Trails are a daily and constant thing in our lives. They are meant to test our faith and at the same time strengthen our faith. Joseph Smith told the twelve on one occasion: You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and (said he) God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God.” Even though we understand the purpose of trails and tests and hardships and with the pure knowledge may say to the Lord test me I want to pass. It’s still hard to go through. One of my trials has been weighing on me lately. I’ve been asking “why?” a lot. Why me? Why this? Why?
As I’ve been searching the scriptures, both modern and ancient, I came across a parable that I haven’t really thought of since my primary days. It’s found in Matthew 7:24-25, which reads: “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” We need to have a rock to stand on when our rains and floods and winds come. So we need to have a strong testimony of the Lord to withstand our trails to make it through them, to earn that inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God! When I read that I think, “I want a bedrock testimony! I want to be immovable when my rains and floods and winds come.” So how can I develop a bedrock testimony? What is necessary for a bedrock testimony?
Joseph Smith answered those questions in the Lectures of Faith. He said that there are 3 requirements for us to have true faith:
1- The idea that he (Heavenly Father) actually exists.
2- A correct idea of his character, perfections and attributes.
3- An actual knowledge that the course of life which we are pursuing is according to the Lord’s will.
The first one, “the idea that Heavenly Father actually exists” is something I’ve always been blessed to know. I had great parents and family and primary teachers to testify and teach me of this truth. So it’s the next two I’ve choosen to focus on.
The second one is having a correct idea of his character, perfections and attributes. I want to focus on a certain part of our Heavenly Fathers character because it’s something that has stood out to me and helped strengthen me in these last few months. That is His infinite love for us and He knows us personally. I think it’s safe to say that all of us at some point in time have asked him “Are you really there?” We know he has the power to give you a baby, why doesn’t he? We know he can heal this sickness, why doesn’t he? We know he can seal us to a husband or wife as an eternal family, but why can’t we find that someone? We know he’s given certain talents or commandments, but why doesn’t he let us fulfill them? That word why keeps popping up. I know I can’t answer these questions for you, but I know the Lord has answered some of mine and I want to share that knowledge with you that you may see what I see, that maybe just maybe it’ll help you bear your burdens a little longer with more faith and hope. I want to talk to you about tender mercies. Could it be that the Lord is saying “No, not now” to us so He can bless us with the opportunity to help someone else come to the knowledge that there is a God and he does love and know them? The Lord has nicely pointed this out in my life quite a few times… I wonder when I’m going to get it? A few weeks ago, when I was asking why, was one of those experiences for me. I was having a hard time understanding why, why me, why this trail, when the Lord brought two people into my life with two different trails that I was able to help them because of what I knew. I was able to testify that the Lord knew who they were and he cared very, very deeply for them. He wanted them to know this and take comfort in it and to come unto him. If my trail had not been there I know that I never would have been there to testify of this. I would have missed that opportunity to bear my testimony. For one of the first times in my life I thanked the Lord for a trail in my life.
Another tender mercy happened last week in this ward. I’m not even sure the two people involved even realized it, but a sister came to church for the first time in months because she was wondering if Heavenly Father really cared. She knows he has the power to soften the heart of her husband but she was wondering why he hadn’t. She had need the lesson Sister Lawrence gave last week in Relief Society on finding joy in your life. The Lord was showing that sister that he was mindful of her and he loved her enough to have a lesson just for her. Another tender mercy that came out of a trail I’m sure he didn’t think anyone would gain from, happened a few weeks ago when I called my brother in law, who has gone through divorce, and I asked him how I could help a friend through a divorce. He was able to tell me some amazing ideas that I never would have thought of to help this friend of mine. I hope he knows that in many ways I’m thankful for that trail of his. It not only was he able to give me advice but because of that trail he met and married my best friend and introduced me to my husband.
Are you seeing how the Lord can change our trails into blessings? In Matthew 11:28-30 it reads: Come unto me, all ya 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.
It’s through moving our eyes from the thorns to the rose that we realize the tender mercies and the blessings. As you can see that through looking at trails a different way and noticing those tender mercies the Lord makes your burdens lighter. My trails are still hard. I still ask why. BUT I know there’s a reason. Once again a few weeks ago as I was asking why and struggling with my relationship with the Lord, he strengthened me. I woke up from a restless night with the words “good will come of this” echoing in my head. I remember in my weakness saying whatever. I can’t see any good coming of this. I’ve done everything that I can. It’s a righteous desire, why can’t you bless me with it!!! And all that came to mind was good will come of this. I don’t know if the Lord is done showing me the good yet, but I know I see the good already, in fact I might even say bring it on, show me some more good.
I’ve been reading Divine Signatures by Gerald N Lund, which by the way was an inspired birthday gift from my mom. In it Brother Lund quotes Elder Richard G. Scott saying, “Write down in a secure place the important things you learn from the spirit. You will find that as you write down precious impressions, often more will come. Also the knowledge you gain will be available throughout your life. Always, day or night, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, seek to recognize and respond to the direction of the Spirit.” I want to testify of the truth of this statement, as I was writing this talk I was flooded with experiences where the Holy Ghost testified to me that the Lord loves me and knows who I am. President Henry B Eyring once taught that when he had followed this council and asked himself “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today? He noticed that I quote, “I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. I know the Lord is mindful of each of us.
Brother Lund shares a story I wish to share with you to demonstrate that knowledge. He was presiding at a stake conference in California and he noticed a Hispanic family in the congregation. It was a Grandma, a Grandpa, a mother, a father and a young boy. The love the Grandma and young boy had for each other was what caught his eye. As usual he had asked the stake presidency to speak followed by some testimonies from a couple of sisters in the stake. That morning the meeting hadn’t gone as long as it usually had and they were running 5 minutes ahead. So just before the stake president stood to close the meeting Elder Lund asked him to have another testimony and pointed out the grandmother from the congregation. As she was called, I quote Elder Lund now, “There was a moment of shock, followed by momentary confusion, but she stood and came to the stand. When she came to the pulpit, her first words were: ‘Well, I suppose it is my fault that I am up here.” That startled all of us a little. She then explained, ‘As my family and I came into the chapel this morning, I said to my husband, ‘I wonder if they will call people out of the audience to bear their testimony this morning.’ Then with irritation I added, ‘Have you noticed that when they do that, they never call on Hispanics? Why is that, do you suppose? Do they think we can’t speak English, or that we don’t have strong enough testimonies? Or maybe they just don’t think about us in that way.’ Then, very sheepishly, she added, ‘I guess it serves me right, because here I am.’” Elder Lund goes on to say, “The Lord knew the heart of this good woman; He knew how she felt. Even the fact that we had extra time was a bit unusual…. I felt a sudden rush of gladness that Heavenly Father had called my attention to this woman and put the thought into my mind to call her up.” We never know. We just never know what’s going on. A few weeks ago when Sister Julie Beck came to BYU-I, I learned something invaluable she said to us basically how dare we assume that the person we are talking to doesn’t have a need. I’ve started to realize that yes every one of us has trails but why can’t we help each other through those trails? We can help recognize a tender mercy, we can be that tender mercy, and we can testify of our tender mercies.
I would like to talk about that third requirement to have true faith it’s having an actual knowledge that the course of life which we are pursuing is according to the Lord’s will. If we want to see the tender mercies of the Lord we need to make sure we are living our lives according to his will!
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