There's always hope

"Let me tell you something, little child," He said, once upon a time, in a barely-grasped world we can no longer see, "you're going to suffer. This mortal experience is going to be very, very hard. I give unto you a promise though, child. When you suffer, I suffer. When you cry, I cry. When you're hurt, I hurt. I love you, and I will always be with you."

I firmly believe that there is no place so dark and deep that we cannot come back up. And when we feel alone, we need just remember that we never truly are. We are surrounded by the prayers of family members, living, dead, and not yet arrived. Whenever we're sad, whenever we feel alone, or hopeless, or afraid, we can survive with one comforting thought.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE. YOU ARE NOT BEYOND LOVE. YOU ARE NOT FOREVER LOST.

That, above all, is the message I want to share with you, whoever you are. This world is cruel. It's dark, and it's getting worse. Times will be hard, times will be strange, but most of all, change dominates this world. We are here to learn how to be charitable when it's hard, to have patience when we're at our wit's end. We are here to learn and to become better than we were.

Yesterday is dead. There is only now. Learn from what you did, and learn from the mistakes that you've made. Learn from other people's mistakes. Write down what you could have done better. Write down what you should have done.

But you're not alone in your sufferings. That's what Christ did for us through the Atonement. He gave us the way by which we can reach Heaven and live with Him and His Father once again.
Jesus Christ knows perfectly EXACTLY what you went through. That's what the Atonement was. That's what that glorious sacrifice is.

"The bad news is, we're never going to be perfect while in this life. The good news of the Gospel is, we don't have to be."

We are here to be refined before we are able to be perfected.
So shrug off your worries! Today is now! This is your day! MAKE IT YOUR OWN! Tell someone you love them! Give someone a hug. Give someone an honest compliment you might have been holding back.

And remember, I believe in you. That's a gift I guess I have. I believe in people. I don't often let them know. I rarely mention it. But I believe with an undeniable faith that, through Christ, you can overcome anything--and if you can't overcome it, you can learn to bear the weight.

We're given rough tides for two reasons: to be cleansed or to be strengthened. And sometimes, it takes some breaking down before you're strong enough to build yourself up to be STRONGER than how you originally were.

You can do this. You will make it. Now go and try once more.

Everything is gonna be all right. Be strong, believe. Know that you're never alone. Know that with God, all things are possible. Be still and know that there is a God that loves and cares for you personally. And remember, above all, that you are worth saving.