Image, GIF or video + text layers + stickers + audio → one downloadable / shareable file.
No mediaOriginal audio
Source media
Tap to add an image / GIF / video
Audio
No custom audio. Videos keep their original soundtrack.
Text layers
Each layer has its own font, size, colour & border.
Stickers
Export
Video exports as .mp4 where the browser can write it, otherwise .webm. Images export as .png.
Working area
2 text layers
No mediaOriginal audio
Touch the canvas to select a layer. Drag to move it, the corner dot to resize, the top dot to rotate. Pinch-zoom your browser if you need a closer look.
By Sister Tamara W. Runia First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency
God is shaping us into something only He knows we can become.
I fixing things. If there’s a knot in a shoelace or a necklace, it’s my job to untangle it. I’m also good at stain removal. I see it as a challenge; in fact, some have referred to me as “the stain whisperer.”
It’s human nature to want to fix things—and to become frustrated when something comes along that we cannot fix.
Thirteen years ago our oldest son, Ryan, woke up on a Monday morning, kissed his wife and four young children goodbye, and left for work. A few hours later, he collapsed and died from undetected hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. His heart simply stopped.
The next day was his two-year-old daughter Piper’s birthday. As we lit candles on her cake and began to sing, she was looking for her dad, and I realized this was something I would not be able to fix.
Let’s focus on a scripture that has changed the lens through which I view my life. The setting is a jail cell, where Joseph Smith is pleading with God for a reprieve—for a break from his circumstance. Instead, he was told, “All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.”
I’ve often wondered if the Prophet had any idea when he received this revelation what these words would mean to so many of us now who are also turning to God, pleading for a break.
God’s answer implies that experience is valuable, and I’m learning the only way to get it is to go through it. Can’t we skip over it? Is there some other way? No, there isn’t another way.
It’s like we heard these lessons in a premortal classroom. We studied it there, and we’re living it here, in this laboratory of life. This is where we “put on Christ.”
C. S. Lewis explained, “God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think we want.” But sometimes we’re puzzled when we get what we need, aren’t we? How can our loving Father in Heaven watch as we go through heartbreaking experiences? I’ve wrestled with this, and maybe you have too.
And while I know earth life is about experience, why am I so surprised every time I experience it? Maybe it’s because I grew up hearing things like “If you keep the commandments, you’ll be blessed. Pay your tithing, and the windows of heaven will open. Follow the Word of Wisdom, and you’ll have health and protection.” True promises, right?
So the gospel felt like a big umbrella I could hold over my head to keep the rain from falling on me. But I’ve learned from experience that we’re all going to get rained on. And sometimes we’re going to get pelted!
The gospel isn’t the umbrella; it’s the solid rock we’re standing on during the storm—that “sure foundation … whereon if men build they cannot fall.”
When an angel asked Nephi, “Knowest thou the condescension of God?” he humbly answered, “I know that he th his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.”
God’s has moved me from questions that begin with “why” to reflections that begin, “I know that God s me, so what is supposed to be happening here?”
It is precisely because He s us that we’re having these tempering, refining experiences. God knows, and we are here to learn, that we must become like Him so we can live with Him!
And a godlike life is carved from the very things that make it hard—the gut-wrenching things that happen and the righteous desires that haven’t.
I testify that during those sanctifying experiences, when growth is taking place and God is at work, our stories may not look like success to others. In fact, on the outside it may look like things are sort of unraveling or falling apart, and it will certainly feel that way.
God is shaping us into something only He knows we can become.
Still, like Nephi, I do not know the meaning of all things.
When I spoke at Ryan’s funeral, I looked at his wife, Cari, and their four children with such a heavy heart and said, “I don’t understand why this happened. I don’t. But let me be clear: Not understanding is not the same as not believing.”
I may not understand everything, but I absolutely believe God sees you, s you, and knows your story—a story that is both personal and purposeful!
Your story is personal. So you don’t need to look sideways and ask, “How come my life doesn’t look like theirs?”
And it’s purposeful in that it has meaning. Our suffering means something. It’s not a detour from the path; it gives purpose to our path.
God is intimately aware of your experience and has a for all of it—for each one of us, even if we can’t see it right now.
At Ryan’s funeral, his oldest son, seven-year-old Jaac, shared a Primary talk he and his dad had worked on just two weeks earlier. Jaac said, “I Lego bricks, and when I get a new box, I open it up and lay out all the pieces and follow the instructions. Just like our Heavenly Father has a , and if we follow, it will guide us, and we can build hard things.”
