Amazingly, I haven’t written for 3 years.  Much has happened since then, but my focus is on the knowledge that I have learned and on the blessings that I have received.

Everyday of our life, there will be trials and temptations.  The year of 2016 has taught me that trials and temptations are not inherently bad.  Every one of us will go through periods of difficulty.  The real question is: “What do you do when those moments come?”  I have focused a lot on that question recently.  I used to look at all of the trials, struggles and temptations that occurred in my life as weaknesses on my part.  I felt sadness and shame about some of the dark things that I encountered, but the Lord has taught me some amazing things this past year.  One of the biggest things that I learned is that we grow through adversity.  We could never truly understand joy if we did not experience sorrow.  Opposites are important in the eternal perspective of things.

Years ago, I remember hearing Allen Pratt, our past Stake President say:  “The hotter the fire; the stronger the steel.”  I now understand what he meant by that.  The heat represents the trials and temptations that we will all go through, and the strong steel is the result of those flames.  We become stronger every time we overcome the trials and resist the temptations that confront us.  Eventually, the steel will become so strong that it will become unbreakable.  Satan will place stumbling blocks in our path, and he, and those that follow him, will whisper all manner of temptations in our ears in order to trip us up, and try to make us fall.  However, we have been given the ability to step over those stumbling blocks and to yield from temptation if we choose to.  He has no power over us except the power that  we give him.  If we appropriately use our agency, we can overcome these things.  Will we be successful every time a trial comes?  I think we all know that the answer is no, but we have a loving Brother that came, gave His life, and atoned for those moments of weakness that we will all go through.  He knew that we would have those moments, and that we would need His help, so in the ultimate act of love, He gave His life so we could repent and stay the course.

I took a class this past semester and one of the most significant things that I learned from that class was the importance of “staying by the tree.”  We studied about Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life, and about the people that endured the mists of darkness, partook of the fruit of the Tree of Life, and stayed at the Tree even when they were being mocked by the people in the great and spacious building.  At the end of each week’s lesson, we were asked the following question: “What did you do to stay at the tree this week?”  Class ended a few weeks ago, and I did not realize the importance of that question until a few days ago.  As we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ everyday, we are fortifying ourselves.  We are “putting on the whole armor of God.”  That armor is a shield and a protection to us that will help us to “Stay by the Tree.”  Every time we yield from temptation, we gather more of the Light of Christ around us, and eventually, that Light will become so bright that we will no longer be swayed by Satan’s temptations.

These are some of the most important things that I have learned this year.  The things that I learned in 2016 have set me up to start 2017 with a stronger commitment to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I no longer look at the trials of my past as a stumbling block for my future.  I now see them for what they are, a blessing.  I am who I am today because of the things that I have learned and experienced in my life.  I am a daughter of a loving Father in Heaven.  I have been blessed to have the experience of this mortal life, and I plan to use the time that I have left, here on this earth, to learn everything that I can.  I am so grateful for everything that I have been given and every blessing that has been bestowed upon me.

Happy New Year

Kyeni