Sister Carole M. Stephens
"I have never had to live through divorce, the pain and insecurity that comes from abandonment, or the responsibility associated with being a single mother. I have not experienced the death of a child, infertility, or same-gender attraction ... I do not completely understand your challenges. But through my personal tests and trials—the ones that have brought me to my knees—I have become well acquainted with the One who does understand, He who was 'acquainted with grief,' who experienced all and understands all.
... I have experienced all of the mortal tests that I just mentioned through the lens of a daughter, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. Our opportunity as covenant-keeping [children] of God is not just to learn from our own challenges; it is to unite in empathy and compassion as we support other members of the family of God in their struggles, as we have covenanted to do.
When we do so, we also come to understand and trust that the Savior knows the difficulties of the way and can guide us through whatever sorrows and disappointments may come. He is true charity, and His love 'endureth forever'—in part through us as we follow Him. As [children] of God and disciples of Jesus Christ, we then 'act according to those sympathies which God has planted' in our hearts."
