Comfort from the Holy Ghost

Turn to Jesus Christ with Burdens You Cannot Carry

Elder Eyring explains that everyone encounters challenges beyond personal strength or ability. Jesus Christ understands our suffering, invites us to draw near to Him, and provides comfort and answers according to His timetable.

All of us, regardless of experience, talent, or willpower, will sooner or later encounter burdens we cannot possibly carry ourselves.

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, suffered for us. He knows exactly how we feel, especially in our darkest and most trying times.

He will provide comfort; He will provide answers on His timetable as you turn to Him.

Answers will come by various means as guided by the Spirit, sometimes in the form of tools, resources, and help from other people.

• Independence and perseverance do not eliminate our need for divine help.
• Trials take many forms, including grief, illness, material need, loneliness, damaged relationships, and persistent habits.
• The Savior understands precisely how we feel.
• Turning humbly to the Lord helps us protect our faith during hardship.
• Divine help can include practical resources and assistance from other people.

• What experience helps you recognize the limits of solving every problem on your own?
• When you face an unresolved challenge, what helps you draw nearer to Jesus Christ?
• What example from your life illustrates receiving the Lord’s help through another person or a practical resource?
• What experience helps you explain the difference between receiving immediate answers and trusting the Lord’s timetable?

Prioritize the Holy Ghost’s Constant Companionship

The Savior communicates His peace through the comforting power of the Holy Ghost. Elder Eyring emphasizes that this companionship sustains hope and faith amid increasing temporal and spiritual turbulence.

We have received repeated prophetic warnings that in coming days we will not survive spiritually without the constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

Without divine comfort, we risk losing hope; and without hope, we can lose our faith and stop trying.

The Savior’s peace is made manifest through the comforting power of the Holy Ghost.

Living worthy of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost should be one of our highest priorities.

• Jesus Christ promises the Comforter to His disciples.
• The Holy Ghost provides divine comfort when circumstances remain difficult.
• Divine comfort helps preserve hope, faith, and the willingness to continue trying.
• Seeking to live worthy of the Holy Ghost’s companionship deserves high priority.
• The Savior’s promise of comfort invites us to place our faith and hope in Him.

• What experience helps you describe the difference between spiritual peace and the disappearance of a problem?
• Which daily choices help you seek and recognize the Holy Ghost’s companionship?
• What moment illustrates how spiritual comfort helps you continue when discouragement grows?
• How does the Savior’s promise, “I will not leave you comfortless,” influence your response to loneliness or uncertainty?

Find Hope in Christ’s Victory over Death and Sin

Elder Eyring teaches that Jesus Christ prepares our rescue from the permanent tragedies of death and separation from God because of sin. The reality of a universal Resurrection changes how we understand mortality, physical limitations, and the loss of loved ones.

There is hope in Jesus Christ.

President Dallin H. Oaks said recently: “I wonder if we fully appreciate the enormous significance of this belief in a literal, universal resurrection. The conviction that death is not the conclusion of our identity changes the whole perspective of our mortal life. It affects how we look on the physical challenges of mortality. It gives us the strength and perspective to endure the mortal challenges faced by each of us and by those we love. It signifies that mortal deficiencies are only temporary! It also gives us the courage to face our own death or that of loved ones—even deaths we might call premature.”

Even as He comforts us through temporary times of challenge and pain, He has prepared our rescue from permanent tragedy.

• Death does not end our identity.
• The universal Resurrection gives an eternal perspective on physical challenges and mortality.
• Jesus Christ provides the way to overcome death and separation from God because of sin.
• Hope in Christ gives courage as we face our own mortality or the death of loved ones.
• The Savior’s eternal rescue accompanies His present ministry of comfort.

• How does your belief in the Resurrection shape your understanding of a loved one’s death?
• What experience helps you see physical limitations through an eternal perspective?
• How does the Savior’s power over death and sin influence your hope during a current challenge?
• What personal moment strengthens your appreciation for the Savior’s Atonement and Resurrection?

Recognize God’s Goodness amid Present Suffering

Elder Eyring invites us to appreciate the generosity of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ even when our understanding remains incomplete. He teaches that suffering that draws us closer to the Savior prepares us for greater blessings.

Do we truly appreciate all the Lord has done for us?

Someday we will more fully realize how generous and kind the Lord has been to each of us.

We will better understand and appreciate the depth of the Savior’s sacrifice and the reality that He and the Father are truly givers of good gifts.

We will realize that all the suffering that brought us closer to the Savior was preparing us for greater blessings.

• Our present understanding does not encompass all that God prepares for us.
• Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are generous and kind.
• Remembering the Savior’s sacrifice helps deepen gratitude and trust.
• Suffering that brings us closer to Christ can prepare us for greater blessings.
• Faith allows us to acknowledge real pain while looking forward with hope.

• What experience helps you recognize God’s kindness during a difficult season?
• As you reflect on a trial, what helps you see how it draws you closer to the Savior?
• How does gratitude for the Savior’s sacrifice change your perspective on present difficulties?
• What helps you trust God’s promised blessings when you do not yet understand your circumstances?

Mourn with Others and Help Them Receive Comfort

Elder Eyring describes how he and his wife offer empathy to a grieving couple through their own experience of loss. His account of a priesthood blessing illustrates how the Holy Ghost communicates the Savior’s peace through loving ministry.

As we sat at the table expressing empathy gained through our own suffering, we were grateful “to mourn with those that mourn … and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.”

We spoke together of parenthood, feelings of loss, and the path to healing and hope.

Through the whisperings of the Spirit, he was promised peace “which passeth all understanding” during this difficult time and throughout his life.

As he and his wife left that evening, their countenances shone with the light of the One in whom we must all put our complete trust.

• Personal suffering can deepen our empathy for others.
• Mourning with someone does not require fixing the cause of their grief.
• Compassionate conversation can make room for loss, healing, and hope.
• Priesthood blessings can provide Spirit-directed comfort.
• The Savior remains the source of the peace we help others seek.

• What experience helps you understand the value of someone simply listening and mourning with you?
• How does a personal hardship increase your compassion for another person?
• What experience with a priesthood blessing helps you recognize the Savior’s peace?
• What example of compassionate ministry can you share while respecting another person’s privacy?