Letting God Prevail as We Face Trials

Image

woman looking out a window

In this issue, Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles writes about Job and the traumatic, life-altering challenges he faced even though he was a good person. One of the key lessons of the book of Job is that his trust in God helped carry him until the Lord’s healing came. Elder Renlund testifies, “Jesus Christ loves to restore what we cannot restore, heal wounds we cannot heal, fix what is irreparably broken, and compensate for any unfairness we have endured” (page 7).

Among those who most need this promised help are survivors of sexual assault. In our professional work with survivors in therapy, we often encounter unfortunate situations where someone has been hurt either because of abuse of power and coercion or because of incorrect assumptions or poor understanding about agency, respect, and consent in physical affection and sexual intimacy.

As the Savior heals and offers survivors hope, we too can offer support, encouragement, and compassion to those who suffer the injustice of sexual assault. In this issue we provide two articles that can help:

On page 12, we share important principles for healthy relationships based on a gospel foundation.
On page 16, we answer questions about sexual assault and provide hope and help for victims.

Because we have seen the pain and trauma associated with assault, we pray that a time will come when no one is subjected to unwanted sexual contact of any form. This will come about as God’s children let His will prevail in their lives and relationships.

Melissa K. Goates-Jones and Benjamin M. Ogles

Department of Psychology

Brigham Young University