For the sake of posting something, below are a compilation of thoughts and quotes related to how I feel we should act while going through the trials and tribulations that we are all blessed with in our life.
- John 20:24-29, “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
- Moses 5:5-6, “I know not save the Lord commanded me.”
- Alma 32:14-16, “without being brought to know the word”
- How many of us justify disobedience because we have not yet received a testimony or
- Moses 5:5-6, “I know not save the Lord commanded me.”
- Alma 32:14-16, “without being brought to know the word”
- How many of us justify disobedience because we have not yet received a testimony or
knowledge of that which we have been commanded to do?
- Abraham 3:24-25, “And we will prove them here with”
- 2 Nephi 2:11, “For it must needs me, that there is an opposition”
- What kind of Father tests his children with all kinds of difficulty knowing that the failure
- Abraham 3:24-25, “And we will prove them here with”
- 2 Nephi 2:11, “For it must needs me, that there is an opposition”
- What kind of Father tests his children with all kinds of difficulty knowing that the failure
of such tests could mean never being with them again?
- “The myopic and despairing soul – cry and question, “If there is a God, why does He permit suffering?” reflects a basic failure to understand the very nature of life with its components of chastening and suffering. And as for that question, it is not difficult to imagine who originated it, however understandably sincere some are who raise it. The question strikes at the heart of Father’s plan, because it comes from him who rejected that plan! The future duties to be given to some of us in the worlds to come by an omniscient God will require of us an earned sense of esteem as well as proof of our competency. Thus the tests given to us here are given not because God is in doubt as to the outcome, but because we need to grow in order to be able to serve with full effectiveness in the eternity to come. Further, to be untested and unproven is also to be unaware of all that we are. If we are unknowing of our possibilities, with what could we safely be entrusted? Could we in ignorance of our capacities trust ourselves? Could others then be entrusted to us? Thus the relentless love of our Father in heaven is such that in His omniscience, He will not allow the cutting short some of the brief experiences we are having here. To do so would be to deprive us of everlasting experiences and great joy there. What else would an omniscient and loving Father do, even if we plead otherwise? He must at times say no. Furthermore, since there was no exemption from suffering for Christ, how can there be one for us? Do we really want immunity from adversity? Especially when certain kinds of suffering can aid our growth in this life? To deprive ourselves of those experiences, much as we might momentarily like to, would be to deprive ourselves of the outcomes over which we shouted with anticipated joy when this life’s experiences were explained to us long ago in the world before we came here.” Maxwell
- 2 Corinthians 6:2-10, “As sorrowful yet always rejoicing”
- Doctrine and Covenants 127:2, “Deep water is what I am wont to swim in”
- The hardships that we go through are wonderful blessings. For as we go through the “furnace of affliction” we must choose between separating ourselves from our sins or be left behind as the furnace gets hotter and hotter. Through this process in life we are refined and become more as our Savior. Without these tribulations we would remain weak and not develop into our full potential as the plan of salvation has set us out to do. “For thus saith the scripture: Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve.” Brothers and sisters give haste to these words and “cast off your sins and not procrastinate the day of your repentance.” The longer you wait the hotter the furnace gets. “For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And in as much as men do good they shall in no wise lose their reward.”
- “So, the great test of life is to see whether we will hearken to and obey God’s commands in the midst of the storms of life. It is not to endure storms, but to choose the right while they rage. And the tragedy of life is to fail in that test and so fail to qualify to return in glory to our heavenly home.” Elder Eyring
- Alma 37:6-7 “by small and simple things”
- Elder Eyring gave four settings to practice to have sufficient strength to follow God’s commandments:
o Feast upon the word of God
o Pray always
o Pay a full tithe
o Escape from sin and its terrible effects
Additional Notes for Talk
- Is our obedience conditional?
