Elder Dale G. Renlund
The Message
Elder Renlund taught that life’s immediate problems can become our “cold oatmeal.” He told of a heart-transplant patient who had nearly died but, once he was recovering, became upset because his oatmeal wasn’t hot and his milk wasn’t cold. For a moment, the small frustration in front of him overshadowed the extraordinary miracle he had just experienced.
We can do the same thing. Today’s problems can become so large in our minds that we lose sight of what the Lord has already done and what He has promised to do.
Elder Renlund invited us to remember God’s goodness and mercy and trust His promises. Our hope does not depend on perfect circumstances; it rests on Jesus Christ and His faithfulness. God’s promises are for us too and there is no asterisk excluding us.
Start the Conversation
Read the summary of the message and the Try This at Home ideas with your family. Then say:“Let’s choose one way we can remember what the Lord has already done for us when we’re facing our own ‘cold oatmeal.”
Try This at Home
Read the summary of the message and the Try This at Home ideas with your family. Then say: “Let’s choose one way we can remember what the Lord has already done for us when we’re facing our own ‘cold oatmeal.”
Choose one idea your family would like to try this week or choose your own.
Name the Cold Oatmeal
When something frustrating happens this week, someone can gently ask, “Is this cold oatmeal?” Don’t dismiss the problem. Acknowledge that it’s difficult, then ask: “What else is true?”
Remember One Thing
Have each family member remember one time they felt helped, strengthened, comforted, guided, or blessed by the Lord. Tell the stories to one another.
Look for the Bigger Picture
When someone has a difficult day, name the problem and then name three things that are still good or hopeful. The goal isn’t to pretend the problem doesn’t matter. It’s to keep the problem from becoming the whole picture.
Erase the Asterisk
Elder Renlund’s sister once felt God’s promised blessings applied to everyone except her. Have each person think of one promise of God they sometimes have trouble believing applies personally to them. Then imagine erasing the asterisk.
Keep a Promise in Sight
Choose one promise from the scriptures that your family particularly needs. Put the reference on the refrigerator and read it during the week, or simply repeat it to one another when someone needs encouragement.
Find It in the Scriptures
Read Moroni 10:3. Moroni asks us to remember how merciful the Lord has been throughout history. Choose one Book of Mormon story that shows the Lord’s mercy. Then have each person think of one example of the Lord’s goodness or mercy they have seen in their own life or family. He protected and strengthened people during periods of war, persecution, captivity, and suffering. Most importantly, Jesus Christ came to the Nephites after His Resurrection, ministered to them personally, healed their sick and afflicted, blessed their children, taught them, prayed for them, and established His gospel among them. Ask: What has the Lord done for us that we don’t want to forget?
Choose Your Own
Choose another part of Elder Renlund’s message your family would like to live together.
Choose Your Own
When a problem starts taking over your attention, don’t tell yourself that it isn’t important. Instead, first say: “This is hard.” Then deliberately widen the picture: “What else is true?” Perhaps you’re still loved. Someone has helped you before. You’ve survived something difficult before. A prayer was answered differently than expected. There is still something you can do. Or you can remember a promise from the Lord that you are choosing to trust.
The problem remains real. It just isn’t allowed to become the whole picture.
Check Back In
At the end of the week, talk as a family about what you noticed. What was your “cold oatmeal”? Did remembering past blessings change how you faced a present problem? Was it difficult to see the bigger picture while you were upset? Did asking “What else is true?” change anything? Did you recognize a promise from the Lord that felt more personal to you? Did your experience help you understand why Elder Renlund asks us to remember what the Lord has already done and trust what He has promised?
No grading. No guilt. Just notice what happened.
