Strong and Courageous

Suzanne Burnett
1 min readAug 6, 2024

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"It’s a little girl!"
In spite of the midnight rush to the hospital, my husband beamed as he shared the news.
Turning our teary attention to the little person laying on my stomach, we were both taken by surprise as she lifted her head up and looked at us with bright, alert eyes.
What on earth? That’s unusual newborn behavior.
And it just kept going. Within minutes of holding and watching our little girl, we were both impressed by a feeling of her strength and purpose. "This is a girl on a mission," my husband commented. "She needs a strong name."
After much inter-family debate, a name was chosen that means power and strength.
Last fall, President Russell M. Nelson shared these words, applicable to our baby girl and to all of us:
"...your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ believe in you. You were sent to earth now because God knew you could be strong and courageous. And God needs strong and courageous sons and daughters on earth now.”
"You have not been sent here to fail. You have been sent to earth to succeed —and to help others succeed. As you follow Jesus Christ, you will have all the strength and courage you need to face opposition in this hazardous world. I promise you that."
What a promise from a prophet of God!
Welcome to earth, seventh daughter and thirteenth child. We are excited to see your life story unfold as you grow, a strong and courageous Daughter of God.

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Suzanne Burnett

Mother of thirteen children and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shares spiritual insights learned through parenting and marriage.