As another year fades into history, we can't help but wonder, "What will the New Year bring?"

      The future is always somewhat uncertain. But it doesn't have to be unsettling.Even though we may not know what our tomorrows will bring, we can have the assurance that all is well.

      "All is well" in a world of wickedness and turmoil? In a world of sickness and sadness? How can that be?

      Some years ago, a woman was told by her doctor that she probably had a malignant tumor. The news was devastating. For her the future looked bleak. It was a dark night in her life. She had four small children who needed her. A biopsy of the suspicious growth was taken on a Friday; the results would be known on Monday. On Sunday, a fast was held for the woman and many friends and neighbors met at her home to bring comfort and petition the Lord in her behalf.

      After all the guests had left, she was alone in the room with her husband. He held her in his arms. Tears streamed down their faces, and hearts were broken and spirits were contrite. No words were spoken, but in those lonely, sorrowful moments came the sweet assurance that whether the tumor was malignant or not, all would be well. Peace had come to her soul.

      An uncertain future? Indeed. But it was a future she could face, not with a heavy-laden heart but with a calm spirit. She had reached out to the hand of the Lord in her adversity and she knew that by walking with Him, she could face whatever lay ahead. Although she did not know if the affliction would be taken from her, she felt the sun in her life would shine again. She was given the balm that she needed for her troubled heart.

      It is easier to face the future if we face it with faith and not fear.

      "Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?" William Clayton wrote as he penned the words to the hymn, "Come, Come Ye Saints." "Tis not so; all is right." (Hymns, No. 30.)

      The central message of that powerful hymn, made famous the world over by the Tabernacle Choir, is so applicable to us today:

      "Our God will never us forsake."

      In this life of testing, we may have much affliction and sorrow, but all can be well with us if we put our trust in our Heavenly Father and keep His commandments.

      President Ezra Taft Benson has said, "It is fitting and proper that Christmas and the beginning of the new year should be a time for us to reexamine our lives and ideals." (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 72.)

      It is well that we check up on ourselves.

      President George Albert Smith in his conference addresses often spoke of staying on the Lord's side of the line. Typical of his counsel was what he said in his opening address of the April 1950 general conference just a year before he died: "Nobody is secure unless they are on the Lord's side of the line. All temptation and evil is on the devil's side."

      The future doesn't look so uncertain if we face it from the Lord's side of the line.

      As the chimes peal in the New Year and 1992 fades into the pages of history, we need to take inventory of ourselves: "Which side of the line are we on? Where do we stand?"

      If we're on the Lord's side, the promise given in an 1831 revelation to Joseph Smith will certainly pertain to us:

      "But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come." (D&C 59:23.) And with that promise, our afflictions in this life are "but a small moment." (See D&C 121:7.)

      However, if we find ourselves on the wrong side of the line, the words of the First Presidency in its 1985 Christmas message are so comforting:

      "To those burdened and sorrowing with guilt, we offer hope. Your Redeemer loves you with a perfect love. He died to pay for the sins of all who truly repent and follow the course He prescribed. . . . Accept the healing of spirit that He alone can give."

      Yes, even though we live in a troubled world, where "hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men" (See Hymns No. 214), peace, nevertheless, can come to our souls if we truly follow the Master and live His teachings.

      As we enter the New Year - a time of resolution - may we find peace in our lives and may we with assurance and conviction know that, indeed, "All is well."