Best Days and Worst Days
Open talk in Gospel LibraryIdeas for Opening the Lesson
- Invite class members to think quietly about a recent "best day" and a recent "worst day." Ask them to consider how quickly life can change and how the Savior helped them in each moment. This could help the class connect personally with the talk’s central message before discussing Peter’s experiences.
- Begin by writing three phrases on the board: "eternal truths," "invitations," and "promised blessings." Ask the class what these three ideas have in common and how they might help someone during both joyful and painful seasons of life. Then explain that President Freeman used Peter’s life to teach how these truths anchor discipleship.
- Read the opening story about planning a wedding and then receiving news of cancer returning. Ask, "What does this teach us about mortality?" This opening could help class members feel the realism and tenderness of the talk and prepare them to discuss how the Lord strengthens us in sudden change.
- Show or describe Peter’s life in brief: testifying of Christ, walking on water, sinking, denying the Savior, and later feeding His sheep. Ask the class what these moments teach about becoming a disciple over time. This approach could help members see that spiritual growth often includes both success and struggle.
- Begin with the statement, "Because of Him, no matter how bad things are right now, your best days are ahead." Invite class members to share what feelings or hopes that promise stirs in them. This could set a hopeful tone and center the lesson on Jesus Christ.
Topics
Trust God through best and worst days
President Freeman taught that mortality included both joyful and painful experiences and that God allowed mortality to do its work in us. She said that life could change very quickly, but those changes were part of a proving ground designed for growth. She emphasized that strength came as disciples walked with Christ and held fast to eternal truths.
I have learned that God allows mortality to do its work in us—and that includes both best days and worst days.
- What did President Freeman teach about why mortality includes both best days and worst days?
- How have you seen spiritual growth come through both joyful and painful experiences?
- Why is it important to remember that mortality is a proving ground designed for growth?
- How can we keep trusting God when life changes suddenly from joy to sorrow?
- What has helped you feel the Savior’s strength during one of your worst days?
- How might this perspective change the way we respond to trials in our families or quorums and Relief Societies?
Build testimony over time
Using Peter’s witness that Jesus was the Christ, President Freeman showed that spiritual understanding came by revelation from the Father. She also pointed out that Peter quickly misunderstood the Savior’s mission afterward. She taught that testimony was not forged in a single moment but was built over time through both best days and worst days.
From Peter’s story we learn that our understanding of eternal truth is not forged in a single moment—testimony is built over time, day after day, both best days and worst.
- What did Peter’s confession of Christ teach about how testimony is received?
- Why do you think strong spiritual moments do not eliminate the need for continued growth?
- How has your testimony been built gradually rather than all at once?
- What can we learn from Peter’s quick shift from inspired testimony to misunderstanding?
- How can we remain humble while our understanding of eternal truth is still developing?
- What daily practices have helped your testimony grow over time?
Accept the Savior’s invitations
President Freeman taught that eternal truths were often proven through invitation. She used Peter stepping out of the boat to show that discipleship required action, trust, and willingness to move toward Jesus Christ. She connected Peter’s experience to our own moments when the Lord invited us to do something that felt larger than our ability.
Those eternal truths are often proven through invitation.
- What invitations from the Lord stood out to you in this talk?
- Why do invitations from the Savior sometimes feel bigger than our current capacity?
- How has accepting one of the Lord’s invitations strengthened your faith?
- What might keep us in the boat instead of moving toward Christ?
- How can teachers and leaders help others recognize and respond to the Lord’s invitations?
- What invitation might the Lord be extending to you right now?
Look to Christ when you sink
President Freeman acknowledged that disciples sometimes accepted the Lord’s invitations and then felt unequal to the task. She taught that Peter’s sinking did not mean the Savior was distant. Instead, Jesus was in the water with Peter, within reaching distance, showing that the Lord stayed near when fear and doubt arose.
He wasn’t shouting instructions from the shore or offering advice from the safety of the boat. He was in the water—with Peter. Within reaching distance.
- What do you learn from the fact that Jesus was in the water with Peter?
