents

     I am a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings. As I was sitting in seminary today, an idea occured to me. A personal interpretation of the situation with the Ents in the Lord of the Rings. The Ents make their big appearance in The Two Towers (book and movie #2). For those who are familiar with the movies and/or the books, the ents, most represented by Treebeard, live in Fangorn forest, which lies right next to Isengard (Home of Saruman the White). The ents come in contact with Merry and Pippin while Saruman is preparing his army to march against Rohan.
     In desperation, Merry and Pippin, having seen the armies of Saruman, urge the ents to take action. The ents, being very large and powerful, could have destroyed Sarumans army and saved many lives, but they felt safe, content, and without guilt to remain in their forests and leave the war to men. Treebeard stated to Merry: "We Ents cannot hold back this storm. We must weather such things as we have always done... This is not our war. "
     Now, I suppose I should explain why I am talking about this. What occured to me today is that many times in our lives, we feel content, we feel that things couldn't really get better, or, if they could, it would take too much effort on our part. There are times when we think only of ourselves. We try to push others' needs and concerns to the back burner, as we see no real way or reason why we could or even should help them.
     Sometimes, we even feel we have enough faith, that we have enough knowledge of God or the gospel or religion. We get to a point where we are content with not making progress, where we feel we have done all we can do. If you feel this way, I urge you to look deeper into yourself. Really take a look at what you can improve, how you can help others around you, and how you can improve your relationship with God and Christ.

•      Parents, how much time do you spend with your children? Do you do all you can to know what they are going through in their life? What precautions and rules do you put in place? Do your children have access to drugs, pornography, or other harmful substances at home or through things you have given them? Do you know what they are doing when they are out with their friends? Do you know their friends? How many times have you told them you loved them this week? Do you let them know you are there to help? Do you love them unconditionally, encourage and praise them when they do good, and lovingly teach them and correct them when they do wrong? Do you teach them about the gospel and share your testimony with them?

    Parents, I encourage you to devote more time to your children. Know what they are doing. Seek to help them in anyway you can.

•      Children, Sons and Daughters, When was the last time you told your parents you loved them? Do you seek to help your parents by doing your chores or by doing extra things to alleviate their burdens? Do you listen to your parents and do what they say? Is it easy for you to follow your parents rules &/or boundaries, even when pressured by friends? Do you spend more time with friends than you do with family? Do friends' activities take priority over family time? Do you talk bad about your parents behind their backs? Do you disrespect them by arguing, yelling, fighting, or not obeying them? Do you try to be a positive influence and help your parents in the home?

    Sons and daughters, I encourage you to try to be more respectful to your parents. Tell them you love them, yes, even parents need to hear that. Give them hugs, tell them thank you, look for ways you can help them.

•      Siblings and Friends, Do you make fun of others, either in front of them or behind their back? Do you fight often with your siblings or friends? Do you exclude people from groups or activities? Do you try to make people feel loved and cared about? Do you treat your siblings like your best friends? Do you stand up for what is right, even if it means standing alone? Do you judge others because of trials they face or because they are different?

     Siblings and friends, I encourage you to seek out people who may seem lonely, shy, or do not participate or work well with others. They are often those people who are struggling in life, and even just a "hello, how are you?" could be enough to change their life. Be an example to your family and friends. Do what you know is right even if everyone around you isn't. Don't judge others or make fun. Love does not mean you have to accept what they may believe or choose to do, all love means is that you are kind, and are not rude to them. If you have siblings, make sure to spend time with them. Even though siblings often fight or compete, try to be your siblings friend.
    
     Now, to finish off the story. Merry and Pippin eventually led Treebeard near Isengard, where he  finally saw that his home was not as safe as he had thought. The ents became angry and fought, and ended up taking out any forces Saruman could have used in the war.
    Hopefully none of us have to fight a wizard and a whole bunch of orcs, but what I wanted to point out is that once the ents decided to take action, they helped the cause immensely. In fact, if it wasn't for the ents, the world of men would have almost definitely fallen.
    We are like ents, Satan wishes us to feel content where we are, he wishes us to not seek to help others, or even to better ourselves. I know that I personally have a lot to still work on, and I know that everyone here on this earth has things to work on and things they can do to improve.
     I encourage everyone to seek continually, not just once or twice, but continually seek to better themselves. Continually seek to help and uplift others, especially those who are struggling. Continually seek to better your relationship with God and your faith both in God and the Church.
     Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this, I hope it may have made even just a spark inside you, and that you may be able to better yourself, find hope and faith, and love others. I know that God loves every single person, and I know that we are all His children. Make time for God and helping others, and I promise you you will be blessed.
     

What is Faith?

     So what is faith? Faith, as defined in the Bible dicitonary, is "to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true" (see Hebrews 11:1 &/or Alma 32:21). Having faith is most often used in terms of having faith in Christ, God, or religion.
     Faith has been a big part of my life. There have been times where I have struggled with my faith. Times when I've thought that my faith or belief wasn't good enough, or that I was doing something wrong. One thing I have learned many times in my life is that faith and belief do not necessarily mean you have a perfect knowledge, in fact, while on this earth, we will not have a perfect knowledge of God and all his mysteries.
     I want to share a talk that was given during this years April General Conference (2013) called "Lord, I Believe" by Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
You can watch it by going here: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lcid=GC0000017&lang=eng
     You can also read it by visiting that website. It's a good talk, worth the time! Even if you have already heard or read it, it wouldn't hurt to freshen your memory!
     This is one of my favorite parts of the talk which talks about the importance of believing until you have faith, even if you feel your belief is insignificant or not enough.
     "I said I was speaking to the young. I still am. A 14-year-old boy recently said to me a little hesitantly, “Brother Holland, I can’t say yet that I know the Church is true, but I believe it is.” I hugged that boy until his eyes bulged out. I told him with all the fervor of my soul that belief is a precious word, an even more precious act, and he need never apologize for “only believing.” I told him that Christ Himself said, “Be not afraid, only believe,”¹² a phrase which, by the way, carried young Gordon B. Hinckley into the mission field.¹³ I told this boy that belief was always the first step toward conviction and that the definitive articles of our collective faith forcefully reiterate the phrase “We believe.”¹⁴ And I told him how very proud I was of him for the honesty of his quest."
(Text from: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lcid=GC0000017&lang=eng)
     This part had a big impact on me. I'll end this post with that. I hope this has helped someone in some way! God loves everyone

Introduction to my Mission

To those who visit this blog, my name is Mitchell. I have created this blog with a purpose. I have been through a lot in my life. I've faced many trials and hardships. I have felt like giving up, like I was worthless, horrible, even a monster, but I have learned that God loves everyone, even you, even me. I have made this blog because I want people to have a place they can come to and learn that there is hope, that everyone deserves love, and that everyone deserves another chance. I hope that my blog can help someone, even if it's just in a small way.