Patterns of Light: Spirit of Revelation

I love Elder Bednar's analogy of walking in the fog, only being able to see just a few steps in front of you, just enough to keep you going.  Some times instead of praying for the fog to dissipate and to see clearly, we need to just pray to see one or two steps ahead.  Like manna, we can pray for what we will need to make it through that day.   Taking life one day at a time, trusting in the Lord's divine timeline in our life, knowing that He can see the end from the beginning.

Life's Not Fair

I can't tell you how many times my oldest has told me lately "That's not fair".  It's really starting to get old but I really had no better explanation or come back than "Life's not fair".

Then today in my New Testament class that I have been attending, a woman stood up and shared that "Life's not fair, It's better than fair."  My ears perked up, thinking of my oldest daughter.  She then went on to explain that it's better than fair, because through Jesus Christ all of our pains and infirmities can be succored in this life and in the resurrection be restored.  And because all the wrongs and injustices can be healed through His Atoning power.

Another point was made that Christ has invited us to be joint heirs with Him.  And how can we expect to become joint heirs with Him, thus being like Him, if we have not had to experience suffering ourselves.  It was through the suffering that Jesus became the Savior and Redeemer.  Only He could overcome suffering and only through Him can we overcome our suffering.  Thus all the crazy, random things that happen to us that cause us much suffering and many infirmities are to help us to become like Christ. Or maybe to understand Christ better.  To cause us to seek out Christ in our own lives. Christ knows our weaknesses and sufferings and still wants us to be joint-heirs with Him.

From the Life of Christ

A friend of mine posted a quote on facebook that was very timely for me.

"Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light."-- Raymond Edman

Now I haven't tried to verify the authenticity of this quote, but I'm trying really hard to embrace the meaning.

In my New Testament class that I went to a couple of weeks ago something things really stuck out to me as we read and discussed when Christ raised Lazarus from the dead.  See John Chapter 11 (also posted at the bottom of the page.

Jesus has the power to heal us

• Jesus is close enough to Bethany that he could have gotten to Bethany in time to heal Lazarus before he died, but he did not.  Likewise in our lives, we pray that our trials will be lifted, eased, healed and yet they are not.  
• Christ tells the apostles what is going to happen in vs 4: "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." The apostles hear that the sickness is not unto death and so they assume that it's not life threatening, but miss the purpose that is stated after.  The apostles didn't have the same eternal perspective that Christ has and neither do we.  But we, like the apostles are gently taught to see things with eternal eyes. 

Are we Mary or are we Martha?
Maybe we are both.

• Mary and Martha sought out the Lord (vs 3) when Lazarus was ill.  In our own lives we turn to the Lord when we are in need of help.  Martha went out of her house and went to meet Christ when she heard that He was coming.  Mary stayed in the house. Do we wait for Christ to come help us while we sit in our "house" mourning our trials and suffering? Or do we seek him out?
• Both Mary and Martha said, "If thou had been here my brother would not had died."  However, in reading this story this time, I couldn't help but feel like the intonations in their voices may have implied something more than was being said.  Both believed that the Savior could have healed Lazarus before he died.  And since the Savior was only fifteen furlongs (1.875 miles) away he could have most likely made it to Lazarus before he died.   Martha says it with belief in the Savior and Martha appears to be comforting herself in her testimony of the resurrection.  However, this time when I read Mary's part I could hear the disappointment and grief that Christ could have saved Lazarus and didn't as she falls at his feet.  

Jesus Wept

When we are in the deepest, darkest moments--even questioning why Christ hasn't helped us in our moment of need. Christ is there, mourning with us.  Our suffering can never come close to that which the Savior experienced.   But if we are commanded to be like our Savior, how can we not then expect that our life include times of suffering as well.   

Jesus took the time with Mary and her followers to weep with her, even though he knows that the next thing he will do is raise Lazarus from the dead.  

