From the First Presidency

Overcoming Your Challenges

By President Dallin H. Oaks

First Counselor in the First Presidency

My greatest challenge when I was a child was when my father died. I was seven years old.

I had a wonderful mother and kind grandparents. But I cried many tears. At school my classmates made fun of me because I couldn’t spell or do math very well. Some of the older kids bullied me on the school bus. I wished I had talents like others who were good athletes or good singers.

After a while, I began to feel better. My family loved and helped me. I kept working, and slowly I did better in school. I also found things I was good at. I worked to become better at those things. Heavenly Father helped me.

As we grow up, we all have challenges. Some of us have an illness or a disability. Some are poor and can’t get good medical care or education. Some are treated badly because of their skin color or where they are from.

How can you overcome your challenges?

• Trust in Heavenly Father. We may feel discouraged at times, but we must trust in Him. He loves His children and has promised to bless us.

• Keep trying. The Lord has taught us that we all have different gifts. We can discover our own gifts. Then we can use them to improve our life and serve others.

No matter how dark it is after sundown, it will always be lighter when the sun comes up. That is true of our lives. If one path is blocked, we can look for another. If something seems too hard to do, we can go forward and grow into it.

I promise that Heavenly Father will help you overcome your challenges. He loves you and will help you become what He wants you to become.

I Can Overcome Challenges

“We may feel discouraged at times, but we must trust in [Heavenly Father]. He loves His children and has promised to bless us. Keep trying.”

President Dallin H. Oaks

Illustrations by Alyssa Petersen