Opposition: A Positive Sign

I just feel impressed to write about this topic today, especially since most, if not all, of you are probably on an after-conference spiritual high, and making new efforts to improve your lives in various ways. Keep on with those plans, no matter what, and let Heavenly Father deal with any opposition that you encounter, because it is a true principle that when we try to be obedient opposition increases, but if we persist in trying, every effort will be blessed. Those blessings may come in unexpected ways that you can't anticipate, maybe later on down the road, but they will come, and your example of faithful effort in the midst of trials will be that much more powerful. Think of the pioneers - we gain so much from their examples of obedience, and their posterity and all who know their stories gain tremendous strength and blessings from them. Often, when we are striving to live our daily lives as best we can, there will be distractions and seeming threats hanging over our heads. Do not let those things sway you from your course. Most of those threats will come to nothing. Really. If they do materialize, they will be turned toward good in some way. Trust Heavenly Father - He can do all kinds of things. :) If you study the scriptures and history, particularly church history, you will see this pattern in the lives of most everyone. You will also see the good that was accomplished despite Satan's best efforts. And just think how he would be getting so desperate in these latter days, right before he is bound for a thousand years! Remember, you are accomplishing so much more than you are aware of. Maybe you should really contemplate the effect one person, or one couple or family, can make in the world, and record it in your journal, or even put it on a piece of posterboard, where you'll see it often. You could do the same about someone you know and admire. That might help you to have some perspective, as you note how their true effectiveness is accomplished through small, daily efforts. I'm going to use Stephanie Nielson (of the NieNie Dialogues) as an example. She's going to be on Oprah Winfrey's show tomorrow, speaking as a survivor of a terrible plane accident that also burned her husband and killed their friend. That is her overt story. NieNie has touched many, many lives, including my own. She's helped me be myself, to be more creative and open, and to love life more fully. But the qualities that have influenced all of us existed independently of her accident, before it ever happened. In fact, one of the most memorable, for me, things she has done involved helping her children write little messages of love and encouragement on colored strips of paper, which they then dropped on a busy sidewalk. Stephanie blogged about the experience and of their delight when a man picked up one of their little strips, read it, and smiled. Such a small thing, yet so powerful. I think of George Bailey, in "It's a Wonderful Life." He had no idea how many lives he had touched with his life, and how his whole town would be changed for the worse if he had not existed. Please remember that your efforts are so incredibly important, and that by small means much good is accomplished. If you are experiencing opposition, take it as a sign that you are on the right track, would you? To paraphrase President Hinckley: Put a smile on your face and walk forward in the dignity of daughters and sons of God. xoxoxo

(photo credit: nienie)