• I realized that I am Mary and Martha, Christ knows my circumstances, and though he does not answer my problems like I wished he would sometimes, he waits, he has a purpose. And I must figuratively experience Lazarus' death.  Just like with Mary and Martha Christ will succor me and mourn with me.  And then I gain hope, because Christ has the power to restore ALL things.  If we remain faithful we can emerge from our trials whole through Him. 
• My life:  From this scripture I understand what is meant when we are commanded to be patient in our suffering.   In the eternal perspective Lazarus needed to die so that Christ could show forth His power over death, also foreshadowing his own death and resurrection.   Mary and Martha probably didn't understand in their moment of grief that their experience was going to be recorded and spread throughout the entire world for centuries to inspire, comfort, and give understanding to those of us struggling to find answers in our own trials in addition to providing a powerful testimony of Christ's power of resurrection.   But the Lord knew of this eternal purpose.  This gives me hope that something good will come of this trial, and I've even had to consider that maybe not even in my generation.  It also helps me to hang on like in the quote "Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light."
• I have to endure the pain and suffering of my "Lazarus's death".  But Christ is there, crying with me and has the power to heal and make all things right.  

Chapter 11
Jesus testifies that He is the Resurrection and the Life—Mary and Martha testify of Him—He raises Lazarus from the dead—Caiaphas speaks prophetically of the death of Jesus.

 1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

 2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

 3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

 4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

 6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

 7 Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judæa again.

 8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?

 9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

 10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

 11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall ado well.

 13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

 16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

 17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

 18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs (1.875 miles) off:

 19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

 20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

 21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

 22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

 23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

 27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

 28 And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

 30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.

 31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

 32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

 34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

 35 Jesus wept.

 36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

 37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

 38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

 39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

 40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

 44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

 45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

What If?

From the blog Sisters in the Scriptures which is associated with the New Testament class I'm attending.

"After class one of the sisters shared a story with me. She told of a friend who lost a 15 year old daughter in a tragic ski accident. To the family's surprise President Monson came, uninvited. to the funeral. Of course he was asked to speak, and said that he had seen the story of the accident in the paper and came to offer words of comfort. He told the family to eliminate two words from their vocabulary: "What if." What magnificent advice from a prophet. One writer said, "Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future." The grace of Christ is there to help us have peace about both the past and future, and joy in the present."

Quote of the Day

"What is said is not as important as what we hear and what we feel."  Robert D Hales

Live by Faith

In an effort to understand why things are happening to people I love I turned to Job.  I'm sure I've read Job before in seminary studies, but I've never read it before with questions in direct need of answers.

After reading some of Job, I still felt like I needed greater understanding and turned to the Institute Old Testament manual for more insight where I found this quote by Spencer W. Kimball.

"Who is responsible for man’s troubles? Was it the Lord who directed the plane into the mountainside? Did God cause the highway collision? Was it He who prompted the young child to toddle into the canal or the man to suffer the heart attack? Responding to these questions, President Kimball said:

“Answer, if you can. I cannot, for though I know God has a major role in our lives, I do not know how much he causes to happen and how much he merely permits. Whatever the answer to this question, there is another I feel sure about.

“Could the Lord have prevented these tragedies? The answer is, Yes. The Lord is omnipotent, with all power to control our lives, save us pain, prevent all accidents, drive all planes and cars, feed us, protect us, save us from labor, effort, sickness, even from death, if he will. But he will not.” (Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 96.)

Spencer W. Kimball continues in Faith Precedes the Miracle with this thought in Chapter Eight:

"If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.

Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?

If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.

Active Patience

Today a few things I have been studying have come together.  This morning I was studying an article entitled Patience in Affliction  by Elder Angel Abrea.

TRIALS

Trials and tribulation are as much a part of life as are the joys.  However, when we are in the midst of these trials they can seem to be more than we can bear.  Elder Abrea stated:

Tribulation, afflictions, and trials will constantly be with us in our sojourn here in this segment of eternity, just as the Savior said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation.” (John 16:33.) Therefore, the great challenge in this earthly life is not to determine how to escape the afflictions and problems, but rather to carefully prepare ourselves to meet them.

I say prepare ourselves because it demands persistent effort to develop patience as a personal attribute. In practicing patience, one comes to understand it and to acquire it.

