Monday, February 9, 2009

Hope in Tribulation

Our bishop gave an excellent talk yesterday. There are a lot of people really struggling in our ward, probably in every ward, in every city, in every nation, times right now are hard. He reminded us of the scripture "Adam fell that man might be and men are that they might have joy." It's a short scripture but it has a lot of meaning. He said that because of the fall we naturally experience sorrows and pain but Heavenly Father intended for us to have joy in spite of the other hardships that we face. He out lined 5 steps to increase our joy in hard times:

1. Attend the temple
D&C 109:22 "And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them; "

I think that it is a beautiful blessing to have the promise of angels to have charge over us, if we are true to covenants that we have made in the temple.




2. Be grateful
D&C 59:20-21 "And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.
And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.

I think that we can usually spot the silver lining even in the clouds, especially if you have lived any amount of time in the pacific northwest, being grateful for even what seem to be the smallest blessings will help us be happy.

3. Serve others
Forget yourself and your problems and reach out ot someone who has even less than you do. This always works for me.

4. Take the longview
We are sometimes limited in our perspective. We should pray to see things from God's view. We know that the things that we experience here will really be just a small moment compared to eternity.

5. Stay close to family and friends
Its not good to isolate ourselves in hard times thinking that we may spare our family and friends from what we are going through. I isolation just makes it easier for the adversary to work on us and keep us from the true source of joy Jesus Christ our Savior.

These were all really good things for me to think about and to remember. Today in my scripture study I found a couple other things that I would like to share.

1 Nephi 7:12 "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him. "

All things are in the Lords power. We must be faithful, I know that there is happiness in being faithful.

D&C 31:9 "Be patient in afflictions, revile not against those that revile. Govern your house in meekness, and be steadfast. "

meek
1. Showing patience and humility; gentle.
2. Easily imposed on; submissive.

Having patience in afflictions is one that I still struggle with, but I am working on it. The other reminder that I like is to be meek, another one that I am working on. I know that things in my household will run smoother the closer that I get to mastering these things.

The last thing that I want to share is a qhote from C.S Lewis "God knows quite well how hard we find it to love Him more than anyone or anything else, and He won't be angry with us as long as we are trying. And He will help us" (The Quotable Lewis, 409)

God our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ know us perfectly, its important to remember this, they understand all of our motivations and understand perfectly why we do the things that we do. They are perfectly loving and understanding. I am so grateful to know this.

No comments: