Do not allow the hideous, but remediable evils of human society and the cosmic injustice of the human condition have an obsessive hold on your mind. Death by suicide cannot be regarded as an adequate response to the experience of absurdity. Experiencing death by suicide deals with absurdity simply by suppressing one of the two poles—the human being and the World—that together produces tension because it is an isolation of the human beings evaluative and purposive being in the World. Only by living in the face of our own absurdity can human being achieve their full stature. We must accept ourselves as the sole guarantor of our own values and that necessarily involves accepting a principle of respect for other human beings and all life forms.  Someone strong-willed does not give up easily. A strong-willed person is determined. Our will is our desire or drive to do something, so strong that we will never give up. Medical professionals have always been fascinated by the power of the will to live. Human beings have the fiercest instinct for survival. When our lives are threatened, the will to live is a force within all of us to fight for survival. The trails of this life will ultimately lead to joy as long as we patiently trust in God’s plane and discover how to use adversity to grow stronger. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6

The way we respond to trials can have a great effect on whether we allow them to become obstacles in our lives or strength building exercises to learning and growth. When we anguish over difficulties, the experiences only serve to weigh us down. However, when we remember that these tribulations are part of the great plan of happiness, it helps us to see them as opportunities to grow and learn. Sometimes it may seem that we are boxers in the ring trying to defend ourselves and we need a private eye, like Matt Shade, to see what is going on. Sometimes we need a personal crisis to reinforce in our minds what we really value and cherish. A common misunderstanding among members of the Church is that if we strive with all our might to live the commandments, nothing bad will happen to us. We may believe if we are married in the temple, our marriage will automatically be Heaven on Earth. We also believe if we live the Word of Wisdom, we will never get sick. However, the truth is that bad things may happen to the best of people. Sometimes bad things happen because not everyone on Earth believe in God and they have free will and may use that gift to hurt others.  Yet other challenges come as a natural result of mortality and the World we live in. We are mortals with bodies that will age and may experience infirmary or become injured. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6

The consequence of good and bad actions will come, but they do not always come immediately, and they may not even come in this life. Nonetheless, as mortals, we try to assign fault for every situation. Often, we judge ourselves harshly, concluding that problems occur because of something we did wrong or because we failed to do something to prevent them. Yet, sometimes trials may come to us regardless of any conscious action on our part. If we blame ourselves for things that are not our fault, we make a bad situation worse by seeing ourselves as bad people who deserve bad things. Some people know that by using social engineering, they can convince you that every bad thing in life that happens to your is your fault. This is a tool they use to manipulate you and set you up to take the fall for something big. The goal is to lower yourself esteem and get you to accept fault for everything that happens to you so they can mark you and make you a target. It is difficult to judge our level of responsibility for problems that we face. In these cases, it may be unproductive to try to establish blame because it may cause us to lose focus on the very reason for the trial. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6

We unconsciously shape who we are by the thoughts we produce. No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we tolerate it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God, and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the educations tat we come here to acquire. Trials give us opportunities to show the Lord and ourselves that we will be faithful. We can choose to feel sorry for ourselves. Many people limit themselves to achieve more because of the boundaries they have set for themselves. It is difficult for some of us to grasp the comprehensive photo of accomplishing the dreams we desire. We cannot exploit opportunities without taking risks. Similarly, we cannot take risks without motivating thoughts. When we are miserable with ourselves, we cannot succeed at our work or anything else. Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything intelligent in this World. We can use adversity as a stepping-stone to grow closer to things of eternal world. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6

Let us—all of us—have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. The challenges and decisions before us are aspects of life that determines our destiny. In order to make the correct decisions, courage is needed—the courage to say no when we should, the courage to say yes when that is appropriate, and the courage to do the right thing because it is right. As we continue to center our mind and heart in the Lord, he will help us have a rich and full life no matter what happens in the World around us. The traditional family is under heavy attack. We do not know that things were worse in the times of Sodom and Gomorrah. We see similar conditions today. They prevail all across the World. Our Heavenly Father must shake his head at us as he looks down upon his wayward sons and daughters. However, the church is in wonderful condition. It will grow and strengthen. It is our opportunity and our challenge to continue in this great undertaking, the future of which we can scarcely imagine. We have a choice. We can wring our hands and be consumed with concern for the future or choose to use the counsel the Lord has given to live with peace and happiness in a World where people are becoming awash with evil. If we choose to concentrate on the dark side, this is what we will see. Be strong. Live the gospel faithfully even if others around us do not live it at all. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6

We love God. God has given us heart and our health to every calling. With admiration and encouragement for everyone who will need to remain steadfast in these latter day, we will one day find ourselves called upon to defend our faith or perhaps even endure some personal abuse simply because we believe in God. Projecting confidence helps us gain credibility, makes a good lasting first impression, allows us to deal with pressure and enables us to meet personal and professional challenges directly. Most people never fulfill their human promise and potential because they remain perpetually helpless children overwhelmed by a sense of inferiority. The feeling of being okay does not imply that the person has risen above all one’s faults and emotional problems. It merely implies that one refuses to be paralyzed by them. We must believe in ourselves. We have to believe in our capacity and in our capacity to do good, to make some contribution to the society of which we are apart of and to grow and develop. We have to believe and know that with principle we can make a difference in this World. If we keep faith, keep trust, and have the right attitude, we are grateful, and will see God open up new doors. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6