Receive Your New Beginning in Christ

Twenty-five years ago, I lay on a hospital bed preparing to donate bone marrow to my brother Brian. He had been diagnosed with a rare bone marrow cancer, and after months of difficult treatments, a transplant was his best hope.

We learned that a sibling match would significantly improve his chances of survival and lower his risk of graft-versus-host disease, a serious and sometimes fatal complication. Our two other siblings were tested first, but they were not donor matches. I was the last sibling to be tested and we learned that I was a perfect match. 

I remember feeling more than gratitude.  In a deeply personal way, I felt awe and reverence seeing how God had known Brian’s future trial and lovingly arranged the details of our lives so that, when the moment came, a way forward would already be in place.

Before receiving new marrow, Brian had to undergo intense chemotherapy to destroy the diseased marrow inside him. His body was weakened. His immune system was stripped away. Everything familiar had to be cleared out so something new could take root.

But the transplant worked.

His body accepted the new marrow. His strength slowly returned. And in a very real way, Brian was given a new beginning.

Each year our family celebrates June 23rd as his “new birthday.” It marks the day his life was renewed—the day hope replaced fear and healing replaced despair.

Over time, I’ve come to see how powerfully this experience mirrors what the Savior offers each of us spiritually.

Brian could not heal himself. His body could not produce the blood needed to sustain life. No amount of effort or discipline could cure his disease. His only hope was to receive new life through another.

So it is with us.

We cannot cleanse ourselves from sin. We cannot change our fallen nature. We cannot perfect ourselves. No matter how sincere or capable we are, we cannot save ourselves. It is only possible through the Savior Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement.

Just as Brian had to trust the physicians, we must trust the Great Physician. Just as diseased marrow had to be removed, we must be willing to let go of habits, sins, resentments, fears, and patterns of living that weaken our spiritual life. And just as the Lord prepared a way forward for Brian before we ever knew he would need it, He has also prepared a way forward for each of us through His Son.

Elder Patrick Kearon beautifully shares:

"His goodness and mercy and loving-kindness know no bounds. New beginnings are at the heart of the Father’s plan! Fresh starts are the mission of the Son! New dawns, new chapters, and new chances are the simple core of the gospel’s good news!" (Oct 2025)

The Lord has promised:

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26).

We receive this new heart and spirit through His gift of repentance. 

President Russell M. Nelson helps us better understand and appreciate this sacred gift:

“When Jesus asks you and me to ‘repent,’ He is inviting us to change our mind, our knowledge, our spirit—even the way we breathe… Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ…

When we choose to repent, we choose to change! We allow the Savior to transform us into the best version of ourselves. We choose to grow spiritually and receive joy—the joy of redemption in Him. When we choose to repent, we choose to become more like Jesus Christ.”  (April 2019)

I testify that Jesus's love and power to breathe new life into each of us is real. 

In Jesus Christ, there is always hope.

In Jesus Christ, there is always a way forward.

In Jesus Christ, there is always a new beginning.

Love, 

President Spencer Brown