My Own Mountains to Climb

Since Henry B Eyring, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, gave his conference address titled, “Mountains to Climb,” I have had the opportunity to reflect on the mountains that are being climbed by those around me as well as the Mountains that I, myself, have to climb. There are many around me suffering trials of health. They suffer themselves, as well as on behalf of family members. There are many choices that have to be made for these families that I have grown close to, and I hold a place in the prayers of my heart for them as they begin their journeys down this road of uncertainty. There will be many obstacles that will still come their way, but I know that there will be a way for them to come out on top if they will be grateful for the opportunity to grow. Seeing them conquer their trials on a day to day basis gives me renewed faith that I too can conquer mine.

I have been grateful to have confirmed to me some of the things that I have thought about over the past few months by the examples of those around me. I now believe with all of my heart that I can conquer any trial that the Lord sets in front of me, as long as I have faith, and lean on my family. My husband and I have had the opportunity to struggle financially over the past few months and it has really opened my eyes to some of the blessings given to those in the church who will follow the law of consecration. I have come to know that I have been blessed far more than I imagined possible when I have given my time to helping those around me. I have been reminded of my earlier adult years on my own when money was always tight, and I sometimes had no idea how I would feed myself between paychecks. I have been nowhere close to this level of destitution recently, but it has been a good reminder of what I have already overcome.

 I know that we are receiving the chances to grow through hardship because we are doing the right things in our lives. We decided at the end of the last year that we wanted to begin our family. What a blessing it has been to be successful in this. I have come to understand in the short amount of time that I have been pregnant the love that my parents feel for me.  I remember thinking as a teenager that it would be impossible to love anyone the way that my parents said they loved me. I thought that they were saying things to make me feel guilty about the things that I was doing that upset them. I now understand that what they were saying was true that it was not at all something that they just said.

I have also come to know how important the family unit must be to the plan of salvation because since we began to try to have our family things have seemed to spiral out of control at times. It is only through reflecting on the humble acts of my wonderful husband that I have been able to keep my cool in some instances. I know that without the service that he is willing to provide me that I would not be able to accomplish the things that I am tasked with on a daily basis. It has been through our trial of finances that we have learned how to communicate about the things that we want in life, and the things that we need in the near future.

I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to be surrounded by family. This is also the direct result of financial trial. We have had the unique experience since our marriage to truly learn about the law of consecration and how it pertains to being part of a family.

Many times in recent years, couples have found themselves struggling to make ends meet, and end up moving in with parents to help shoulder the burden and lighten the load on both sides. It is beneficial for senior parents to have the help of younger and willing children around the house again, and it is financially beneficial for both parties for whatever amount of time it lasts. Without getting in to too much detail, I’d like to expound just a bit on our situation.

We have found ourselves in a comparable situation. Ours, however, comes with a twist. Over the past few years, children in my husband’s family have grown to maturity and decided to start families. This is an integral part of the plan of happiness in this life. With sons so close in age, my dear mother in law found herself with three sons engaged to be married within seven months of each other. Wow! This has proved to be both a challenge and a blessing. With half of the family in Utah and half of the family in California, it became apparent that this would require a lot of travel, and money was a problem with no solution. The desire on the part of my in laws to be closer to their children and the desire of their sons to be able to help their parents led to one solution. The family would move back to Utah, and share the financial burden of weddings and finding a home together.

It was quickly realized that the easiest way to shoulder this burden for the time being would be to find a place that we could all live together. Yes, ALL LIVE TOGETHER. There are currently 10 of us sharing a large home. This has given us the opportunity to learn more about each other than we ever wanted to, but has also shown each of us the blessings that family plays in life. It has not been easy, but it has definitely been worth it. We are coming to the end of our lease and have found ourselves struggling to go our separate ways. We have grown so close to each other, and now that we’ve worked out most of the kinks, are happy in our full home. I can’t imagine what this last year would have been like without them. I know that because of the willingness of our husbands, each of us three sisters-in-law have been blessed with an understanding of family that we did not already have. We do not get along all the time, as is expected, but we do know how to let it go and put our differences aside.

I am grateful for my in laws. They have raised three wonderful sons, and three wonderful daughters. Without their faith, and ability to teach by example, I would not have the wonderful husband that I have. It has been their willingness to endure trial after trial and climb mountain after mountain that has given their sons the faith to lead their fledgling families to do the same. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I am thankful for its ability to bring families together. If it had not been for this gospel, I would not have had the opportunity to be raised by two wonderful sets of parents, and a loving aunt that successfully prepared a stubborn young woman to make covenants that will last an eternity. I am blessed by receiving new trials, and new mountains to climb, and I hope that I can inspire others to continue to do the same.