Then Cari asked Jaac, “What would you do if you didn’t have the picture on the box, only the instructions? Would you still stick to the ?”
He answered, “Yes, because you can trust the one who designed it, and it always turns out.”
But what if you had a beautiful story you thought your life was going to tell, and instead you’ve had to surrender that story? That sting is real, and that wound is wide.
It will take your finest faith in Christ to keep putting together the pieces—the ones that make sense but also the ones that don’t.
Consider this: Christ’s work in your life and His for you are bigger than your present story. And He can fix what feels badly broken.
The day before Ryan died, he was set apart as the elders quorum president. That afternoon he visited a neighbor whose wife and children had just left him. When Ryan returned, he asked Cari to write down what he had told this man. Ryan said, “Brother, you have a choice right now, and it’s a big one. You can curse God and blame Him, or you can turn to Him and let Him heal you.”
We all have a choice right now. Let’s choose Christ, who can heal the wounds of this world while carving out room for joy!
God is saying, “Trust me,” and we are learning how to say yes.
With an earned conviction, I witness that this—all of this—is the true and only way we can grow and progress and become like our heavenly parents and Savior.
I don’t pretend to know how it works, but it feels like a sort of divine mending that changes what’s happening to you into something happening for you!
Let me leave this last visual image from a sculpting class my brother Kent took in college. He said:
“Our final assignment was to sculpt a bust of ourselves out of clay. I thought to myself, ‘This is going to be easy enough.’
“We began, and I realized it wasn’t easy at all! When I looked at the piece, the eyes were terrible. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the eyes to look lifelike.
“I observed my classmates and noticed our instructor was helping them. He was very good.
“I, however, didn’t want help. I wanted this to be my piece. I struggled alone for quite a while, until I finally humbled myself and asked for help.
“The instructor came over and deftly started carving; he did it so aggressively and abruptly that it startled me. He dug into the clay much further than I had, and within a few minutes the eyes came to life. It looked so good! There was no way I could have done it.
“As I stepped back and looked at the piece, I could see that it was uniquely me. And yet, without a doubt, a master’s hand had shaped what mine could not.”
My friends, there is sculpting taking place within each of our souls. To invite the Savior to become involved is hard. Our pride gets in the way.
He’ll lovingly chasten us to get our attention, but He waits for an invitation before He can really go to work.
Then He will start carving, sometimes surprising us with how abrupt and aggressive the work feels.
But as time goes on, we will begin to see the work of His hand. God is shaping us into something only He knows we can become.
And one day, when all the suffering and loneliness have ended and our pain is gone, we will be able to step back and look into the mirror of our own soul. Then we will “stand all amazed” and feel to fall at the Savior’s feet and thank Him. We will thank Him for all of it—the molding, the shaping, the pain, and the adversity that have helped us become more like Him.
“For we shall see him as he is,” and “we shall be like him,” I joyfully testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Come to the Lord in His Holy House By Elder Gerrit W. Gong Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Come worship and rejoice with the Lord in the house of the Lord, in doctrine and in your own personal culture.
Welcome to conference!
Why did the workers cross the road? To help the people on the other side.
In a world of commotion, contention, and cares, the Lord invites us to a place of spiritual safety, harmony, and holiness—the house of the Lord.
There He teaches us His plan of happiness. He endows and blesses us. He prepares us to come home.
In our day, the Lord is bringing His holy house and blessings closer to our homes and hearts. Foundational doctrine can deepen our love for the Lord. It can increase our understanding of the and personal culture.
First doctrinal foundation: Heavenly Father’s work and glory is for us to return to Him, d as families, happy and forever.
s are meant to last forever. belonging s a husband, wife, and children, not until death do we part, not until convenience or attraction fade, but by , , and .Consistent spiritual nourishment through , , church attendance, service, etc. blesses and sanctifies our s and s.
Second doctrinal foundation: moral . The morning stars sang for joy. We chose God our Father’s loving plan to by our own experience.Jesus Christ redeems us from sin, physical death, and spiritual separation.
God’s redeeming work is majestic in its sweep and reach. As the Prophet Joseph Smith saw in vision, every person, except a very few, is saved in a kingdom of glory. We can inherit a glorified, paradisiacal earth and live in the highest degree of celestial glory with God our Father and Jesus Christ.
means we choose, directly and indirectly, our s.God will not require a woman or man to be or live in an eternal he or she does not choose.
, faith and ance, and Jesus Christ’s make change and ness possible. As we become new creatures in Jesus Christ, we sweeten our s. service evokes our Savior’s . It softens hearts on both sides of the veil.
