I've had a lot on my mind lately that I didn't include in my last post.

Last Sunday we had an amazing Sacrament meeting. A young couple in our ward was 5 months pregnant with their second child when they discovered major complications with the pregnancy/baby. I was unaware of this, but the husband spoke in Sacrament and shared some of their experiences over the few weeks prior. While I'm unclear on the particulars, through intense fasting and prayer, they felt they needed to terminate the pregnancy. They had burried their little baby two days before. His humble testimony was so moving, I've found myself reflecting on something he said several times since. During the deliberation process he said they were first praying that the Lord would make things "easy" on them by taking the baby. He shared that he and his wife were not at that time given the answer they were praying for, but realized that they were missing the point of this trial they were "blessed" with and that the Lord wanted them to make their own decision. Once they made their decision and presented it to the Lord, peace and comfort flooded in.

While it's in no way a new concept, it was reinforced to me once again that the purpose of prayer is not to go to the Lord and ask Him to fix our problems. What we are given during the journey of our individual struggles is an opportunity to seek paths that will bring us closer to the Spirit and bless us with personal, sacred, *relationship building* experiences with our Father in Heaven through prayer.

Later that evening news of Pres. Hinkley's passing allowed for another personal testimony-building moment. I have not felt sadness per se, but gratitude for the knowledge that our Lord has a plan and that He truly is at the helm. I am glad that our dear Prophet has been reunited with his sweetheart and is lonely no more. The beautiful simplicity of gospel truths, ie Eternal Marriage and families, is astounding.