President Henry B. Eyring: ‘Tested, Proved and Polished’ @ 190th Semiannual General Conference

President Henry B. Eyring speaks during the Sunday morning session of the 190th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Oct. 4, 2020.
Summary points:
God’s purpose in the Creation of this world was “to give His children the opportunity to prove themselves able and willing to choose the right when it is hard.”
Unshakable faith is required to change one’s nature and become more like God.
Heavenly Father provided a Savior and the power of individual agency to help individuals overcome the trials of this world and return unto Him.
Talk summary:
God’s purpose in the Creation of this world was “to give His children the opportunity to prove themselves able and willing to choose the right when it is hard.” By so doing, each person would have the opportunity to change their natures to become more like Him and “He knew that would require unshakable faith in Him.”
Because Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love all, they want all to return to Them and become more like Them. But considering the trials and difficulties of this world, “You might reasonably wonder why a loving and all-powerful God allows our mortal test to be so hard.”
The Lord knows that for one to live in His presence in families forever, one must grow in spiritual cleanliness and stature. To make that possible, “Heavenly Father gave us a Savior and the power to choose for ourselves by faith to keep His commandments and to repent and so come unto Him.”
At the center of Heavenly Father’s plan is the opportunity for “our becoming ever more like His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. In all things, the Savior’s example is our best guide.”
He, too, had need to prove Himself and thus “endured for all of Heavenly Father’s children, paying the price for all our sins.” By suffering for all mortality, the Savior “knows how to succor you in whatever tests you face.”
Amidst the trials of mortal life, “the way to come unto Him is to feast upon His words, to exercise faith unto repentance, to choose to be baptized and confirmed by His authorized servant, and then to keep your covenants with God.”
The greatest blessing - a change in nature to become more like Him - will come only “when we prove ourselves faithful to our covenants during our trials” and when we “notice the tribulation of others and try to help.” In lifting the burdens of others, even a little, “Our backs are strengthened and we sense a light in the darkness.”