Well my life and my family's life will definitely be affected by the government shutdown for a time.  And it looks like our trip to Natural Bridges may be changed up a bit because all the National Parks are closed now.  I'm grateful though that in times of uncertainty like this I know I can rely on my faith in God and Christ, our Savior, to carry me and my family through hard times.  We've been carried by His grace before and I know as we continue to do our part, He will continue to do His. And even though it it necessary for us to pass through trial and sorrow on Earth so that we may better understand the good by experience, I am grateful the Lord has blessed us with prophets and apostles on the Earth today to lead and guide us through those trials so that we may be strengthened and uplifted through our hope in Christ.  I'm grateful that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organized in a way that each person is looked after and taken care of. I'm grateful that we have programs within the Church to teach us to be self-reliant and prepared for disasters and uncertainty. I'm especially grateful that my family has been obedient to those things we have been taught by our leaders.  In December, we were asked by our Bishop to live off our food storage for a week and live as if we were in a disaster. We used our food storage, cooked on our Coleman stove, walked around the house with headlamps, and stayed up late into the night playing cards by lantern light and talking with each other. It was a blast and it was cool, too, because we knew that we were prepared and that because we were prepared we didn't have any reason to fear if a real disaster came into our lives because we had been obedient to the counsel of the servants of God.  I am so excited because this weekend, starting Saturday morning at 10 am is General Conference! We get to hear from apostles, the Prophet, and other leaders of the Church who are messengers from God. We have the opportunity to hear God's will for us and what He desires to teach us. Isn't that the coolest thing ever? I think so. The Lord never leaves His children to be alone in fear. He is with us and in His mercy has allowed His prophets and apostles to be on the Earth to help us. He merely asks for a broken heart and a contrite spirit, we only need to be obedient to His guidance and counsel.  As we live with faith in God and in the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which will make all things right in the end, we can have the comfort of knowing that although we pass through trial and sorrow at times on Earth, through our faithfulness we will receive much greater blessings in the Kingdom of God with our family and those we love most. Seriously! How cool is that?