Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening,
this post should take three to five minutes to read from start to finish.
There is no right and wrong answers for the following questions. You may would like to ask yourself and answer those following questions either now or sometime after you finish reading this post.
- What were some of the ways that has helped you to get through while you were enduring your past afflictions?
- Were you able to show happiness while you were enduring your past afflictions?
I know that praying, reading the scriptures, does my best into fulfilling my church callings, keeping myself occupied of other things, and so forth has helped me to get through enduring from my past affiliations. I know that it must have been difficult at times to express happiness while enduring past afflictions.
This post focuses on a April 1998 General Conference talk, and it is called "Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure" by Elder Robert D. Hales. This post is part one. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk, and I hope that you would be able to learn something new as you read through this post.
- What were some of the ways that has helped you to get through while you were enduring your past afflictions?
- Were you able to show happiness while you were enduring your past afflictions?
I know that praying, reading the scriptures, does my best into fulfilling my church callings, keeping myself occupied of other things, and so forth has helped me to get through enduring from my past affiliations. I know that it must have been difficult at times to express happiness while enduring past afflictions.
This post focuses on a April 1998 General Conference talk, and it is called "Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure" by Elder Robert D. Hales. This post is part one. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk, and I hope that you would be able to learn something new as you read through this post.
Elder Hales mentioned; "We are told in the scriptures that it is essential to endure to the end:
“Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. ...” (1 Nephi. 22:31). “Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them ...” (D&C 24:8). “Behold, we count them happy which endure” (James 5:11).
Examples of faithfully enduring to the end are taught by prophets of all ages as they demonstrate courage while enduring trials and tribulations to carry forth the will of God. ... The Savior of the world was left alone by His Father to experience, of His own free will and choice, an act of agency which allowed Him to complete His mission of the Atonement. ... He knew His purpose to carry out the will of the Father through the Atonement. His vision was eternal “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).
The Lord could have called on legions of angels to take Him down from the cross, but He faithfully endured to the end and completed the very purpose for which He had been sent to earth, thus granting eternal blessings to all who will ever experience mortality. ...
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| "By endurance, we conquer." - Ernest Shackleton. |
In our dispensation, the Prophet Joseph Smith endured all manner of opposition and hardship to bring to pass the desire of our Heavenly Father the restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph was harassed and hunted by angry mobs.
He patiently endured poverty, humiliating charges, and unkind acts. His people were forcibly driven from town to town, from state to state. He was tarred and feathered. He was falsely charged and jailed.
Imprisoned at Liberty, Missouri, and experiencing deep, emotional temporal feelings that his own hardships and the tests and trials of the Saints would never cease, Joseph prayed: “O God, where art thou? … Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and … be moved with compassion toward them?” (D&C 121:1, 3).
Joseph was told, “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment” (D&C 121:7). Joseph knew that if he were to stop going forward with this great work, his earthly trials would probably ease. But he could not stop, because he knew who he was, he knew for what purpose he was placed on the earth, and he had the desire to do God’s will.
Joseph was told, “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment” (D&C 121:7). Joseph knew that if he were to stop going forward with this great work, his earthly trials would probably ease. But he could not stop, because he knew who he was, he knew for what purpose he was placed on the earth, and he had the desire to do God’s will.
The pioneers who left their homes in Nauvoo, Illinois, and elsewhere, traversed the great plains, and settled in the Salt Lake Valley knew who they were. They were members of the Lord’s Church newly restored to the earth. They knew their purpose or goal to not only find Zion but to establish it. Because they knew that, they were willing to endure all manner of hardships to bring it about.
During the past year, I have been touched by those who understand this doctrine. They have faithfully endured opposition, trials, and tribulation in their lives and, in doing so, were not only personally strengthened by their experience, but they also strengthened those around them by their example.
... Often we do not know what we can endure until after a trial of our faith. We are also taught by the Lord that we will never be tested beyond that which we can endure (see 1 Cor. 10:13). ... We were not sent by Father in Heaven just to be born. We were sent to endure and return to Him with honor."
Stay Tuned until next time.
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