“The adversary would scarcely pay any attention to a still numerically obscure Church unless he recognized what is underway for just what it is. Jesus declared who he was, and many disbelieved him, but the unclean spirit in Capernaum recognized him and said: “I know thee who thou art” (Mark 1:24). Lucifer and his legions are alert; they know Christ’s church is what it is. The adversary is aware. It should not surprise us, therefore, that as the Church becomes larger and more visible we will sail our rougher waters, and that there will be more “struggling seamen” anxious to be saved and to come on board. Indeed, there are reasons to believe—as the contrasts between the kingdom and the ways of the world become sharper, the choices more obvious, and the issues more irrepressible—that this condition will, in fact, help those who otherwise might delay making a choice or who might make a wrong choice if the issues remained obscured. It should not puzzle us, if we have studied scriptural history carefully—including what happened to the Savior—that defectors often cause more difficulty than disinterested disbelievers. It should not surprise us either, as Peter observed of those drawn away by false accusers, that it will be they and their followers “by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of” (2 Peter 2:2). There are those who chronically misunderstand the Church because they are busy trying to explain the Church from the outside. They are so busy believing what they want to believe about the Church that they will not take the time to learn what they need to learn about the Church. They prefer any explanation to the real explanation. Some prefer to believe the worst rather than to know the truth. Still others are afraid to part the smokescreen of allegations for fear of what they will see. Yet one cannot see the Louvre by remaining in its lobby. One cannot understand the Church by remaining outside. Some insist upon studying the Church only through the eyes of its defectors—like interviewing Judas to understand Jesus. Defectors always tell us more about themselves than about that from which they have departed. Some others patiently feed their pet peeve about the Church without realizing that such a pet will not only bite the hands of him who feeds it, but it will swallow his whole soul. Of course we are a very imperfect people! Remember, however, that while it is possible to have an imperfect people possessed of perfect doctrines (indeed, such is necessary to change their imperfections), you will never, never see the reverse: a perfect people with imperfect doctrines. The more people there are who bear false witness concerning a true movement, the greater the need for us to be TRUE witnesses of the Savior and his way of life. We can be noble even when we are being treated ignobly. We not only can be, but we MUST be.” Neal A. Maxwell All Hell is Moved November 8, 1977

“What was the purpose of the Atonement of Jesus Christ? It was to make it possible for us to return to God’s presence, become more like Him, and have a fulness of joy. The Savior’s Atonement gives us life for death, beauty for ashes, healing for hurt, and perfection for weakness. It is HEAVEN’S ANTIDOTE to the obstacles and struggles of this world. Because the Savior performed His Atonement, there is no external force or event or person—no sin or death or divorce— that can prevent us from achieving exaltation, provided we keep God’s commandments. With that knowledge, we can press forward with good cheer and absolute assurance that God is with us in this heavenly quest. I bear my witness that the Savior’s Atonement is not only infinite in scope but also INDIVIDUAL in reach— that it can not only return us to God’s presence but also enable us to become like Him— the crowning goal of Christ’s Atonement.” Tad R. Callister April 2019 GC

In the words of Jeffrey R. Holland— “The Lord has probably spoken enough “comforting words” to supply the whole universe, it would seem, and yet we see all around us unhappy Latter-day Saints, worried Latter-day Saints, and gloomy Latter-day Saints into whose troubled hearts not one of these innumerable consoling words seems to be allowed to enter. Consider, for example, the Savior’s benediction upon his disciples even as he moved toward the pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. On that very night, the night of the greatest suffering the world has ever known or ever will know, he said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). I submit to you that may be one of the Savior’s commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally DISOBEYED; And yet I wonder whether our resistance to this invitation could be any more grievous to the Lord’s merciful heart. I am convinced that none of us can appreciate how deeply it wounds the loving heart of the Savior of the world when he finds that his people do not feel CONFIDENT in his care or SECURE in his hands or trust in his commandments. Just because God is God, just because Christ is Christ, they cannot do other than care for us and bless us and help us if we will but COME UNTO THEM. There is not a single loophole or curveball or open trench to fall into for the man or woman who walks the path that Christ walks. When he says, “Come, follow me”, he means that he knows where the quicksand is and where the thorns are and the best way to handle the slippery slope near the summit of our personal mountains. He knows it all, and he knows the way. HE IS THE WAY! He wishes us to come unto him, to follow him, to be comforted by him. May we have enough faith to ACCEPT the goodness of God and the mercy of his Only Begotten Son. May we come unto him and his gospel and BE HEALED. When the storms of life make this difficult, may we still follow his bidding to “come,” keeping our eye FIXED ON HIM forever and single to his glory. In doing so we too will walk triumphantly over the swelling waves of life’s difficulties and remain unterrified amid ANY rising winds of despair. I pray we will hear this very night that sweet utterance from the Savior of the world: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden. . . . And ye shall find rest unto your souls— BE OF GOOD CHEER; it is I; be not afraid!” (BYU Devotional, March 1997)