You can read or watch Sister Craig’s talk at Wholehearted (churchofjesuschrist.org)

Near the end of His ministry, Jesus told His Apostles that hard times would come. But He also said, “See that ye be not troubled. Yes, He would leave, but He would not leave them alone.² He would send His Spirit to help them remember, stand fast, and find peace. The Savior fulfills His promise to be with us, His disciples, but we must continually look to Him to help us recognize and enjoy His presence.

Christ’s disciples have always encountered hard times.

Why do you think that Christ’s disciples have always encountered hard times.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

This simple nursery rhyme reminds us that not all illnesses can be cured, not all problems can be resolved. Relationships go sour, jobs are lost, illness strikes, lives are lost and it is all part of the human condition. Adversity is part of our mortal probation, experienced by everyone. Christ’s disciples are not exempt.

Sister Craig then talked about an 1857 newspaper article about the suffering of Mormon pioneer women.

Brothers and sisters, to be such men and women is the call of our day—disciples who dig deep to find the strength to keep pulling when called to walk through the wilderness, disciples with convictions that have been revealed to us by God, followers of Jesus who are joyful and wholehearted in our own personal journey of discipleship. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we believe and can grow in three important truths.

Sister Craig then set out three important truths.

First, We Can Keep Our Covenants, Even When It Is Not Easy

When your faith, your family, or your future are challenged—when you wonder why life is so hard when you are doing your best to live the gospel—remember that the Lord told us to expect troubles. Troubles are part of the plan and do not mean you’ve been abandoned; they are part of what it means to be His. He was, after all, “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”

Brent Top tells the story of a student in one of his religion classes. The class was discussing the topic of adversity and why bad things happen to good people. Brother Top was impressed by their knowledge of the scriptures and explanations of the plan of salvation. Towards the end of the class an older student who had remained quiet throughout spoke up:

‘The things you have been saying are right,’ he said choking back his tears. ‘I have been taught those things from my youth. I have searched the scriptures; served a mission, and been active in the Church all my life. I have a testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel, and I have an understanding of the role of adversity in the plan of salvation but….’ At this point the tears flowed both from his eyes and ours. ‘Haltingly he continued, But it didn’t make it easier to gather my three children around me and tell them that their mommy had just died. Even though I know many of the answer’s to life’s difficult questions, I am still lonely, and I ask over and over again, Why? Why did she have to die? Why am I left alone?….You have the answers,’ he told his fellow students, ‘But have you ever had to ask the questions?’

One of life’s great questions is why do bad things happen to good people? How do you answer that question?

Living in convenience does not bring power. The power we need to withstand the heat of our day is the Lord’s power, and His power flows through our covenants with Him. To lean in with our faith when facing strong headwinds—to sincerely strive each day to do what we covenanted with the Savior we would do, even and especially when we are tired, worried, and wrestling with troubling questions and issues—is to gradually receive His light, His strength, His love, His Spirit, His peace.

In the Book of Revelation we are promised:

Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

‘In this mortal experience, we cannot control all that happens to us, but we have absolute control over how we respond to the changes in our lives. This does not imply that the challenges and trials we face are of no consequence and easily handled or dealt with. It does not imply that we will be free from pain or heartache. But it does mean that there is cause for hope and that due to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can move forward and find better days—even days full of joy, light, and happiness.’ (Elder W Christopher Waddell, General Conference, October 2017).

How do you find the power to withstand the heat of our day?

Second, We Can Act in Faith

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we understand that faith in Him requires action—especially in hard times.

God invites us to respond with faith to our own unique afflictions in order that we may reap blessings and gain knowledge that can be learned in no other way. Those who are called to go through trials, sorrow, tribulation, and adversity are promised that if they are faithful in tribulation and adversity, that “the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.” (D&C 58:2)

The scriptures are filled with examples of men and women, disciples of Christ, who, when facing the impossible, simply acted—who got up in faith and walked.

Brigham Young said about the terrible persecutions and drivings of the early Saints:

‘You that have not passed through the trials, and persecutions . . . , but have only read of them . . . may think how awful they were to endure, and wonder that the Saints survived them at all. The thought of it makes your hearts sink within you . . . , and you are ready to exclaim, “I could not have endured it.” I have been in the heat of it, and I never felt better in all my life; I never felt the peace and power of the Almighty more copiously poured upon me than in the keenest part of our trials. They appeared nothing to me’. [JD 1:313]

What examples can you think of, in the scriptures or from Church history, of people who when facing the impossible got up in faith and walked?

Third, We Can Be Wholehearted and Joyful in Our Devotion

When hard times come, I try to remember that I chose to follow Christ before I came to earth and that challenges to my faith, my health, and my endurance are all part of the reason I’m here. And I certainly should never think that today’s trial calls into question God’s love for me or let it turn my faith in Him into doubt. Trials do not mean that the plan is failing; they are part of the plan meant to help me seek God. I become more like Him when I endure patiently, and hopefully, like Him, when in agony, I pray more earnestly.

“When the focus of our lives is on … Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives” (President Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 82).

Jesus Christ was the perfect example of loving our Father with all His heart—of doing His will, regardless of the cost. I want to follow His example by doing the same.

What does it mean to love the Father with all of our heart?

When I stumble, I will keep getting up, relying on the grace and enabling power of Jesus Christ. I will stay in my covenant with Him and work through my questions by study of God’s word, by faith, and with the help of the Holy Ghost, whose guidance I trust. I will seek His Spirit every day by doing the small and simple things.

This is my path of discipleship.

“Stand fast, ye Saints of God, hold on a little while longer, and the storm of life will be past, and you will be rewarded by that God whose servants you are, and who will duly appreciate all your toils and afflictions for Christ’s sake and the Gospel’s.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 185.)

There are times when you simply have to hang on. Sometimes we have to realise that there are some things that we just can’t change.  As the Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; “And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high.” (D&C 121:7-8.)

How have you experienced the grace and enabling power of Jesus Christ in your life?

NB: Passages in italics are direct quotes from Sister Craig’s talk.