Conference Talk Friday: Elder Wirthlin

Elder Wirthlin is one of those men I would love to call Grandpa.  I can just imagine sitting on the couch chatting with him.  His talk "Come What May, and Love It" stood out to me, especially because we lost him soon after conference.  I loved his story about losing a football game and his mother's reaction.  Our children's problems are very real and we need to be sympathetic, but wouldn't you find yourself smiling thinking how much you would love to have your greatest trial in life be a lost football game?!  I also thought he was very kind to share with all of us his family's trials of trying to help his grandson with autism and his daughter's serious chronic illness.  

I have a total testimony of the fact that how we deal with trials says a lot about our character and also has a lot to do with how happy we are, trials and all.  When "the dial on the wheel of sorrow eventually points to each of us,", often I feel our inclination is to either a) make sure everyone knows every one of our problems and feels very sorry for us, or b) hide all of our problems and constantly pretend everything is "just fine."  I love it that Elder Wirthlin tells us that we shouldn't pretend we don't have struggles, but we should work very hard to pick ourselves up, learn from our trials and do our best, given our individual circumstances.  

I will always remember his advice to laugh, keep an eternal perspective, and trust in my Heavenly Father. "'The simple secret is this: put your trust in the Lord, do your best, then leave the rest to him.'"

I'd love to  post about all of our family's exploits these last two weeks, but, sadly, there has been very little exploiting going on around here.  Stay tuned for some fabulous Chinese New Year festivating, or at least some fabulous take-out!