“6: Receive the Savior’s divine empathy.” Mental Health: General Principles (2019)
“The Savior’s Divine Empathy,” Mental Health: General Principles
Receive the Savior’s divine empathy.
Empathy is the ability to sense others’ emotions and understand what they might be thinking or feeling. Empathy is not simply feeling for someone but feeling with them. Because Jesus Christ descended below all things, He has divine empathy and knows how to support us in our trials (see Alma 7:11–12; Doctrine and Covenants 88:6).
When life becomes overwhelming, we may think that God has abandoned us. We can find peace and comfort in the truth that God the Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ, are aware of us and know how to help us through our trials. Believing in Jesus Christ does not mean that mortal challenges will cease to exist, but we do believe that the Lord can give us strength to meet our challenges.
In this video, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland testifies we are not alone in our mortal journey.
Elder Quentin L. Cook taught: “This life is not always easy, nor was it meant to be; it is a time of testing and proving. … At times when we may feel to say, ‘Hope you know, I had a hard time,’ we can be assured that [Jesus Christ] is there and we are safe in His loving arms” (“Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 103, 105).