“How Long Will It Be Ere They Believe Me?”

Remember God’s Mercy Beyond Daily Frustrations

Elder Renlund uses Mr. Martin’s frustration with hospital food to illustrate how immediate difficulties can overshadow remarkable blessings. Remembering the Lord’s goodness helps us recover an eternal perspective and rely on His promises.

We focus on the here and now—the “cold oatmeal”—and lose sight of the bigger picture, both where we have been and God’s promises to us.

As we reflect on the great things the Lord has already done and remember His goodness and mercy, we are better positioned to grasp the bigger picture and to rely on His promises to us. We can trust Him.

Strive to remember all the times He has inclined His ear to you, especially when confronted with cold oatmeal.

• Daily frustrations can draw our attention away from God’s blessings and the future He promises.
• The story of Mr. Martin invites perspective without dismissing the strain of serious suffering.
• The Book of Mormon helps us recognize the Lord’s great works and understand His covenants.
• Remembering and pondering God’s mercy strengthens our ability to trust Him.

• What ordinary frustration sometimes occupies your attention more than a significant blessing?
• What experience helps you recognize the Lord’s mercy when you look back on a difficult season?
• How does recording or sharing a blessing help you remember God’s goodness?
• What passage in the Book of Mormon helps you see your present circumstances from a broader perspective?

Trust God’s Covenants When Challenges Seem Overwhelming

The children of Israel receive miraculous help yet repeatedly doubt God when new challenges arise. Elder Renlund uses their experience to invite us to trust the Lord’s constancy rather than let present difficulties erase confidence in His care.

As they overlooked both the Lord’s blessings and His promises, their trust eroded in God and in God’s prophet, Moses.

In other words, the Lord was asking: “Why don’t they trust me? Despite all I have done, why won’t they believe me?”

“I will never break my covenant with you.”

Yet God invites us to trust Him and His promises.

• Past miracles do not automatically prevent present doubts; we need to remember them.
• Fear can make an earlier situation seem preferable to the path God opens before us.
• God remains faithful to His covenants.
• The Lord invites trust even when we question His care, willingness to help, or capacity to fulfill His promises.

• What new challenge invites you to rely on a previous experience of God’s help?
• When does fear tempt you to retreat from an opportunity to follow the Lord?
• What covenant promise gives you confidence when the future feels uncertain?
• How does remembering the Lord’s constancy influence your response to an unanswered question?

Center Your Hope and Peace on Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ promises peace amid tribulation because He overcomes the world. Elder Renlund teaches that our hope for redemption rests on the Savior’s faithfulness and righteousness, not on our own righteousness.

Jesus overcame the world; we do not have to do so ourselves.

When our faith is centered on Jesus Christ, He promises spiritual peace no matter our circumstances.

We can experience joy in our here and now because of Him and through our covenant relationship with Him.

Faith in Jesus Christ frees us from uncertainty because our hope rests on His faithfulness and righteousness, not on our own.

“Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer.”

• The Savior promises spiritual peace, not a life without tribulation.
• Jesus Christ’s victory over the world provides the foundation for our hope.
• A covenant relationship with Christ makes joy possible in present circumstances.
• Our redemption comes through Jesus Christ’s righteousness rather than our own.

• What experience helps you distinguish spiritual peace from the absence of problems?
• How does turning to Jesus Christ change the way you carry a difficult burden?
• What helps you rely on the Savior instead of treating redemption as something you accomplish alone?
• Where do you recognize joy through your covenant relationship with Christ during a challenging time?

Believe God’s Promises Apply Personally to You

Elder Renlund’s sister Linda illustrates the tendency to believe that promised blessings apply to everyone except oneself. He invites each listener to reject that imagined exception and recognize that God’s promises apply personally.

She said, “I am not extraordinary enough to warrant an exception. The blessings are promised to me too.”

Neither are you, brothers and sisters; there is no asterisk excluding you from God’s richest blessings.

If you think there is, take out a big eraser and obliterate that asterisk. You can rely on God’s promises.

We can trust the Lord, especially His promises. These promises apply to you.

• We can mistakenly assume that scriptural promises are for other people but not for us.
• Linda’s realization challenges the belief that she is an exception to God’s promises.
• Elder Renlund invites us to remove the imagined asterisk that excludes us from God’s blessings.
• Trust in God includes believing that His promises have personal relevance.

• What promise in scripture feels easier to believe for someone else than for yourself?
• What helps you recognize that Heavenly Father’s care includes you personally?
• How does Linda’s image of an imaginary asterisk illuminate your own thinking?
• What experience with prayer, scripture study, or a priesthood blessing strengthens your confidence in a promise from God?

Rely on Christ’s Power to Redeem Every Circumstance

Through Joseph Smith’s teaching about the Savior’s ample provision for redemption, Elder Renlund emphasizes the intimate and infinite reach of Christ’s Atonement. He testifies that the Lord’s purposes continue until His promises find fulfillment.

“Ample provision” means that all human circumstances are within the Savior’s redemptive reach.

The power of the Messiah to save and exalt is profoundly intimate and infinite beyond human comprehension; there is more than enough to cover any breach, need, or deficit for all of us, for each of us.

With Moroni, I declare, “The eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled.”

• Jesus Christ makes ample provision for redemption according to individual circumstances and the laws of God’s kingdom.
• No human circumstance lies outside the Savior’s redemptive reach.
• The Savior’s power is both personal in its application and infinite in its scope.
• The Lord’s eternal purposes continue until all His promises are fulfilled.
• God’s precious promises make it possible for us to partake of the divine nature.

• What experience helps you recognize that the Savior understands your particular needs?
• How does the phrase “ample provision” influence the way you view a personal limitation or painful circumstance?
• What helps you trust the Savior when you cannot yet see how a promise finds fulfillment?
• How does confidence in Christ’s redeeming power shape the testimony you want to share with the congregation?