From Liberty Jail, in a time of anguish and deep suffering for the gospel’s sake, the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote the following message to the Saints: “Dear brethren, do not think that our hearts faint, as though some strange thing had happened unto us, for we have seen and been assured of all these things beforehand, and have an assurance of a better hope than that of our persecutors. Therefore God hath made broad our shoulders for the burden. We glory in our tribulation, because we know that God is with us, that He is our friend, and that He will save our souls.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 123.)

Joseph Smith's account here helps give me understanding regarding my own trials.  Despite being put in jail in awful circumstances, Joseph still has hope. Sometimes it is hard to find hope, but we can pray for hope.  And even at times we can rely on someone else's hope.  We often pray that our trial will be taken from us or that the Lord will help us that things will work out.  But often God doesn't take the trial away.  We know the Lord didn't remove all trials from before Joseph Smith.  I've seen many around me push forward in spite of physical illnesses.   As I was also contemplating my own trials, the thought came to me about a book I read almost 20 years ago.  The book was The Hiding Place by Corrie Tenboom.  It is a memoir of her and her sister's experiences in a Nazi concentration camp.  Their trial was not because they deserved it or because they weren't good, quite the contrary.  Sometimes bad things happen to good people.  Corrie and her sister continued to have such a strong belief in God and amazing faith even through all the torture, despair, and even the death of her sister.  I remember her describing the overcrowding, filth, and bugs in the sleeping area where they spent the majority of their time.  Corrie's sister pointed out to Corrie that their conditions were in a way a blessing, because it was so bad that the Nazi soldiers wouldn't even come in there, providing them some protection.  Their optimism was absolutely inspiring.  Neither of them lost their faith or doubted God, they held on to hope and eventually Corrie was freed from the camp.

In addition to praying that the trial might be removed from us, we can pray to recognize the blessings we do have.  We can also do as Joseph Smith and pray that God will broaden our shoulders to be able to endure the burden.

Elder Holland said in this video Wrong Roads, sometimes the only way to get from point A to point C is to go through point B.

Joseph had an eternal view of the mortal things he was enduring, for he said, "for we have seen and been assured of all these things beforehand."  I think sometimes part of the test associated with the trial is to maintain an eternal perspective while experiencing the stress, pain, and suffering that we may be required to endure.  It is easier said than done.  For some, their trials are as of Job's or as extreme as Corrie Tenbooms. But for each of us the question is the same:

When we have lost everything, had everyone we love taken from us, will we still love God?

PATIENCE

We have been told we must be patient in our suffering and trials.  I love the insight Elder Abrea gives on how we should be patient:

It should be made clear that we are not talking here about a passive patience which waits only for the passing of time to heal or resolve things which happen to us, but rather a patience that is active, which makes things happen. Such was the patience Paul described in his epistle to the Romans when he used the words “by patient continuance in well doing.” (Rom. 2:7.)

Perhaps one of the best examples of patience which gives us an eternal perspective of its application in our lives is found in the words of Peter: “For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” (1 Pet. 2:20.)

Patience in affliction and adversity means to persist firmly and never forsake that which we know to be true, standing firm with the hope that in the Lord’s due time we will gain an understanding of that which we do not understand now and which causes us suffering.

Then the promise in Malachi will become a reality: “Then shall ye return, and discern … between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” (Mal. 3:18.)

One day I was praying for a specific situation and what I could do to change it, or at lease some how help out and the answer came to me to SERVE OTHERS.  Sometimes, when we want so badly to have an affect in our personal life it is more effective to seek to do God's will by serving others.  By serving others we are serving God and therefore bringing blessings to others as well as ourselves.  By serving others when we are in need we learn selflessness and perspective on our own circumstances, helping us to be ACTIVELY PATIENT.

If we are Actively Patient we are still working to change our situation, seeking guidance, serving others, and not just sitting by waiting for things to change.  The key is someone with Active Patience works in faith while at the same time being accepting of God's plan and timing in our lives.

I know that God is mindful of all our experiences, both joyful and painful.  And maybe, just maybe our experiences are so that we will understand the power of the Atonement and how it can be effective in our lives. Jesus Christ atoned for our sins and our sorrows, our mistakes and pain-whether self inflicted or by someone else.  He does have the power to heal our souls, even if the trial is still before us.