Will Ye Go Away Also?

I've been frustrated with some aspects of the gospel culture. Not the gospel, but the culture. My husband and I asked to be released from our callings as soon as our home we are selling went under contract. That was hard, and some people were unhappy with us. I felt like I needed a few weeks to get my feet back under me, to get enough sleep, and to figure out where I am in this whole church thing. 

Sister Carole M. Stephens gave a talk tonight in the Women's Session of General Conference and spoke plentifully about the Savior. Here are some truth bombs I learned tonight. 

*Jesus is at the heart of the plan

*Being a witness of Christ is an action item for His disciples

*We must have a better understanding of the doctrine of Christ

*Hope is found in Jesus Christ.

*Complete healing WILL COME through Jesus Christ for He is the Master Healer.

I felt inspired to re-read the New Testament and re-read those precious stories of my Savior's life and to strive to get to know Him better than I know Him now. 

A few weeks ago I talked with my husband about my struggles with church. I told him I would NEVER give up the gospel because I love it so, and I love Jesus, and I LOVE the blessings and covenants and ordinances and promises I receive and will receive through my membership. But it really has been a struggle lately for me to get to church. We talked about it and soon after our talk, I attended Time Out for Women in Logan, UT. I wrote this post about my experience there and why I created Miss. Broken Disciple in the first place! 

Ultimately, I realized that I could still be a good disciple of Christ even if my confidence in church was not 100%. Going through dark times doesn't mean you won't ever find the light again. I realized that even broken disciples of Christ can make all the difference. 

In John 6:66-68 is one of my favorite stories of Christ. My sister shared it with our family when she came home from her mission, and spoke of her own experiences in darkness and confusion of what church meant to her. It came to my mind tonight as I listened to the Women's Session of General Conference. 

66. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 

67. Then Jesus said unto the twelve, Will ye go away also? 

68. Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 

To whom would I go? Christ is my ONLY option. He is there for me, and when other pieces of the gospel feel broken to me, I have my testimony of Christ. And because of my testimony of Christ, I believe in this gospel and in turn in HIS church. 

"Lord, to whom shall we go?" He is the only option for us all, we all need Him, and He is there waiting, with his arms outstretched, waiting to pull us into a great big bear hug.