- “The myopic and despairing soul – cry and question, “If there is a God, why does He permit suffering?” reflects a basic failure to understand the very nature of life with its components of chastening and suffering. And as for that question, it is not difficult to imagine who originated it, however understandably sincere some are who raise it. The question strikes at the heart of Father’s plan, because it comes from him who rejected that plan! The future duties to be given to some of us in the worlds to come by an omniscient God will require of us an earned sense of esteem as well as proof of our competency. Thus the tests given to us here are given not because God is in doubt as to the outcome, but because we need to grow in order to be able to serve with full effectiveness in the eternity to come. Further, to be untested and unproven is also to be unaware of all that we are. If we are unknowing of our possibilities, with what could we safely be entrusted? Could we in ignorance of our capacities trust ourselves? Could others then be entrusted to us? Thus the relentless love of our Father in heaven is such that in His omniscience, He will not allow the cutting short some of the brief experiences we are having here. To do so would be to deprive us of everlasting experiences and great joy there. What else would an omniscient and loving Father do, even if we plead otherwise? He must at times say no. Furthermore, since there was no exemption from suffering for Christ, how can there be one for us? Do we really want immunity from adversity? Especially when certain kinds of suffering can aid our growth in this life? To deprive ourselves of those experiences, much as we might momentarily like to, would be to deprive ourselves of the outcomes over which we shouted with anticipated joy when this life’s experiences were explained to us long ago in the world before we came here.” Maxwell
- 2 Corinthians 6:2-10, “As sorrowful yet always rejoicing”
- Doctrine and Covenants 127:2, “Deep water is what I am wont to swim in”
- The hardships that we go through are wonderful blessings. For as we go through the “furnace of affliction” we must choose between separating ourselves from our sins or be left behind as the furnace gets hotter and hotter. Through this process in life we are refined and become more as our Savior. Without these tribulations we would remain weak and not develop into our full potential as the plan of salvation has set us out to do. “For thus saith the scripture: Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve.” Brothers and sisters give haste to these words and “cast off your sins and not procrastinate the day of your repentance.” The longer you wait the hotter the furnace gets. “For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And in as much as men do good they shall in no wise lose their reward.”
- “So, the great test of life is to see whether we will hearken to and obey God’s commands in the midst of the storms of life. It is not to endure storms, but to choose the right while they rage. And the tragedy of life is to fail in that test and so fail to qualify to return in glory to our heavenly home.” Elder Eyring
- Alma 37:6-7 “by small and simple things”
- Elder Eyring gave four settings to practice to have sufficient strength to follow God’s commandments:
o Feast upon the word of God
o Pray always
o Pay a full tithe
o Escape from sin and its terrible effects
Additional Notes for Talk
- Is our obedience conditional?
- Could our disobedience be related to our lack of understanding who God is?
- If we knew more of who God is, would we be better prepared to follow Him through the storms of life?
- What is it about disobedience that makes it such an attractive way of life?
- “…why don’t we at least resist equally the gravitational pull coming from the other direction? The adversary would claim us too! Some how he gets away with it, even though his way is monotony masquerading as individuality, and even though the selfishness he encourages is merely an apostate individualism.” Maxwell
- “Perhaps the tilt to the telestial occurs because many feel less compromised when they are led carefully down the paved, gently descending, wideway, on which there is no exhilaration, whereas in climbing up the straight and narrow way, one seems to notice every chuckhole and all the loose gravel.” Maxwell
- “I suggest a simple solution for selecting the channel to which we attune ourselves: listen to and follow the voice of the Spirit. This is an ancient solution, even eternal, and may not be popular in a society that is always looking for something new. It requires patience in a world that demands instant gratification. This solution is quiet, peaceful, and subtle in a world enamored of that which is loud, incessant, fast paced, garish, and crude. This solution requires you to be contemplative while your peers seek physical titillation. (This may seem foolish in a time when it is not worth remembering much of the trivial tripe to which we are exposed.) This solution is one unified, consistent, age-old message in a world that quickly becomes bored in the absence of intensity, variety, and novelty. This solution requires us to walk by faith in a world governed by sight. With the eye of faith we are to see eternal, unseen, spiritual verities, while the masses of mankind depend solely on temporal things which can be known only through the physical senses.” James Faust
- Do we know what it means to have an omniscient God as our Father in Heaven?
- “Does the foreknowledge (which grows out of His omniscience) seem to make us less significant or less free? Does the perfect predictability of our behavior (in God’s eyes) seem to squeeze out some of the sense of adventure in mortality? And if so, do we childishly want to play - act just a little longer - risking righteousness and true happiness merely in order to be reassured about our independence?” Maxwell
- Are we defiant because we want to feel original?
- “…if it were not for the idea existing in the minds of men that God had all knowledge it would be impossible for them to exercise faith in Him.” Joseph Smith
- “Unfortunately, the omniscience of God in the minds of some well – meaning Ladder Day Saints has been qualified by the concept of “eternal progression.” Some have wrongly assumed God’s progress is related to His acquisition of additional knowledge. In fact, God’s “eternal progression” (if one is nevertheless determined to apply these two words to God) is related to the successful execution, again and again, of His plan of Salvation to redeem billions of His children throughout His many creatures.” Maxwell
- There is vast difference, therefore, between an omniscient God and the false notion that God is one some sort of post – doctoral fellowship, still searching for additional key truths and vital data. Were the latter so, God might, at any moment, discover some new truth not previously known to Him that would restructure, diminish, or undercut certain truths previously known by Him…Fortunately for us, however, His plan of salvation is constantly underway – not constantly under revision.” Maxwell
- “…those who wrongly think of Him (God) as still progressing with regard to the acquisition of knowledge will not be able to manage well the hard doctrines.” Maxwell
- “…our adoration for and appreciation of God will be measurably increased as we increase our understanding of Him and His plan of Happiness.” Maxwell
