Never Give Up

In this life we will experience many ups and downs. Hopefully more ups than downs, but let's be honest. Sometimes those down moments have a way of keeping you there. We can't help but ask "why me?" and feel hopelessness seep in. We are human and therefore prone to physical and spiritual weakness. When I make mistakes I can't help but focus on how weak I am, and all I want to do is throw in the towel. It gets exhausting trying to always do the right thing and coming up short time and time again. Discouraging thoughts fill my mind, and I start wondering what it would be like to be someone that didn't have the gospel, completely oblivious to the truth and free to live life without any worries of moral obligations.
Then I imagine a life without a knowledge of there being so much more than the here and now. I think about the things I've been taught, and the times I've been living it are the happiest I've ever been. It has never been easy. It is tempting to believe the gospel is restricting and holds us back from experiencing life especially how most people my age are. But I can testify that freedom is found in living the gospel. I watch some of my friends struggle, and I remember being there. I can relate to almost all of them. I wish I could shake them and make them see the truth, but from personal experience I know that is something you have to find on your own in your own time. You will see as soon as you decide you really do want to see.
For those that do see and are trying to live the gospel, but slip up, pick yourself up and try again. Sometimes it's easier to let yourself drown. I've made HUGE mistakes in my life. But mistakes are no excuse to give up. Life goes on. And as the old saying goes, what doesn't break you makes you stronger. I refuse to let anything break me. Perfection is not something that I will ever attain. And for this reason I am eternally grateful for the Atonement. I used to think that there was no way I was going to the Celestial Kingdom. I had made too many bad decisions, and I had screwed up my chances a long time ago. This simply isn't true. As long as we try our best, the Atonement does the rest. It's complex, yet simple. There is no mistake I've made that Jesus Christ didn't suffer for. He paid the price so that I could return to my Father in Heaven. He knew we wouldn't be perfect, but as long as we strive for it we are good. Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves. He will be able to look on our heart and see if we really gave this life our all. That is why He is a perfect judge.

Never give up! Falling is inevitable, but we decide how to look at it. Is it a blessing or a curse? Even the worst of circumstances can be a blessing if we want it to be. We decide. We move forward or we regress. I choose to move forward.