PROVO, UTAH
"Asking for and receiving daily bread at God's hand plays a vital part in learning to trust Him and in enduring life's challenges," Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve told young adults at a Church Educational System fireside Sunday, Jan. 9.
"As we seek and receive divine bread daily, our faith and trust in God and His Son grow," Elder Christofferson said.
Elder Christofferson spoke of how Christ taught His disciples to pray by giving them the Lord's Prayer. Included in the prayer, 'Give us this day our daily bread' is a way that we readily acknowledge that individuals need Heavenly Father in their lives each and every day, he said.
"Jesus is teaching us, His disciples, that we should look to God each day for the bread — the help and sustenance — we require in that particular day," Elder Christofferson said. "The Lord's invitation to seek our daily bread at our Heavenly Father's hand speaks of a loving God, aware of even the small, daily needs of His children and anxious to assist them, one by one," he said.
Elder Christofferson counseled the young adults gathered in the Marriott Center in Provo, and those listening from around the world to "Look to the Lord in every thought; doubt not, fear not" (Doctrine and Covenants 6:36).
He taught that while individuals plead with God for their daily bread and help, they must still be active in doing and providing that which is within their power.
Elder Christofferson told of a time in his life when his family was facing economic challenges that persisted for several years. He prayed to the Lord with sincerity and an earnest desire that the circumstances would be taken away, but received an answer that the trial was not going to be miraculously taken away.
He learned to pray as the Savior did, "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). He testified that as he was forced to turn to the Lord for help almost daily, he learned how to pray and to get answers to prayer.
"It taught me in a very practical way to have faith in God," Elder Christofferson said.
He also related the account from Exodus of the tribes of Israel in the wilderness for 40 years. More than a million people were fed daily with the small, but edible, gift of manna that came from the Lord. He emphasized how the Lord used the manna to teach faith to that nation.
Both this scriptural account and his own experience taught him to rely on the Lord and that sometimes there is not a quick solution to some problems.
Elder Christofferson recognized the importance of planning ahead and preparing for the future, but acknowledged that sometimes people must simply get through challenges and live life well, by "just getting through the day."
"Take it one day at a time. The Spirit can guide us when to look ahead and when we should just deal with this one day, with this one moment," Elder Christofferson said. "To deal with something very big, we may need to work at it in small, daily bites."
He quoted Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve, who told a story about the work that goes into a masterful painting and how it can be related to the simple things done each day.
" 'A painting is a vast collection of individual brush strokes — none of which in isolation is very interesting or impressive,' " he quoted Elder Bednar. " 'In fact, if you stand close to the canvas, all you can see is a mass of seemingly unrelated and unattractive streaks of yellow and gold and brown paint. However, as you move away from the canvas, all of the individual brush strokes combine together and produce a magnificent landscape of a wheat field.' "
Elder Christofferson recounted the counsel Elder Bednar gave in speaking about the consistency needed in the simple daily practices, family prayer, scripture study and home evenings that are crucial in building successful families.
Elder Christofferson told the young adults to, above all, remember that daily mundane and repetitious things in life can seem small, yet are significant building blocks that, in time, establish the discipline and character and order needed to realize plans and dreams.
He advised the young adults to reflect on their personal lives in this season of New Year's resolutions and quoted President N. Eldon Tanner, formerly a counselor in the First Presidency. "As we reflect on the value of resolving to do better, let us determine to discipline ourselves to carefully select the resolution we make, to consider the purpose for making them, and finally to make commitments for keeping them and not letting any obstacle stop us," he said.
Elder Christofferson reminded all in attendance that, ultimately, it is Christ's Atonement, His grace that is their daily bread, and challenged all to seek Him daily in life.
While tasks or the future ahead might seem daunting, he reminded the congregation of the words of the Lord in 3 Nephi: "Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof" (3 Nephi 13:34).
