Fasten Your Seatbelt (No. 3)

From his talk Overcome the World and Find Rest

Part of the President Nelson Series

All blue quotes by President Russell M. Nelson (unless otherwise noted).

---

Do Something

First President Nelson:

Before the Savior submitted Himself to the agony of Gethsemane and Calvary, He declared to His Apostles, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Subsequently, Jesus entreated each of us to do the same when He said, “I will that ye should overcome the world.”

~Scripture quotes from John 16:33 and D&C 64:2, respectively.

President Nelson highlights an essential insight into Christ’s mindset and attitude. He points us to Christ’s model of how to handle hard things. I am taking great liberty here and loosely paraphrasing the Savior, but can you imagine Him putting his arm around you like a loving Brother as He says to you:

“Yes, difficulty happens – that’s a guaranteed and necessary part of this life, but take heart! I am rooting for you. I want you to succeed. Be upbeat. Don’t let adversity keep you down or define who you are. Follow the example I purposely left you from my own life. I suffered heartache, misfortune, rejection and grief, yet I tackled it and rose above it all. I showed you how to walk your best path. I dearly want you to conquer hard things for your well-being, growth, strength, and happiness.”

I love my daughter’s necklace, which says, “I can do hard things.” (I think I gave it to her.)

In Other Words

Let’s take a closer look at some of those important keywords from President Nelson’s quote above.

tribulation: adversity, grief, heartache, misery, misfortune, vexation, worry

overcome: bridle, tame, master, conquer, defeat, outsmart, outlast, rise above, terminate the influence of,

the world: popular society, the public, interactions with people, the environment around you, cultural norms, worldly values, the pursuit of status, sin, temptations, aggression, traditions, negative people, negative culture, dishonesty, oppression, antagonists, etc.

Overcome is an action word. It does not mean, “Don’t let it bother you anymore. Or just accept it. Or look the other way.” Instead, It means do something proactive.

• Do something to change the outcome.
• Do something to strengthen yourself.
• Work on your mindset and rise above them.
• Bring about the changes necessary to make things better.
• Counter what is wrong.

If I could rephrase John 16:33 and D&C 64:2 in a meaningful way, it would go something like this: “Among a negative people and culture, you will experience setbacks and even failure, but be of good cheer. I have outsmarted and outlasted them all, and so can you.”

Which words would you use to fit John 16:33 to you? “In this ________, you will experience ________, but be of good cheer. I have ________ the ________.

Through Christ and prayer – may you find the strength to be equal to or greater than the hard things you face.

---

For teaching helps – please see “5 Highlights for “Overcome the World and Find Rest” by President Nelson.