Tender Mercies of the Lord

 “But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Ne. 1:20).

This morning I listened to the wonderful talk by Elder Bednar in the April 2005 conference about the sweet, tender mercies of the Lord. The moments that we find faith and confidence beyond our doubts and our capacities, or peace of conscience and repentance through the atonement, that come because of the undying and unbound love of our Heavenly Father.

Since I got home from my mission, I've had some pretty hard moments. I've definitely felt alone, or without purpose. I've felt this peace or hope or faith that comes because of the simply, loving mercies of a Father in Heaven who is aware of me, and loves me.

One of the sweetest tender mercies I've experience was a letter I got from John this week. It said everything that I was needing to hear. Now, a handwritten letter from john is a miracle by any standards! but I felt so comforted that the Lord was able to use Elder Wells to touch my life. There have been lots of other moments, too. A scripture that answered a question, a phone call from katie, an email, a photo. Simple, tiny things that are BIG and important to me. It could be easy to call them coincidences, or not even notice these moments at all, but I believe that the Lord loves us. And I know that He blesses us in personal, simple ways, that show us how much He cares.

"We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance (see 1 Ne. 1:20)."

Overall a really great talk that is definitely worth rereading. http://www.lds.org/ensign/2005/05/the-tender-mercies-of-the-lord