Hola a todos! I hope that this last week has been great for each of you. I also hope that you enjoyed general conference! It is indeed a very special privilege to live in an age guided by living prophets and apostles. I know that as we proactively seek out and follow their council, we will feel more of the spirit in our daily lives and we will see blessings. 

     This past week was a good one! It was a really fast week. I had the opportunity to be in various cities across Maryland and Pennsylvania with missionaries, and I learned a lot from each of them. 

     As mentioned earlier, I hope that each of you had the opportunity to watch general conference. If you have missed any of the sessions or happened to fall asleep for any of the talks, I invite you to go back through and listen to all of them. There you will find guidance for your life concerning what it is the Lord would have you do. I wish to briefly highlight one of my favorite quotes from the entire conference: "You will never be happier than you are grateful." Stated in the Saturday evening session, this quote resonated with me because throughout the conference I had noticed that a number of speakers had given instruction regarding personal happiness. And oh how we need it. We live in a fallen world where sin, temptation, trials, sicknesses, and an onslaught of emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental challenges abound. In a world so discouraging, it can be difficult to find the silver lining in anything, but with the Savior's help I know we can. We learn a powerful lesson from the Book of Mormon. In the almost ultimate destruction of the Nephite people in the early chapters of 3 Nephi, we learn of great suffering. However, in chapter 10, verse 10, "And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer." Isn't that a dramatic turnaround? Their loved ones were still gone. Their cities were still in ruin. How is it that they found any reason to give thanksgiving? It is because of Jesus Christ. He came and He suffered and died so that people like you and me can have the strength to give thanksgiving when our own lives seem to be in ruin. He stands ready to comfort us, to give us that joy, as we do our best to see that silver lining. There always is one. I would invite you to begin keeping a gratitude journal, where you write down at least 3 things you are grateful for each and every day. I promise you that as you do this, you will find more joy. As your capacity to be grateful grows, so will your capacity to find happiness. 

     Elder Blackburn