CHAPTER 22
To those who have ever wondered why bad things happen to good people,
or why bad people seem to be so much happier than you are, also take a
moment wonder at how God can use those things for our growth.
1 A life without problems or limitations or challenges--life without
�gopposition in all things,�h as Lehi phrased it--would paradoxically
but in very fact be less rewarding and less ennobling than one which
confronts--even frequently confronts--difficulty and disappointment
and sorrow. As beloved Eve said, were it not for the difficulties
faced in a fallen world, neither she nor Adam nor any of the rest of
us ever would have known �gthe joy of our redemption, and the eternal
life which God giveth unto all the obedient.�h
2 There is no other way in which the Saints can make spiritual
improvement and be prepared for an inheritance in the celestial
kingdom than through tribulation. It is the process by which knowledge
is increased and peace will ultimately be established universally. It
[has] been said that if all our surroundings were peaceful and
prosperous now, we would become indifferent. It would be a condition
that would be all that would be desired by a good many natures; they
would not stretch out after the things of eternity.
3 I remember reading, �gA ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not
what ships are made for.�h I think that applies to our lives. We may
pass through troubled times, but if we constantly seek nothing but
physical security, we�fre probably not doing what we should. We need
to seek the spiritual security of knowing we are doing the Lord�fs
will. Sometimes that will not give us all the physical security we may
desire, but it will give us all we need.
4 In our pursuit of a righteous life, we all experience trials,
disappointments, discouragements, and frustrations. Never-ending
problems seem to be a constant situation. They come to all of us. None
are shielded; none are exempt from problems.
5 Dr. Arthur Wentworth Hewitt suggested some reasons why the good
suffer as well as the wicked: �gFirst: I don�ft know. Second: We may
not be as innocent as we think. Third: �c I believe it is because He
loves us so much more than He loves our happiness. How so? Well, if on
a basis of strict personal return here and now, all the good were
always happy and all the bad suffered disaster (instead of often quite
the reverse), this would be the most subtle damnation of character
imaginable.�h
President Kimball gave this insightful explanation: �gIf pain and
sorrow and total punishment immediately followed the doing of evil, no
soul would repeat a misdeed. If joy and peace and rewards were
instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil--all
would do good and not because of the rightness of doing good. There
would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth
of powers, no free agency. �c There would also be an absence of joy,
success, resurrection, eternal life, and godhood.�h
6 �gNo pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It
ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as
patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all
that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our
characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more
tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God �c
and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we
gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us
more like our Father and Mother in heaven�h (as quoted in �gTragedy or
Destiny,�h p. 6).
7 Some of our struggles involve making decisions, while others are a
result of the decisions we have made. Some of our struggles result
from choices others make that affect our lives. We cannot always
control everything that happens to us in this life, but we can control
how we respond. Many struggles come as problems and pressures that
sometimes cause pain. Others come as temptations, trials, and
tribulations.
8 The criterion of the greatness of a man is how he copes with trials
during his life. Will they cause him to lose faith in himself, his
fellow human beings, and in his God? Or can he rise above even
tragedy, giving the rest of us a glimpse of the courage inherent in
man.
9 Now all this suffering might indeed be unfair if everything ended at
death, but it doesn�ft. Life is not like a one-act play. It has three
acts. We had a past act, when we were in the premortal existence; and
now we have a present act, which is mortality; and we will have a
future act, when we return to God. As Jesus promised, �gIn my
Father�fs house are many mansions.�h We were sent into mortality to be
tested and tried. As the Lord explained to Abraham, �gWe will prove
them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord
their God shall command them.�h
10 Life is eternal. Death does not terminate the existence of man. He
lives on and on. Man, whether good or evil, will be resurrected. His
spirit will be reunited with his body from the grave, and if he has
perfected his life and magnified his God-given opportunities, that
spirit and body will be brought together in a new, fresh, never-ending
immortality.
11 Peace will also be yours under all circumstances if you make Christ
the central figure in your life just as He is the focus, or central
figure, in every nativity scene you see or make. Then, even though you
may not be able to change the circumstances that distress you, your
fears will be replaced by a comforting faith. By trusting Him and by
always trying to obey His commandments, you can almost feel His
presence near to give you courage and comfort and peace.
