I love General Conference; my cup is always filled with their inspired words. Elder Brook P. Hales' address was entitled, "Mortality Works!" When I heard that title, I initially scoffed, thinking, "Was he crazy?" (I know, scoffing at an Area Seventy isn't cool!) I had just been visiting my adopted family in Florida who had evacuated due to Hurricane Melvin, and I was heartbroken for an aunt who lost everything dear to her in that same storm. Then, seeing the devastation in my mom's home state of North Carolina, I found myself approaching his talk with a mortal, rather than a spiritual, perspective.
As I truly listened to his inspired words, however, my eternal eyes and heart opened. Elder Hales started with a story about an “older sister” whom he was assigned to visit as a home teacher. He explained her health struggles and a lifetime of chronic pain. Divorced at 32 with four young children to raise, she remarried at 50, only to lose her second husband at 66. She lived 26 more years as a widow but remained a faithful covenant-keeper. She served in her temple, dedicated herself to genealogy, and collected and wrote family histories. Despite all she faced, she was known for her cheerful countenance and gracious personality. A few months after her passing, one of her sons shared an experience he had in the temple. By the power of the Holy Ghost, he learned that his mother had a message for him. Without audible words or vision, he felt her unmistakable message: “I want you to know that mortality works. I now understand why everything happened as it did—and it’s all OK.”
We have all faced dark moments and despair, so to hear the words, “Mortality works,” is a remarkable message. Elder Hales taught that mortality was designed by a wise and perfect Heavenly Father who did not create us to fail. His plan allows us to rise above mortal struggles. Elder Hales quoted Moses 1:39, “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” He explained that to be beneficiaries of the Lord’s work, we must expect to be schooled and taught and to pass through the refiner’s fire, sometimes to our utter limits. Avoiding challenges would prevent us from becoming what God designed. So, we shouldn’t be surprised when hard times come. These moments help us learn true charity and patience, and we must bear up under our difficulties.
Elder Hales added that when we feel distraught or overwhelmed, it helps to remember Lehi’s counsel to his son Jacob, “Thou hast suffered afflictions and much sorrow… nevertheless… (God) shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain.” He reminded us that while this life is a testing ground and dark clouds will sometimes hang over us, Mosiah 23:22 offers reassurance: “Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in (The Lord) the same shall be lifted up at the last day.”
He then shared his experiences during what he called his “High School years,” which had profoundly affected him. His testimony was powerful: “I bear personal witness that the Lord can strengthen us and bear us up in whatever difficulties we are called upon to experience during our sojourn in this vale of tears.” Reflecting on Paul’s “thorn in his side,” he recalled the Lord’s assurance: “My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Elder Hales also shared about his own mother, whose life offered a final example that “mortality works.” She had faced challenges from childhood, battling polio and lifelong discomfort in her left leg, along with difficult financial and physical circumstances. Still, she remained faithful to her covenants and served her family, neighbors, and ward. During her last years, she suffered from dementia and eventually passed away alone. Yet, he had a vivid dream of her after her passing. In his office, she appeared to him with a radiance he couldn’t fully describe—a beauty that was spiritually stunning. He felt her love for him, and he knew she was healed, happy, and ready for her glorious resurrection. He knew then, for certain, that mortality worked for her, and it would for all of us.
He referenced a quote by the Prophet Joseph Smith: “The spirits of the just are exalted to a greater and more glorious work… (in) the world of spirits.” “They are not far from us and know and understand our thoughts, feelings, and emotions.” Elder Hales concluded with his testimony, “As we receive the ordinances of the gospel, enter covenants with God, keep those covenants, repent, serve others, and endure to the end, we can have assurance and complete trust in the Lord that mortality works! I testify of Jesus Christ and that our glorious future with our Heavenly Father is made possible by the grace and Atonement of the Savior. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
Like many of you, I have faced dark times where I wondered if it all was worth it. But I testify that as I strive to keep my covenants and serve others, I feel that our Father’s plan is perfect, and mortality truly works! I am so grateful to know the worth of my soul to our Heavenly Father. As we continue to trust Him and His perfect plan, we, too, shall have joy and a glorious resurrection!
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