However, like the terrible quote people give credit to Einstein for, which is wrong. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This is not accurate but people keep quoting it. In the same way, God will not keep trying us the same way over and over expecting different results. We have Agency, which He gave us. He is also Omnipotent. He knows what we will do before we do it. He has our books of life open in front of him of him like the ultimate choose your own adventure book and He watches as it unfolds in front of Him. If we are not asking what am I supposed to learn from this each time, and learn it then we will not grow from that trial. It is as easy as that, it is the parable of the talents. What are we doing with our talents. Laura here has created a place to share her testimony and thoughts and has invited us to read and comment. Great use of a talent that God has given her. But remember is not insanity that we are running from we are turning to God and asking what am I supposed to learn from this.

I want to change your way of thinking on this. Faith is not a flimsy wish, you are correct. I think that our testimonies are the Firm Foundation, or at least they should be. Faith is what keeps us moving towards the Eternal Perspective, when the dark times hit, over and over. I had a stroke at 34, it rocked my families testimonies and is still shaking things daily. My stroke was like 9.0 Earthquake. Where the daily things now 18 years later are aftershocks. The aftershocks are getting less intense, but they are still there. My Testimony was already shaken from before my stroke and the only thing I had after was my thoughts. My memories were shot, I did not know if my marriage was going to last, my son was diagnosed with Autism several months before and wanted nothing to do with me. It was my faith in a Gos I did not know that got me on to my knees and several nurses to help me back into bed before I could recognize who I was even praying too. Sometimes I did not know why I was praying, but did it basically from muscle memory. Eventually I was able to find that Testimony that was buried deep into my memories and start building on it again. Do, it is my opinion that faith is not the foundation, but a tool to build and add to the foundation. Your testimony should be your foundation and as you allow God to prevail in your life your faith with make that foundation a firm foundation. Thank you for having this medium to share your thoughts and to all others to share and feel.

@Carola Valdivia I want to encourage you to think differently. God does not fill our lamps, we fill our lamps to come to meet God. That is part of our responsibility in this earth to know where we get the oil and to know how to fill our lamps, and then to do it. Just like the parable, it is our job to have our lamps filled and have extra oil to await that day the BrideGroom comes. Oil is not just from going to Church, or just attending the Temple, or just studying the Book of Mormon. It is about serving those around us, caring for ALL, loving ALL, being Christlike in all that we do, and the big three from above. This is a test and we know the answers, but are we the ones with everything ready or are we the ones asking for oil because we did not want to do it ourselves? Last thought, as we are gathering our oil and filling our lamps, are we looking down on those around us and saying “You should have done the work?” And scoffing at them or are we gathering them along as we go to get oil and inviting them to gather, teaching them to gather, and loving them no matter their answer?

I love this concept and in watching all of the Nephi Book of Mormon Stories Videos this morning, I can say that in 1 Nephi 3:7, when Nephi says I will go and do, that means more than just the one time. Going and Doing is life choice and to hear God’s voice, we have to be going and doing His work. That does not mean missionary work all the time, but it does mean doing all that He has commanded and keeping ourselves clean. Some may say that is too hard to do, but the point of daily repentance is to recognize our mistakes and repent of the and not do them again. If they are sins, there is someone to talk to about it. There is counseling. There are addiction classes. There is whatever you need to feel whole again. But taking that step to Go and Do and publicly stating that is the step that only we can take to show our commitment to our Heavenly Father. Nephi went on a journey and you can see as he grew and fell and what he did. Where is your journey taking you? Or are you in control of the sails? Trust in God and He will open doors for you that you cannot imagine.

I don’t think coachable means just but God. All think good come from God, but the coaching might come from someone acting in behalf of Him. If we are not listening and asking one easy but hard question, we may not be being fully coachable. The question to ask is simply “What am I supposed to learn from this?” An easier question to ask, with the same meaning is “What now?”. The answers come and not always in the way we want them to, but they come. Be prepared to accept and welcome the answers and go ahead question them. If you trust the answers are from God, they are easy to accept, Satan can also cause your mind to be foggy so that the answers seem cloud which can cause doubt. Elder Uchtdorf taught us one of the most profound ways to handle this by saying “Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.” —October 2024 General Conference.