Hey guys, it's been a bit of a trying weekend to say in the least. I don't really want to recount a whole lot of it yet but just know that I sure feel like the Lord is refining me. And that is really what I feel like talking about. I'm fine, I'm not feeling like going home or anything I'm just a bit shaken, but not stirred :).
So when stuff started hitting the fan I read back on some of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon and D&C mostly because that is where I know people with hard trials are found. I think my personal favorite story is the one about Bro. Joseph in the Liberty jail. His first cry out to the Lord is just so..... raw, so pained. I sometimes feel like I understand just a tiny hint of his pain. But that's not the best part of course. I love the Lord's response and the awesome promises he makes:
D&C 121:
7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high;thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
11 And they who do charge thee with transgression, their hope shall be blasted, and their prospects shall melt away as the hoarfrost melteth before the burning rays of the rising sun;
29 All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be revealed and set forth upon all who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
33 How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it upstream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.
D&C 122:
9 Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.
And there are so many more. The promises from God to those who bear affliction patiently are almost unimaginable. I also love Joesph's response once his mind had been enlightened by heaven's view. He says in D&C 127:2
2 And as for the perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life; and for what cause it seems mysterious, unless I was ordained from before the foundation of the world for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it. Judge ye for yourselves. God knoweth all these things, whether it be good or bad. But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has become a second nature tome; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in tribulation; for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it.
So I admonish you all to consider the blessings of going through trials. I've recently started doing something, and I'm not sure I would recommend it, but I think it helps me a lot. I try to thank God for my trials, as I try to take them as opportunists to grow. I'm not sure whether it's smart or not really but God has given another promise that I really can't ignore:
19 And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.
How's that for a promise? That's where I get my twisted reasoning.
So yeah, that's kinda my thought train this week. I know it doesn't tell you much about my week but that's all you get! Haha, have a good one everyone!
-Um no exercito de Deus
Elder Teela
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