Turn to the Lord for comfort

Dear Family,
I am thinking today about an interesting phenomena which we have all experienced. It happens when you are driving down the road at 80 miles an hour for an extended period of time. After a while, it seems like you are barely crawling along. We can all remember a time we were driving on the highway down near Las Vegas. Soon the long, straight stretches of road appear to barely pass beneath the wheels of the car as we get adjusted to the speed. Before long it doesn't seem like we are going fast at all.

Well that phenomena manifests itself in other ways as well. The day Steven got home from his mission will forever be etched in my memory. After spending two years with the good people of Argentina who had so little in comparison with the bounty afforded us, he walked into our home shaking his head in amazement with our blessings of a large home and abundance that the Lord has granted us. And we all see it regularly when we walk into Costco or Walmart or the mall and see food, supplies, and clothing from floor to ceiling. Incredibly, we begin to take this bounty of blessings for granted because abundance is so common for many of us in our day.

Today's generation is blessed with so much that our expectations even in hard times exceed the wildest dreams of others in previous generations and those in many locations around the world even today.

Our cupboards are filled with food.
Our driveways are covered with cars.
Our home are littered with luxuries.
And still the Lord offers us more, if we will but follow Him.

So how do these things all apply to this phenomena? Today, we have such wealth in the gospel and among Church members that it is easy to forget that it wasn't always this way. I believe that is one reason the brethren tell us to seek out our ancestors, so by seeing their hardship and sacrifice, we can come to appreciate the bounty we have been given.

That knowledge helps us be more appreciative of what we have today in our homes, families, communities, both in this country and around the world.

Opposition is a good thing. And recognizing the plethora of gifts the Lord has given us helps us get through life's challenges, which will certainly come.

We are not alone. Heavenly Father blesses us in our time of need. The greatest help we will have is to know and follow the doctrines of the Savior, Jesus Christ and rely on him to help us.

"The grave hath no victory and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ." Mosiah 16:8

That's the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

I love you, dad