We find hope and when we perform ordinances for family members with whom we may earlier have had difficult s. Jesus Christ can help us mend, , move forward. We exclaim: “When I did the work for my family member, my heart softened.” “I could .” “I was freed.” “Anger and bitterness left.” “I felt peace for the first time.” We may even come to desire sealing with those family members.
Rich blessings await. Please “do not procrastinate the day of your ance until the end.” Please do not deliberately delay the spiritual peace and joyful freedom Jesus Christ wants you to have now.
Third doctrinal foundation: When the Holy Spirit of Promise witnesses and confirms the efficacy of ordinances and s, they become binding in time and eternity. In His sacred role as Holy Spirit of Promise, the Holy Ghost “witnesses to the Father that the saving ordinances have been performed properly and that the s associated with them have been kept.”
As we honor our s, the Holy Spirit of Promise seals our s with “efficacy, virtue, [and] force.” They are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
In contrast, we would not expect ordinances and s we do not honor in faith or action, do not choose or desire, or perhaps even disregard or mock to be binding upon us on earth or in heaven.
With this doctrinal foundation, let us consider five elements of personal culture.
First, a dedication is a beginning. We are naturally excited when a is announced, groundbreaking and construction occur, and dedication takes place. Each is a milestone.
But please, while we are grateful our s and everything in them are physically beautiful, let us celebrate and treasure even more the spiritual blessings s bring.
President Dallin H. Oaks exercises all keys on earth, including keys pertaining to s. Next Sunday, I am assigned to dedicate the Miraflores Guatemala City . This year, across the world, we anticipate the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate 21 s and rededicate 1 .
Second, over the years, when s were distant, faithful members d to be in the . Some members could come to the only once or twice in their lives. In some cases, once in a year.
Today, as s come closer in many places, we can manifest the precious spirit of in new ways. We can come to the more often. We can search and bring more family names to bless deceased loved ones. As the seasons of our lives allow, we can regularly serve in the Lord’s house, both as patron and as ordinance worker.
Third, while each uniquely fits its place, culture, and circumstance, everything in each testifies of Jesus Christ. leaders dly love the Lord and focus on patrons and workers. In each , by authority and in the name of the Lord, ordinances and s are truly and faithfully performed and properly recorded. When patrons do their best, our service is acceptable to the Lord.
Fourth, and service include a spirit of . I mention this with great respect and love. On occasion, a few members may think attending the is a right or entitlement rather than a sacred privilege and may be impatient or not understand when assistance comes slowly or is less than they want.
On occasion, some members may feel a is smaller or less ornate than they expected. I once heard, “Elder Gong, we are happy to have a but sorry it is a small .”
I said, “Dear brother, dear sister, ordinances are not big or small. s are not big or small. Please let us never speak of a as big or small, elaborate or plain. Let us always only speak with love and for ‘Holiness to the Lord, the House of the Lord.’”
Please, dear brothers and sisters, wherever we live, let us always be grateful for the gifts of eternity sacred s bring. Look for the miracles. New converts sometimes testify family on the other side of the veil led the missionaries to find and family on this side of the veil so their family could be d.
Some new converts feel alone. But you are part of Heavenly Father’s family. And when you take family names to the , your eternal family extends on both sides of the veil. My father and mother joined our Church as the only members in either of their families. Today, family history and help connect many Gong and Char family generations. Whatever generation you are in the Church, in the chain of your eternal family, please be a strong link.
Fifth, where possible, please consider saving for and buying your own ceremonial clothes—cap or veil, robe, sash, and apron. As we reverently care for and use our own clothes, our children and grandchildren can see we love the Lord and our s.
I know a family of modest means. At their widowed mother’s request, the children saved and purchased their mother her own ceremonial clothes. Their mother loved using her own clothing as she regularly attended the for many years. When their mother passed away, the family honored their mother’s request by burying her in her clothes. Their dear mother was ready to enter eternity prepared for the glorious .
Dear brothers and sisters, come worship and rejoice with the Lord in the house of the Lord, in doctrine and in your own personal culture.
So, why did the workers cross the road? So God and ordinances can protect, bless, and inspire; bring ness, , and peace; and loved ones here and away. May these blessings of eternity be ours in even greater abundance, I pray, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
AI model not loaded. Click "LOAD AI VOICE" to begin.
Kokoro runs locally in your browser after the model is downloaded. Your narration text is not sent to a TTS server by this application. The first model load can take some time because the neural model must be downloaded and cached.
