There are 3 ways I have found Satan can get us to forget our God given gifts.

“I honor women who are not mothers. They know that motherhood is but one of the realms of womankind. The virtue and intelligence of women are uniquely applicable to other realms as well...” - Russell M. Nelson - Woman

“We need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices.” - Russell M. Nelson - A Plea to my Sisters

He knows something we don’t know, we must really be capable of so much more than we can even imagine if he is speaking to us like that. :) I guess with raising 9 girls, he might know a little somethin' about helping girls and women to develop and discover who they really are and who they can become.

I will end with this question from Elder Robert D Hales, “Are we seeking to find our gifts?”

Elder David A. Bendar says “It was the load. It was the load that provided the traction that enabled my friend to get unstuck, to get back on the road, to press forward, and to return to his family.”

Similarly, as we carry a heavier load during challenging periods in our lives, it could provide the traction we need to get out of the closet and get unstuck to accelerate healing after betrayal.

Elder Bednar then said “The unique burdens in each of our lives help us to rely upon the merits, mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah (see 2 Nephi 2:8). I testify and promise the Savior will help us to bear up our burdens with ease (see Mosiah 24:15). As we are yoked with Him through sacred covenants and receive the enabling power of His Atonement in our lives, we increasingly will seek to understand and live according to His will. We also will pray for the strength to learn from, change, or accept our circumstances rather than praying relentlessly for God to change our circumstances according to our will. We will become agents who act rather than objects that are acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:14). We will be blessed with spiritual traction.”

Something I was so grateful to have learned during group therapy sessions to help me “see things as they really are” is to use things called grounding techniques in a Trauma Kit. (look up grounding techniques, you won't regret it)

Grounding tools and techniques can also be a distraction, to get us out of the stories the adversary is telling us and away from upsetting thoughts, memories, or feelings. Because grounding focuses on being present in the moment, grounding can also be considered mindfulness.

Elder Sean Douglas, of the Seventy in this past General Conference taught that “doubt is replaced with faith as we build our foundation on Christ. Then, “when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, … it shall have no power … to drag [us] down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which [we] are built, which is a sure foundation.” 

These “grounding techniques” will need to be built on our "sure foundation," Jesus Christ in order to have healing powers.

The Prophet of the Lord has been helping us to #hearHim? BECAUSE He says “Our Father knows that when we are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, what will help us the very most is to hear His Son.”

The solution was creating trauma informed grounding kits for ourselves to engage our God given body's 5 senses.

Listen to hear what you can include in your Trauma Kit.

After the D day in 2018 all I wanted to do was to leave. I wanted to move out and go somewhere else. My safe place was the Temple, I was going there so often I remember I was running away from my family to the temple.

One day however, it was like the Lord was holding me back, I can remember that feeling so vividly, like it was yesterday. He was stopping me from coming to His house to be with Him, because He didn’t want me to run away from my family. Although my place was not holy yet...I was reminded that... “Anywhere you are where the Spirit is present can be a holy place.” - Sis. Elaine S Dalton

I decided I would invite Him to the gym and listen to General Conference talks, instead of the music the instructor pushed at me.

Do you have a special sacred place in your home? a special place where you can connect with God on a regular basis to feel safe, heal and get stronger? 

Take time to create that safe place to connect with Christ.

We're back with the internet! 

I love this quote from Sis. Michelle Rosenthall - “Trauma creates change you DON'T choose. Healing is about creating change you DO choose.”

How blessed we are to have a Captain Moroni in our day, his name is President Russell M Nelson, he knows the attacks we have been getting in our homes and families. In this last general conference, like Moroni, he has instructed us to fortify our foundations and create boundaries around our time with the Lord, that can help to strengthen us.

He pleaded with us to “make time for the Lord! Make your own spiritual foundation firm and able to stand the test of time by doing those things that allow the Holy Ghost to be with you always.” To me this means, we need to create a boundary around our time with the Lord, similar to how the Nephites built fences on top of fences.

Silent Treatment to your advantage as Radio Silence. When we want to yell and we get "stuped up" (have a stupor of thought) or we choose not to yell, we are using emotional intelligence!

In an Article in the Liahona it says - "It is possible that satan can at least determine our susceptibility to a particular temptation from our words and actions which reveal our thoughts." - Lawrence R Peterson Jr. 

Then Pres James E Faust has said, “He cannot know our thoughts unless we speak them.”

This makes complete sense to me! in military operations, radio silence is usually a command issued from above, to prevent a signal from being intercepted by an enemy.

Remember, Reacting is purely emotional, but responding is emotional intelligence! Use “radio silence” to your advantage over the adversary instead of voicing the fiery darts. 

You don’t need a man, unless you want one to help you with your goals!

One of my goals that drives all my decisions is the option of immortality and eternal life in the highest kingdom of glory with the ones I love. YES!!!! It’s more than ok for me to have goals that big and you can too! (I am not perfect and still think I can hit those goals because of Jesus) I have learned that when I die I will get the privilege and honor to live with my family, Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father forever and get some additional sweet perks or I can also cancel at anytime because the choice is mine.

With this Betrayal I am more susceptible to the stories and lies the adversary throws at me, making this trauma experience feel even more intense!

Satan has tried everything! Tell me if these 11 lies or stories he makes up sound familiar to you, maybe it’s just me but I doubt it. 

James E Faust quoted shakespeare who wrote, '“The prince of darkness is a gentleman” (King Lear, act 3, sc. 4, line 143), and “the devil can cite Scripture for his purpose” (The Merchant of Venice, act 1, sc. 3, line 95). As the great deceiver, Lucifer has marvelous powers of deception."

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."(Genesis 3:15)

By serving others with the power of my unique gifts, I build confidence in myself because I know I have with the Lord's help been able to CRUSH satan’s head, because although he bruised or crushed my heal and makes it super uncomfortable to walk or fight, I can know that I have crushed his head by serving someone, because I served God!

“God cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other.” - Elder Jeffrey R Holland 

Have you ever spoken ill about someone and felt amazing or have you ever put someone else on a pedestal and felt awesome afterward? NOPE!

I love this from Elder S. Gifford Nielsen - “...I detect a third, implied commandment: to love thyself. Have you ever thought of loving yourself as a commandment? Can we truly love God and love His children if we don’t love ourselves?” Our Heavenly Father wants us to love ourselves—not to become prideful or self-centered, but to see ourselves as He sees us: we are His cherished children. When this truth sinks deep into our hearts, our love for God grows. ...The more we recognize our divine worth, the better we understand this divine truth: that God has sent us right here, right now, at this momentous time in history, so that we can do the greatest possible good with the talents and gifts we have. This is our time!"

YES!!!

5 quick ways to lift our souls through loving ourselves.

The beauty is, you don’t need to wait for anyone else to start doing any of these things, I give you permission to do them all, YOU CAN BE YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND! Just imagine how that will feel.

What are the battles we fight outside in the world anyways?

Because time doesn’t stand still after D day, although it can feel like it, peeps eventually have to go back to the real world especially because we have chosen to keep our problems a secret so no one can show empathy for something we haven’t shared with them. For time’s sake, I am only going to share 3 places but focus on 1. But if you want me to talk about each one separately then shoot me a DM on instagram @LindaSWinegar and I’d love to help you process those scenarios.

I didn’t notice them as fiery darts or torture from the adversary at first, but I have been awakened remember? Which one had the most fiery darts for you?

Remember “he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about.” (D&C 76:29)