Compensatory blessings

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday Afternoon Session of the April 1996 Conference.

Richard G. Scott's talk reminded me of a beautiful idea the gospel has brought to light for me. I've believed in this concept for a while, but I haven't thought about it lately, so this talk was a timely reminder. The concept is this: even when things in life are very, very bad, there will be moments of joy and light. I admit I haven't yet had the chance to test this in the hardest of circumstances like some people face. But I've seen it come true amidst my own small trials and worries. Hard experiences WANT to dominate your life and thoughts. It's all too easy to sink into them and never come up for air. The joyful news is that we don't have to—that through the peace of Jesus Christ, we can experience moments of relief amid the trials.

In another post I described these moments as being like stepping stones we can pause on across the deep waters of our suffering. I think about that image a lot. Sometimes I think the worst part of feeling terrible is that you tend to project it into the future—to believe you'll always feel this way; it will never end. So when I'm in my worst moments, I try to consciously fight that feeling and say to myself, "I won't always feel this way. It will get better." And I visualize those stepping stones. There will be a moment when I laugh in spite of myself, and the tension in my heart will ease. There will be a moment when I feel God's love strong and sure. There will be a moment of being absorbed in another task and forgetting, just for an instant, the worries that surround me. There will be a moment of hope when the future lightens just a little. And I need to remember, when each of those moments ends, that there will be another one coming soon! It makes the hard moments so much easier to bear when you know they're not permanent. Likewise, it makes the good moments so much more meaningful when you see them as steps on a path of goodness stretching toward a final deliverance, rather than isolated incidents never to be repeated.

Elder Scott elaborates on this theme. He describes the moments of relief, which I have called "stepping stones," as "compensatory blessings." (Elder Andersen has used this phrase more recently as well.) Elder Scott says:

Sadness, disappointment, and severe challenge are events in life, not life itself. I do not minimize how hard some of these events are. They can extend over a long period of time, but they should not be allowed to become the confining center of everything you do… 

Simple, rejuvenating experiences surround us. They can be safety valves to keep the tension down and the spirit up. Don’t concentrate on what you don’t have or have lost. The Lord promised the obedient to share all that He possesses with them. You may temporarily lack here, but in the next life, if you prove yourself worthy by living valiantly, a fulness will be your blessing.

Find the compensatory blessings in your life when, in the wisdom of the Lord, He deprives you of something you very much want. To the sightless or hearing impaired, He sharpens the other senses. To the ill, He gives patience, understanding, and increased appreciation for others’ kindness. With the loss of a dear one, He deepens the bonds of love, enriches memories, and kindles hope in a future reunion. You will discover compensatory blessings when you willingly accept the will of the Lord and exercise faith in Him.…

I know that every difficulty we face in life, even those that come from our own negligence or even transgression, can be turned by the Lord into growth experiences, a virtual ladder upward…

No matter how difficult something you or a loved one faces, it should not take over your life and be the center of all your interest. Challenges are growth experiences, temporary scenes to be played out on the background of a pleasant life. Don’t become so absorbed in a single event that you can’t think of anything else or care for yourself or for those who depend upon you. Remember, much like the mending of the body, the healing of some spiritual and emotional challenges takes time.

Your faith in Jesus Christ gives life enduring meaning. Remember you are on a journey to exaltation. Sometimes you have experiences that yield more happiness than others, but it all has purpose with the Lord.

 Elder Scott also discusses the role that creativity (of any kind) can play in helping us find those stepping-stones or compensatory blessings. That's advice that's dear to my heart and could be a whole other post (or talk—Elder Uchdorf gave a talk on the same subject that has been a big influence on my thinking), but for now I'll just say that it's been really good for me to seek out light and goodness and beauty, especially when I'm feeling like there isn't much of it to be found. I like Elder Scott telling us to find and discover the compensatory blessings, because I love the idea that Heavenly Father is actually placing those things for us to find, putting them in our path for us to stumble upon when we need them most.