I ask this due to feeling that way recently, I have suffered the loss of my dad, brother and mother in the past few years, and though I have 5 wonderful children, my eldest son has several mental disabilities which make his future life unsure, I have great faith in Heavenly Father, and I know he has already seen me through these times, but I have lost some energy and zest for life along the way. I pray to Heavenly Father about it and I do gain strength from this, but still something is missing, hence the feeling that the light has faded a little. if you have felt this way, how did you deal with it.

This is a wonderful section to Donny.com

Yes, I have felt the feeling of fading hope before and I am sure that everyone does from time to time. I do think that as we get older, it is natural to lose some energy, but it seems to me that our perspective should be improved by life’s experiences, by increased wisdom and faith.

Like you, I have gained great strength from prayer, a loving family, hard work and trying to live the Word of Wisdom the best I can. The “light at the end of the tunnel” has brightened for me as I have been greatly blessed with a revitalization of my career and especially for the growth and progress of my family. I fully acknowledge my Father in Heaven, and thank him daily for these blessings.

I believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been a most critical key in keeping this “light” shining bright. The prospect of eternal life in the Kingdom of God with my family, gives me the greatest hope and is a daily motivation for me to do what I can to follow and to serve the Lord. There are some scriptural passages that, I think apply, I suppose the strongest advise given by the Lord is: “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:38 - 39) It seems to me that this means two things:

1) We must genuinely do our best to learn the Lord’s true gospel and live it. He gives the formula as to how to do this in Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” The verses that follow the passage in the previous paragraph are explicit about those who receive the Apostles and Prophets to whom he is speaking: “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.” (Matthew 10:40 - 41) Why do I quote this passage? Because I believe that there are Apostles and Prophets on the earth today and that the true gospel and church has been restored under the direction of the Lord. I believe there is a huge difference between his true gospel and much of what is being taught by the interpretations of even good meaning men in the world today. That is what is meant by the Lord as he emphasized the difference between a “prophet’s reward” and a “righteous man’s reward”. The underlying object of me sharing My Beliefs is an effort to serve the Lord by sharing my conviction of this “true gospel and Church of Jesus Christ which has been restored in these latter days.

We must try to forget ourselves in loving and serving others. This is hard to do, but truly is the source of the greatest happiness here and the promise of the greatest reward in the hereafter. I believe the parable of the sheep and the goats in the 25th Chapter of Matthew tells us specifically how the Lord wants us to do this:

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matthew 25:31 - 40)

I see great hope in a passage in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 9:18: “But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.” (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 9:18) That is my “light at the end of the tunnel”.

Sincerely,

Donny Osmond


See related multimedia presentations