KELVIN MCKAY FINDLAY

"Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead - a lot of it." // Jeffrey R. Holland December 18 will always have a special place in my heart. December 18, 2015 was the day I graduated my program at West Ridge Academy. I can't believe it has already been one whole year. Not a day goes by that I don't think about the life changing experience I had there and the amazing people I met there. And, today I thought about it a little bit more than normal. I'm so thankful for second chances, help, forgiveness, and love. I'm so thankful for professional therapists who have great hearts, for the amazin g staff at west ridge, for my friends, my family, especially my parents, and a loving Heavenly Father and Savior. Today I'm so thankful for the three dudes in the picture who have taught me more than anyone else. The past year has not been easy and I've had to continually work on everything I learned at rehab. But,

"Behond, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive, and blessed are those who come unto me." (3 Nephi 9:14) // The other night I read  "The Master Healer" by Carole M. Stephens . This  talk explains how "you don't have to experience the sorrow caused by sin, the pain caused by others' actions, or the painful realities of mortality - alone." Reading this talk brought me much needed comfort. Carole M. Stephens talks about how the Savior is the center of the plan of happiness . His Atonement is what has made it possible for us to achieve real joy. It's because of Him that we can experience real joy, regardless of all the crap we go through here on earth. (That isn't really crap at all, because it shapes us into who we are and helps us get closer to being more like Him.) If we want to take full advantage of the joy and comfort that Christ can bring us, we must have a testimony of Him as the bedroc