As time passes, the world grows more challenging, said Elder Henry B. Eyring. "The restored gospel of Jesus Christ gives us help in knowing how to qualify for the strength of the Lord as we deal with adversity. It tells us why we face trials in life."
Speaking during the Saturday morning session, Elder Eyring said, "We have trials to face because our Heavenly Father loves us. His purpose is to help us qualify for the blessings of living with Him and with His Son, Jesus Christ. . . .
"The test a loving God has set before us is not to see if we can endure difficulty. It is to see if we can endure it well. . . . To endure well is to keep those commandments whatever the opposition, whatever the temptation and whatever the tumult around us."
These challenges, Elder Eyring said, require a "strength beyond ourselves to keep the commandments in whatever circumstance life brings to us."
Trials are as varied as the children of God, he said. "No two are alike. But what is being tested is the same at all times in our lives and for every person: Will we do whatsoever the Lord our God will command us? . . .
"Knowing why we are tested and what the test is tells us how to get help," Elder Eyring said. "We have to go to God. He gives us the commandments. And we will need more than our own strength to keep them."
Help will come, he promised, "if we do those things early and persistently long before the moment of crises.
"The first, the middle and the last thing to do is to pray," he said. "We must pray always."
Another simple thing to do to draw on the strength of the Lord is to "feast on the word of God. . . . There is a promise of help from God that comes with that daily practice. Faithful study of scriptures brings the Holy Ghost. . . .
"The power of the Holy Ghost is real. It will come, again and again. One over-riding witness of the Holy Ghost is the testimony that Jesus is the Christ," he said.
"That testimony will draw us to the Savior and to accepting the help He offers to all who are being tested in the crucible of mortality."
Gather with the saints in His Church, Elder Eyring admonished. "Go to your meetings, even when it seems hard. If you are determined, He will help you find the strength to do it."
There is another simple thing to do, he said. It is to accept callings as they come. "Any call to serve . . . is a call to serve Him. . . .
"Whenever the invitation to serve comes, take it. It brings with it help to pass tests far beyond those of that call. . . .
"In the Master's service, "you will come to know and love Him. You will, if you persevere in prayer and faithful service, begin to sense that the Holy Ghost has become a companion," Elder Eyring said.
"Because the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real . . . we can become stronger for the tests of life. . . . In time we become His tested and strengthened disciples.
"You will then notice a change in your prayers. They will become more fervent and more frequent. . . .
"The Father will grant you greater peace and strength in this life and with it a happy anticipation of hearing the words, when the test of life is over: 'Well done thou good and faithful servant.' "
"The restored gospel of Jesus Christ gives us help in knowing how to qualify for the strength of the Lord as we deal with adversity."
