Broken Vessels

This past conference, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave a powerful talk titled "Like a Broken Vessel." He addressed his talk to those people who suffer from mental illness or emotional disorders—slight or severe, brief or persistent. I can remember crying as I listened to that talk, and some of the things he said are engraved in my memory. 

I've been told frequently that happiness is a choice. I believe that's true, but my eternal question is "How? How do I choose to be happy?" While I was pondering that question, I remembered Elder Holland's talk, and the advice that he had offered: 

• Faithfully pursue time-tested devotional practices (prayer, scripture study, church attendance, etc.)
• Seek the counsel of key holders (bishops, stake presidents, church leaders)
• Ask for and cherish priesthood blessings 
• Take the sacrament every week
• Hold fast to the Atonement of Jesus Christ

He also offered this promise that has comforted me:

"Trust in God. Hold on in His love. Know that one day the dawn will break brightly and all shadows of mortality will flee. Though we may feel we are 'like a broken vessel,' as the Psalmist says, we must remember, that vessel is in the hands of the divine potter" (Like a Broken Vessel; emphasis added). 

I haven't figured out perfectly how to choose to be happy, but I am working on it. I am grateful for the understanding talk that Elder Holland gave in conference, where he acknowledge that he had even "once terrifyingly saw [depression] in myself . . . I kept functioning and kept working, but even after all these years I continue to feel a deep sympathy for others more chronically or more deeply afflicted with such gloom than I was." 

Understanding is there—understanding from an apostle of the Lord, and understanding from the Lord Himself. He is the ultimate physician, and we are in His hands. I know that as I do the things on Elder Holland's list, my life seems a little brighter; I find the energy to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Those promises are there, just as Elder Deiter F Uchtdorf has said in another brilliant talk, 

"Please understand that what you see and experience now is not what forever will be. You will not feel loneliness, sorrow, pain, or discouragement forever. We have the faithful promise of God that He will neither forget nor forsake those who incline their hearts to Him. Have hope and faith in that promise" (You Matter to Him).