Ever had a challenge that felt like a mountain—one you couldn’t possibly climb over or get around?

I imagine we all have. I know I have.

Why do we compare a challenge to a mountain? Why not a roadblock or a speed bump or a dead end?

Think about mountains. They test us, try us, stretch us. At an extreme, they can break us down or even make us come to a frustrating halt. But that’s only part of the story, and here’s why a mountain is so appropriate to describe the very real challenges we all face: even while they try us and stretch us, mountains also inspire us. They stir our souls.  They channel our resolve and refine our faith. And with each courageous step, they show us that we are limitless—that we can reach heights we never imagined possible.

As we confront a mountain, we eventually discover that we have what it takes to reach the finish line in this race known as mortality. To read more, click the button below.

And when one of those rugged mountains suddenly rises up in an otherwise even landscape, any thought of making it to the end of the race can seem like the least of our concerns.

Mountains can be all kinds of things. A serious illness. A failed relationship. Sudden, unexpected, or prolonged unemployment. A crisis of faith. An unjust accusation. Profound loneliness. A serious career roadblock. A financial reversal.

And consider the friends we’ve come to know in the scriptures. Abraham made his way up a literal mountain with his only son, Isaac, facing a heartbreakingly impossible task. Moses, charged with leading the children of Israel, descended a mountain with tablets in hand, only to find a golden calf. Peter darted from place to place, desperately trying to stay out of view as he watched his Savior endure trial and execution. Sariah followed a husband who routed her from her home, led her into the wilderness, and loaded her onto a ship for an unknown destination, all while her two oldest sons frenetically worked to destroy it all.

And Joseph Smith . . . where do we even start?

No, we’re not the only ones who face mountains.

Why are there mountains, anyway?

Simply put, they are an essential part of the plan of salvation. You and I are firmly planted on the covenant path, only to find we must often struggle up steep inclines and will occasionally (or sometimes more often) find discouraging obstacles blocking our way.

At those times, it can be tempting to think, Is this really worth it?

Yes, it is worth it. It’s worth everything.

At those times, we might also be driven to think, I can’t see any way around this. I can’t get past . . . I might as well give up now.

To that, the Lord says, “Yes, you can get through it. You just need to decide you will and believe that you can.”

Elder Horacio A. Tenorio says that these challenges—these mountains—are not placed in our path to overcome us, but instead for us to overcome. Instead of letting them master us, we are to master them. And we reap the reward for doing so, he says—every time we overcome a challenge, every time we scale a mountain in our path, “we grow in experience, in self-assuredness, and in faith” ("Teachings of a Loving Father," Ensign, May 1990).           

Each time I stand face to face with my mountain, I like to remember what Jesus told His disciples: “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20).

If I have faith, nothing will be impossible to me. Not even moving a mountain of monumental proportions. Not even clearing a way through the choppy waters of an ominous sea, just as Moses did for the children of Israel. And the same applies to you.

As I face my mountain, pleading as the father of the afflicted boy did for the Lord to help my unbelief, something occurs to me that might help you, too: Maybe the Lord put this mountain in my path to show me that I could move it.

As I plead with Him to help my unbelief, maybe He is pleading with me.

He knows I can do it.

More important, He needs me to know I can do it.

And maybe knowing that I can do it is every bit as hard as the actual moving of the mountain.

You can almost count on your faith being challenged when you stand at the base of a mountain that is blocking your way. And sometimes you will almost certainly be afraid. At those times, remember that fear is the adversary’s greatest weapon against you. There might be times when you’ve moved a mountain and you expect the rest of the way to be sure, only to be confronted by another mountain. Bigger and more menacing than the one you just moved. Or maybe by an endless sea of water. At those times, sink your teeth into your fear. Resist the temptation to panic. And whatever you do, don’t give up.

Remember this: you might have to find an unusual route around or through or over that mountain—one you had never before considered. So what? Remember Moses. No one had ever crossed the Red Sea the way he did. Whatever you find in your path, forge ahead. 

The Lord wants you to know that you can move that mountain. And every other mountain. And that you can walk through the Red Sea on dry land.

As you walk the covenant path, you’ll find that the mountains you encounter will not always move as quickly as you want them to. They won’t always move in the way you want them to. But as you exercise faith, you will always have access to godly power, the power that will enable you in His due time to move every mountain in your life.

In your extremities, remember—to paraphrase the Psalmist—that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He embraces those whose spirits are crushed (see Psalms 34:18). And just as He helped Moses find a way through the Red Sea, He will help you and me find a way through or over or around our mountains as well.

He has been with you all along. He will never abandon you.

Never lose hope.