One of the truths of life is that no one escapes trials and challenges. Sometimes as I hear about the trials of family and friends, I wonder how they are enduring. I think the answer to that comes from one of the themes found in the scriptures: When we have trials that challenge us beyond what we think we can bear, then we learn that the Lord is the only way we can make it. Our testimonies become much deeper because we know that the Lord did "visit [us] in our afflictions." Notice in the three scriptures below, why we have trials:
THORNS: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
BURDENS: Mosiah
24:14-15 I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders,
that even you cannot feel them upon your backs; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and
that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their
afflictions. ...Yea the Lord did strengthen
them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit
cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.
WEAKNESS: Ether 12:27 And
if men come unto me I will show unto
them their weakness. I give unto men
weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men
that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and
have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
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The purpose of faith is not to change God’s will but to
empower us to act on God’s will. Faith is trust—trust that God sees what we
cannot and that He knows what we do not. Sometimes, trusting our own vision and
judgment is not enough. …
Faith means that we trust not only in God’s wisdom but that
we trust also in His love. It means trusting that God loves us perfectly, that
everything He does—every blessing He gives and every blessing He, for a time,
withholds—is for our eternal happiness.
With this kind of faith, though we may not understand why certain
things happen or why certain prayers go unanswered, we can know that in the end
everything will make sense. …
Until then, we walk by whatever faith we have, seeking
always to increase our faith. Sometimes, this is not an easy quest. Those who
are impatient, uncommitted, or careless may find faith to be elusive. Those who
are easily discouraged or distracted may hardly experience it. Faith comes to
the humble, the diligent, the enduring.
It comes to those who pay the price of faithfulness. …
Joseph Smith, Lectures on Faith
Let us here observe that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.
For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor, and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also ‑‑ counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ ‑‑ requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when these sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God.
For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor, and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also ‑‑ counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ ‑‑ requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when these sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God.
Neal A. Maxwell, All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience,
p.28
An
equally hard but essential doctrine, if we are to understand life itself, is
the reality that since this is a gospel of growth and life is a school of
experience, God, as a loving Father, will stretch our souls at times. The soul
is like a violin string: it makes music only when it is stretched. (Eric
Hoffer.) God will tutor us by trying us because He loves us, not because of
indifference! As already noted, this sort of divine design in our lives clearly
requires the omniscience of God.
Submitting Our Will to
His
Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, Nov. 95, p. 23
As
one’s will is increasingly submissive to the will of God, he can receive
inspiration and revelation so much needed to help meet the trials of life. In the trying and very defining Isaac
episode, faithful Abraham “staggered not...through unbelief.” (Rom. 4:20) Of
that episode, John Taylor observed that “nothing but the spirit of revelation
could have given him this confidence, and sustained him under these peculiar
circumstances.
The
submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to
place on God’s altar. The many other
things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already
given or loaned to us. However, when you
and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up
in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours
to give.
The Purpose of Trials
Quentin L. Cook, Ensign, Nov. 2011
The refiner’s fire is real,
and qualities of character and righteousness that are forged in the furnace of
affliction perfect and purify us and prepare us to meet God. There are many
kinds of challenges. Some give us necessary experiences. Adverse results in
this mortal life are not evidence of lack of faith or of an imperfection in our
Father in Heaven’s overall plan.
Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, Nov. 1987
If you have troubles at home with children who stray, if you suffer financial reverses and emotional strain that threaten your homes and your happiness, if you must face the loss of life or health, may peace be unto your soul. We will not be tempted beyond our ability to withstand. Our detours and disappointments are the straight and narrow path to Him, as we sing in one of our favorite hymns:
If you have troubles at home with children who stray, if you suffer financial reverses and emotional strain that threaten your homes and your happiness, if you must face the loss of life or health, may peace be unto your soul. We will not be tempted beyond our ability to withstand. Our detours and disappointments are the straight and narrow path to Him, as we sing in one of our favorite hymns:
"When
through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be
thy supply. The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume
and thy gold to refine."
If the Saints could realize things as they are when they are called to pass through trials, and to suffer what they call sacrifices, they would acknowledge them to be the greatest blessings that could be bestowed upon them.
Elder
Jeffery R. Holland, October 2013
In striving for some peace and understanding in these difficult
matters, it is crucial to remember that we are living—and chose to live—in a
fallen world where for divine purposes our pursuit of godliness will be tested
and tried again and again.
Of greatest assurance in God’s plan is that a Savior was
promised, a Redeemer, who through our faith in Him would lift us triumphantly
over those tests and trials, even though the cost to do so would be
unfathomable for both the Father who sent Him and the Son who came. It is only
an appreciation of this divine love that will make our own lesser suffering
first bearable, then understandable, and finally redemptive.
George Q. Cannon, Millennial
Star, Saturday, Oct. 3, 1863The Saints should always remember that God sees not as man sees; that he does not willingly afflict his children, and that if he requires them to endure present privation and trial, it is that they may escape greater tribulations which would otherwise inevitably overtake them. If He deprives them of any present blessing, it is that he may bestow upon them greater and more glorious ones by-and-by.
Our Heavenly Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through which we must pass. We know that there are times when we will experience heartbreaking sorrow, when we will grieve, and when we may be tested to our limits. However, such difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us, and to become something different from what we were—better than we were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were, with stronger testimonies than we had before.
This should be our purpose—to persevere and endure, yes, but also to become more spiritually refined as we make our way through sunshine and sorrow. Were it not for challenges to overcome and problems to solve, we would remain much as we are, with little or no progress toward our goal of eternal life. The poet expressed much the same thought in these words:
Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees.
The further sky, the greater length.
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Only the Master
knows the depths of our trials, our pain, and our suffering. He alone offers us
eternal peace in times of adversity. He alone touches our tortured souls with
His comforting words:“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, He is with us. He has promised that this will never change.
Francis M. Lyman, in Conference Report, Oct. 1898, p. 48
We may have a rough road to travel over, as we have had in the past; we may have difficulties and trials, and the world may be measurably arrayed against us, and try to destroy us or do us harm, feeling all the time, no doubt, in their hearts that they are doing the greatest possible good and are anxious for our salvation; but I want to say to you that our Father who dwells in heaven . . . that same great Parent overlooks these affairs, and is guiding and controlling the destinies of this people as He is the destinies of all other people.
The Parable of the Unwise Bee
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