This past weekend and the past few days I have been reflecting on truths I learned at a conference recently. The conference focused on how we can be gathered in Christ. Some points I liked were these:

1. When we invite and allow Christ to participate in our struggles and hardships, we can be with Him! – Peter was against the idea of Christ washing his feet, but when the Savior taught him that He was there for Peter even in the not so beautiful parts of his life (like with his dirty feet), Peter said, “not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”
2. We can find joy as we strive to look for the little miracles in our life! – After receiving blessings or having a spiritual moment, if we do not pause to remember those moments, we can become less aware of the Lord’s hands blessing us. Yesterday was a good example for me. Like many engineering students, I had a tough test, and I left my test feeling a little bummed that I might not have done so well. It was a little more stressful because I had failed my last test in this class. Three things happened that helped me escape my feelings of desperation and sadness. First, one of my classmates and my teacher sympathized with me and told me that I could not give more than my best. Next, when I was in my university’s food court, someone started to play music from the Lord of the Rings. Lastly, a friend, who is also in my class, and my mom gave me words of encouragement and shared their hope with me. My friend shared she was grateful that the sun was shining. She was able to focus on the good in her day! All of these were miracles and were God’s way of showing me he cares. He does this often, and that is one of the things that keeps me going.
3. We can find joy in striving to do God’s will! – D. Todd Christofferson came to BYU on Tuesday to speak and shared about how striving to love God helps with all of God’s other commandments, and I believe this is a true principle. I had a friend who recently shared with me how she changed some of her travel plans because she felt prompted by the Holy Ghost that she would be needed elsewhere. My friend strives to love God and seek out his will for her. These past few days I have felt happier at work because I have had more opportunities to serve or listen to someone. After listening or serving, I feel like I helped make a difference in their life, and I find more hope to face the things I struggle with. The scriptures are also replete with examples of how God’s servants were blessed and experienced joy as they kept God’s commandments.
4. We can have an individual relationship with our Heavenly Parents, the Savior, and the Holy Ghost! – On Sunday I was blessed with the choice opportunity to help with a church service at a Retirement Home. Everyone except for the volunteers who were with me were over 50, and some of the residents could not move enough to go to church even though it was only a few steps away. We were asked to take the church to them by singing a song with them and administering the sacrament to them. Just like we took time to serve each person in the Retirement Home, our Savior takes time for each of us to guide us, comfort us, and help us feel His great love for us. He has said that He will never forget us because we are engraved on the palms of His hands.

These are just a few things I learned, and I feel grateful for the love Jesus Christ has for us and His willingness to teach us truths so that we can find joy even in our struggles.

These are links to some scriptures and speeches I studied from:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/moro/10?lang=eng&id=p1-p7#p1

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/21?lang=eng&id=p13-p16#p13

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/john/13?lang=eng&id=p4-p9#p4