- How have you experienced a "sinking moment" after trying to follow the Lord?
- Why is it comforting to know that the Savior stays near in our fear and weakness?
- How can we turn to Christ more quickly when doubt begins to rise?
- What does this story teach about the difference between failure and learning discipleship?
- How can we help others feel that the Savior is within reaching distance?
Trust Christ’s promises after failure
President Freeman focused on Peter’s denial of the Savior and the look Jesus gave him. She suggested that the look may have been one of enabling strength rather than condemnation. She taught that even after Peter’s worst moments, the Savior’s earlier promise still stood and Peter still had a great work to do.
Perhaps that look was not a look of failure but instead a look of enabling strength meant to carry Peter through the worst moments ahead.
- How did President Freeman reinterpret the Savior’s look toward Peter?
- Why is it important to understand that Christ responds to our failures with enabling strength?
- How have you felt the Lord strengthen you after disappointment or sin?
- What does Peter’s story teach about hope after spiritual weakness?
- How can we avoid defining ourselves or others only by worst moments?
- What promises from the Lord help you keep moving forward after failure?
Let the Lord shape your future service
After Peter’s hardest experiences, the resurrected Savior invited him to feed His sheep. President Freeman taught that Peter’s faith had not failed and that his love for Jesus Christ prepared him for greater service. She showed that the Lord could transform a struggling disciple into a shepherd who strengthened others.
Peter’s faith hadn’t failed, and because of his deep love for Jesus Christ, there was still a great work in store for him.
- What did the invitation to "Feed my sheep" reveal about the Lord’s trust in Peter?
- How can hard experiences prepare us to bless and strengthen others?
- Why does the Lord continue to call imperfect people to serve?
- How has the Lord used one of your difficult experiences to help you minister to someone else?
- What does this part of Peter’s story teach about repentance and future usefulness?
- How can we better see the great work the Lord may still have in store for us?
Use For the Strength of Youth for strength
President Freeman turned to the For the Strength of Youth guide during a personal trial and testified that its teachings offered real help. She highlighted truths from the guide about God’s plan, revelation, the help of Jesus Christ, walking in light, temple covenants, and joy in Christ. She said the guide was not just about standards but was a guide for strength.
As you spend time in this guide, you will begin to realize that this is not just a guide for standards; this is a guide for strength.
- What did President Freeman say she found in For the Strength of Youth during a worst day?
- How might this guide bless adults as well as youth?
- Which statement from the guide in the talk feels especially meaningful to you right now, and why?
- How can the truths in the guide help us during fear, uncertainty, or grief?
- What role do temple ordinances and covenants play in receiving strength from God?
- How could families, quorums, and Relief Societies use this guide more intentionally?
Find joy in Jesus Christ
President Freeman testified that Jesus Christ understood both best days and worst days because of His suffering, betrayal, death, and Resurrection. She taught that joy was not the absence of sorrow but the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. She concluded with the promise that because of Him, our best days were ahead.
Joy is not the absence of sorrow in your life; [it is] the presence of [Jesus] Christ in your life.
- How did President Freeman define joy in a way that differs from the world’s definition?
- Why does the Savior’s own experience with suffering make Him uniquely able to help us?
- How have you felt the presence of Christ during a sorrowful season?
- What does it mean to believe that your best days are ahead because of Jesus Christ?
- How can we cultivate joy in Christ even when circumstances do not improve quickly?
- How might this message help someone who is currently facing a worst day?
Additional Discussion Questions
- What patterns do you notice in Peter’s best days and worst days?
- How did President Freeman use Peter’s life to teach the process of becoming?
- What eternal truth from this talk do you most need to hold onto right now?
- How can we better recognize the Lord’s invitations in ordinary life?
- What helps you remember God’s plan when life feels confusing or painful?
- How does personal revelation steady us during sudden changes?
- Why do you think the Lord often teaches us through both success and struggle?
- How can covenant living increase our access to strength during hard times?
- What would you say to someone who feels that their worst day has disqualified them from serving the Lord?
- How has this talk increased your confidence in Jesus Christ?
