There’s no doubt that the world is being plunged into dark, troubling, and chaotic times. With terrorist attacks, death, crime, negativity, and political uncertainty the focus of the media, it can feel at times as though there is no place to turn to find hope, that there is no place to find peace.
But, in his book For Times of Trouble, Elder Holland describes such times in our lives and offers encouragement as to how we can find light within and above, even when everything around us is plunged into darkness. Here are some excerpts from For Times of Trouble.
Why do we experience pain?
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. . . . The Lord . . . will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.” (Psalms 46:1–3; 9:9)
One of the unfailing facts of mortal life is the recurring presence of trouble, the recurring challenge of difficulty and pain. . . . Someone once reasoned that confronting problems is apparently the common denominator of the living—the great bond between the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, the believer and the skeptic. . . . One popular writer said that expecting a trouble-free life because you are a good person is like expecting the bull not to charge you because you are a vegetarian.
Read the rest of this excerpt article from LDS Living or buy Elder Holland’s fantastic book here
