A Day to Remember

This morning as I was getting ready for church I was listening to a radio broadcast talking about the events of September 11, 2001.  It brought back a lot of memories from this day ten years ago.  I lived in Riverside, California at the time.  I was teaching school there (2nd grade) and I was getting ready for work.  We didn't have a TV so I was listening to the news on the radio.  I turned it on at a point when everyone knew something terrible was happening, but we didn't yet know the extent of it.  Even after I got to school we didn't have a completely clear picture of what was going on.  We were told that we were not to bring up what was going on unless the children mentioned it, and then we were to reassure the children and try to keep things as normal as possible.  That was one of the hardest days I can ever remember.  Riverside is near Los Angeles and I remember that all of the planes were grounded and the silence was disconcerting.  Ever since I was a little girl I have looked up to the sky when I was in need of comfort.  I guess it's because I know Heavenly Father is out there and it's my connection to Him.  I felt a deep sense of sorrow for those who had lost their lives and a sense of vulnerability because my source of comfort, looking at the sky, now brought visions of terror to me.  I felt a little lost.
But I wasn't lost.  Heavenly Father was still there.  He spoke words of comfort through his prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley (which you can read here), and I felt peace. 
As I was pondering this during sacrament meeting today I was reminded of the time that Elder Merril J. Bateman visited my mission.  He spoke to us about the Atonement.  He told us that in the Garden of Gethsemane the Savior didn't suffer for us all at once, but one by one.  During that difficult night he went through all of our sorrows and pains, not just for our own sins we committed, but every pain, sickness, sorrow, every bad thing that has ever happened to us.  Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ we don't have to be lost and we are never alone.  There is always One who can perfectly understand what we are going through.  I guess what I am trying to say is that He can take our sorrow for this day and turn it into hope and forgiveness and peace through His Atonement.  Here is a message that explains it from the perspective of someone who lived through this tragedy.
A few days ago the Washington Post published the statements of religious leaders from around the world about their thoughts for this tenth anniversary of September 11.  Here is what President Thomas S. Monson said.