12 And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall give thee
rest, from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage
wherein thou wast made to serve.
13 Many of you may have severe trials, that your faith may become more
perfect, your confidence be increased, your knowledge of the powers of
heaven be augmented; and this before your redemption takes place. If a
stormy cloud sweep over the horizon �c ; if the cup of bitter
suffering be offered, and you compelled to partake; Satan let loose to
go among you, with all his seductive powers of deceivings and cunning
craftiness; the strong relentless arm of persecution lifted against
you;--then, in that hour, lift up your heads and rejoice that you are
accounted worthy to suffer thus with Jesus, the Saints, and holy
prophets; and know that the period of your redemption has approached.
14 When you have done your very best, you may still experience
disappointments, but you will not be disappointed in yourself. You can
feel certain that the Lord is pleased when you feel the Spirit working
through you.
15 To be cheerful when others are in despair, to keep the faith when
others falter, to be true even when we feel forsaken--all of these are
deeply desired outcomes during the deliberate, divine tutorials which
God gives to us--because He loves us. (See Mosiah 3:19.) These
learning experiences must not be misread as divine indifference.
Instead, such tutorials are a part of the divine unfolding.
16 �gGenius is only the power of making continuous efforts. The line
between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we
pass it; so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it. How
many a man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more
effort, a little more patience would have achieved success? A little
more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed a hopeless
failure may turn into a glorious success. �c There is no defeat except
within, no really insurmountable barrier save one�fs own inherent
weakness of purpose�h (author unknown, Second Encyclopedia, ed. Jacob
M. Brand, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1957, p. 152).
17 He has the power, but it�fs our test. What does the Lord expect of
us with respect to our challenges? He expects us to do all we can do.
He does the rest. Nephi said, �gFor we know that it is by grace that
we are saved, after all we can do.�h We must have the same faith as
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Our God will deliver us from
ridicule and persecution, but if not... our God will deliver us from
sickness and disease, but if not... he will deliver us from
loneliness, depression, or fear, but if not... our God will deliver us
from threats, accusations, and insecurity, but if not... he will
deliver us from death or impairment of loved ones, but if not, ... we
will trust in the Lord.
18 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you,
which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is
named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory,
to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and
grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is
the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love
of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all
the fulness of God.
19 Therefore, be ye as wise as serpents and yet without sin; and I
will order all things for your good, as fast as ye are able to receive
them. Amen.
Younger Elder Brooksby
1-�gThe Peaceable Things of the Kingdom�h by Jeffery R. Holland,
October 1996 General Conference
2-Teachings of Presidents: Lorenzo Snow-Chapter 7: Faithfulness in
Times of Trial: �gFrom the Shadows into the Glorious Sunshine�h
3-What Are You Doing Here? by John H. Groberg, September 1987 Liahona
4-Prayer--Try Again by H. Burke Peterson, December 1981 Liahona
5-Where Do I Make My Stand? by James E. Faust, October 2004 General Conference
6-Looking to the Savior by Adney Y. Komatsu, April 1987 General Conference
7-Strength during Struggles by L. Lionel Kendrick, March 2002 Liahona
8-Refusing Bitterness by Jeffrey Butler, April 1982 Liahona
9-Where Do I Make My Stand? by James E. Faust, October 2004 General Conference
10-Temples and Eternal Marriage by Spencer W. Kimball, October 1980 Liahona
11-Tidings of Great Joy! by the First Presidency, December 1982 Liahona
12-2 Nephi 24:3
13-Teachings of Presidents: Lorenzo Snow-Chapter 7: Faithfulness in
Times of Trial: �gFrom the Shadows into the Glorious Sunshine�h
14-Preach My Gospel, Chapter 1: What Is My Purpose as a Missionary?
15-�gBe of Good Cheer�h by Neal A. Maxwell, October 1982 General Conference
16-Never Give Up by Joseph B. Wirthlin, October 1987 General Conference
17-But If Not... by Dennis E. Simmons, April 2004 General Conference
18-Ephesians 3:13-19
19-D&C 111:11
No comments:
Post a Comment