Most of us know someone who would say, 'If you want to be my friend, you'll have to accept my values.' A true friend doesn't ask us to choose between the gospel and his or her friendship. ... A true friend strengthens us to stay on the strait and narrow path.

Let us not give up on the Lord. His blessings are eternal, not temporary.

Never make someone have to choose between your ways and the Lord's ways. And always make sure that you're making it easier to live God's commandments for those who are by your side and who are your friends.

Does this mean we will always understand our challenges? Won't all of us, sometime, have reason to ask, 'O God, where art thou?' Yes! When a spouse dies, a companion will wonder. When financial hardship befalls a family, a father will ask. When children wander from the path, a mother and father will cry out in sorrow. Yes, 'weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.' Then, in the dawn of our increased faith and understanding, we arise and choose to wait upon the Lord, saying, 'Thy will be done.'

Through the Savior's Atonement and by following these basic patterns of faithfulness, we receive "power from on high" to face the challenges of life. We need this divine power today more than ever.

True friends don't hold us back spiritually or pull us down when we're trying to rise and progress. True friends protect us. True friends help us be better than we would be on our own.

How we live our religion is far more important than what we may say about our religion.