The Morning Comes: Finding Christ in the Crucible

Brothers and sisters, Builders of the Kingdom, have you ever felt like Grace Taylor Freeman Smith, wrestling with your identity, unsure of your place? It’s a poignant image from this week’s This Is Kingdom episode—a small illustration of a larger truth: we are all in process, all becoming. Sometimes that becoming feels like a relentless storm, a trial that threatens to break us. But even in the midst of that storm, the promise remains: the morning comes, and the shadows flee away.

We’ve all seen it—the brother or sister who, facing unexpected hardship, turns away from the light. The despair becomes a wall, impenetrable and isolating. And yet, we also witness those who, tested and tried, choose a different path. They turn *toward* God, seeking solace and strength in His embrace. It’s a choice, a moment of reckoning that defines who we become.

The episode, drawing from President Emily Belle Freeman’s General Conference address, “Best Days and Worst Days,” speaks directly to this crucial distinction. It's a reminder that mortality *is* a proving ground—a place designed for growth, and growth necessitates both the peaks of joy and the valleys of sorrow. As Hollis so eloquently observed, we see this firsthand in the field, in humanitarian work, in the everyday moments of life. The hard days are inevitable. The question is, how will we respond?

Think of Ammon, standing before King Lamoni’s army at the Waters of Sebus. Imagine the fear, the uncertainty, the overwhelming sense of being outnumbered and outmatched. Yet, he stood firm, bearing testimony with courage and conviction. He knew that even in that seemingly hopeless situation, God was present, and that his response would shape not only his own destiny but the destiny of those around him. He understood that sometimes, the most profound growth comes from facing our greatest fears.

Like Samuel the Lamanite climbing the walls of Jerusalem, we too are called to stand as witnesses, even when the world around us seems chaotic and uncertain. We are called to be digital striplings, armed with the five smooth stones of faith, hope, charity, repentance, and knowledge, ready to face whatever challenges lie ahead.

And let's not forget the power of the Charity Flywheel. Your engagement here—your comments, your shares, your support—directly fuels gospel advertising in places like Ghana, spreading the message of hope and redemption to those who desperately need it. It's a testament to the power of collective action, a modern-day manifestation of the Lord’s command to “seek ye diligently and lend of your substance, and of your time, and of your strength” (D&C 40:11).

Outback Jack reminds us, as he often does, that God’s timing is not our timing. He sees the larger picture, the long view. He allows us to walk through the shadows so that we may appreciate the light. He uses our hardest days to refine us, to prepare us for greater things.

The challenge is simple: when life gets hard, choose to turn toward God. Ask Him what He wants to teach you through your current season. Trust that He can turn even your worst days into something meaningful. And remember, as Grace Taylor Freeman Smith discovered in New York City, sometimes, the best days are born from the midst of the most unexpected circumstances.

Let us, like Ammon, like Samuel, choose courage. Let us be Builders, not Destroyers. Let us gather Israel, now.

“And if so be that the people of the land are offended, or if they murmur against thy teachings, or if they are stirred up by the wickedness of the people, then thou shalt go unto the land unto the people who are scattered forth; and thou shalt declare unto them the things which have been spoken by the mouth of the Lord” (Moroni 10:4-5).