This book.
This little red, leather-bound book holds within its pages the evidence of a broken family.
From the date of its first entry in November 2016, this little red diary has been filled with the anguish of a bleeding and broken heart.
A tragic story.
I recently read through those heart-wrenching entries for the first time since I put my pen to paper all those years ago.
As I read the diary from cover to cover, I cried as I reflected on the anguish of former days.
“How does one survive so much pain?” I had asked repeatedly throughout the entries.
Upon reading the final words and closing the book, I knew that I had found my answer, for within the pages of that blood-red book are not only signs of personal agony and pain, but signs of redemption and healing through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
He who heals and restores broken hearts and broken homes was in those pages all along.
He was in my story.
On the cover of the diary is a quote by Marjorie Pay Hinckley:
“Everything you are learning now is preparing you for something else.”
After all these years, I can see it now:
The refiner’s fire is a gift.
Adversity is a blessing.
And Jesus Christ willingly walks with us through it all.
I believe that with my whole heart.
So whatever it is that you are going through today, friends, never forget that life is beautiful, God is good, and happy endings are possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ when we allow Him to be part of our story. 
Salt Leaven and Light 
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