The Stand Strong Podcast

A closer look at:
Elder Suares October 2021 General Conference talk “The Savior's Abiding Compassion"
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/14soares?lang=eng

• Recounting the story of Simon and the unnamed woman referred to as a sinner.
• Simon had a "holier than thou" attitude.  This leads to unjust judging.  And we are in risk of being this way.
• Christ shows compassion to all.  We are invited to follow His example and become more like Him to be qualified to make righteous judgements.
• The attitudes of Simon the Pharisee are ones we need to watch out for.
• Woman who is a sinner is unnamed and her sins are unnamed as well --helping us see ourselves as in her shoes.  
• The Pharisee we know more about including his attitudes that were spelled out.  We can watch for these attitudes in our own conduct.

Story about moving and learning about a couple of brothers that smoked weed and didn’t attend church very often.  At a dance a few months later I met these boys and had so much fun  during the song “Jump” by Van Halen.  It’s now a favorite song.

Story about another ward and stake where I learned about another young man.  My friend described him as  fun and nice. I later found out that he smoked weed and didn’t go to church very often.

• What a difference it made to my attitude to have these two friends give such an opposite view of two very similar young men.

Quote by Elder Soares that Jesus’ compassionate acts were an expression of His pure love for God and not from a list of expectation. 

• My own list of acts like ministering visits and service.  
• Christ can see all facets of our situations.  And that he works with us compassionately over time.  Keep this in mind.  He works with us over time.

How this relates to our home with children with mental illness:  We will become more sensitive to people’s needs.  

• Try to see children as who they can become

Quote by Elder Soares that our actions need to be coming from a genuine interest and from love.

• It’s important that our actions are coming from love, genuine interest and compassion.  This will create whole new experiences for us.
• We still have a long way to go. 
• Sit at Jesus feet pleading for mercy and not fixating at other’s imperfections.  This will give us a creative energy and mindset 

Final thoughts:  We need to qualify ourselves to make righteous judgments and we do that through looking compassionately at others and to see them as the Savior would see them ...as  best we can.

Physical health, especially our gut health, impacts our brain function and moods.  Do you wish you had more energy?  Or that you weren't so moody?  Many of us struggle at times to care for ourselves when we feel like our time and energy needs to go towards our suffering child.  In this episode of Stand Strong you'll learn some of the best news about your mood and that simple strategies will make big a difference.

Daughter who works with children with autism and her immediate unrestricted love for them.

God is Almighty and loves us, His children 100%.

Unconditional love is possible for God and we strive to love more because it feels good.  

October 2021 General Conference talk quotes with valuable insights into God's love.

This story is a snippet into my life focused primarily on mental health challenges and first experiencing depression as a teenager.