"However Long and Hard The Road"

by Elder Jeffery R. Holland

Given as a BYU Devotional over 20 years ago!

And as relevant TODAY as it was in January 1983.

"We have before us many, many long months of struggle and suffering. What is our aim? . . . Victory—victory at all costs; victory in spite of all terror; victory, however long and hard the road may be. . . . Conquer we must; as conquer we shall. . . . We shall never surrender." ~ Winston Churchill

Never give up!

 

But how, you ask, do you get this glimpse of the future that helps you to hang on? Well, for me that is one of the great gifts of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not insignificant that early in this life Joseph Smith was taught this lesson three times in the same night and once again the next morning. Moroni said, quoting the Lord verbatim as recorded by the prophet Joel: 

I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 

And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids of those days will I pour out my spirit. [Joel 2:28–29]

Dreaming dreams and seeing visions. The Lord's spirit upon all flesh—sons and daughters, old and young, servants and handmaidens.

For me it's so cool to watch these, but you can also 

read or listen (or download the mp3 for your ipod) of this talk at speeches.byu.edu!

Enjoy! 

"Lessons from Liberty Jail"

by Elder Jeffery R. Holland

This was a CES fireside and broadcast on September 7, 2008. 

I had just come home from my mission and this really hit home for me. I remember sitting in the Bellville Chapel in Cape Town, South Africa with other Young Single Adults (YSA). 

It talks about how challenges can really be very sacred experiences!

"You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in any situation you are in—just as Joseph received beautiful, comforting revelation in the "prison-temple" of Liberty Jail."

Watch it below (53:39 mins)

I love the archives of speeches.byu.edu

There you can download a PDF or mp3 file of this speech, so you can read or listen to it. 

I really love audio files because I can put it on my ipod or computer - on my mission I had several talks on CD - and then listen to it whenever I need inspiration or hope or comfort!

It's so nice to listen to them speak - you get all the passion, emotions & emphasis that he intended and delivered it with!

That being said... there is also something wonderful about reading a talk like this - you can go through it slowly & really think about some of the powerful ideas and highlight, mark and write notes. I love that too!

So, you have your pick here of 3 versions!

It's available to read online at lds.org too.

"Cast Not Away Therefore Thou Confidence"

by Elder Jeffery R. Holland

I heard this talk on my mission in 2007. 

I was going through a hard time at that stage and this REALLY changed my thought pattern and as cliche as it sounds - it changed my mission and my life!

I've listened to it probably over a dozen times and I've sent it to tons of friends!
"It is the plain and very sobering truth that before great moments, certainly before great spiritual moments, there can come adversity, opposition, and darkness. Life has some of those moments for us, and occasionally they come just as we are approaching an important decision or a significant step in our life." ~ Elder Holland

 

"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise... If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. . . We are not of them who draw back unto perdition." [Hebrews 10:35–36, 38–39; emphasis added]

Click here to read this talk and or download the PDF or the mp3. 

"The Fourth Watch"

by S. Michael Wilcox

This talk was a real eye-opener!

How God answers, and how the miracles come  - in the 4th watch (otherwise knows as the final hour!)

It made complete sense and really helped me understand more about myself, how I react in trials and the importance of faith, patience and endurance. This is a must!

BYU Broadcasting has this on their top downloads: When My Prayers Seem Unanswered you can either listen or download it as an mp3 or watch it online! 

Or you can purchase a CD on  Amazon.com or get it on sale for $9 at ldsaudio.com