"Jesus said, 'Without me ye can do nothing.' (John 15:5). I testify that that is God's truth. Christ is everything to us and we are to 'abide' in Him permanently, unyieldingly, steadfastly, forever. For the fruit of the gospel to blossom and bless our lives, we must be firmly attached to Him, the Savior of us all, and to this His Church, which bears His holy name. He is the vine that is our true source of strength and the only source of eternal life. In Him we not only will endure but also will prevail and triumph in this holy cause that will never fail us."
-- ("Abide in Me," Ensign, May 2004, 32)
In my own life I sometimes welcome struggles (although I do not like to admit that) because it helps me to learn and remember that I really cannot do anything without him. The natural man during times of prosperity or calm is often quick to forget that. I believe remembering Him even during the 'good' times with the same reliance upon Him that we had when we were in trouble will take us to a higher level, but often we drop back down and have to being the whole cycle again.
"Those who have felt the touch of the Master's hand somehow cannot explain the change which comes into their lives. There is a desire to live better, to serve faithfully, to walk humbly, and to be more like the Savior. Having received their spiritual eyesight and glimpsed the promises of eternity, they echo the words of the blind man to whom Jesus restored sight: 'One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see'
(John 9:25)."
-- President Thomas S. Monson, "Anxiously Engaged," Ensign, Nov. 2004, 58