Our Father in Heaven has a plan whereby all of His
spirit children can return to His presence, and He told us about His plan
before we came to earth. We shouted for
joy in our premortal world for the opportunity to progress to our second
estate. We understood that mortality
would be a time of temptation, testing and trial and that we would experience
sorrow, pain, and disappointments as well as happiness and joy during our time
on earth. We knew that Heavenly Father
loved each one of us and would always be mindful of us. We knew that He wanted us to be happy and
successful. We felt peace and security
because of this knowledge.
Job
wrote about our premortal life when he inscribed: "Where
wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding….
"When
the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:4, 7).
We understood before we even came to earth that
disappointments, problems, temptations, and trials are a part of the Plan of
Salvation. We accepted the plan because
we trusted Heavenly Father. We know from
the following scriptures that these tests and trials are good for us. As we follow the plan and continued to trust
our Father, we can gain the necessary knowledge and experience to prepare to
return to His presence.
"That the trial of your faith, being much
more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might
be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus
Christ" (1 Peter 1:7).
"And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat
concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which
are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye
receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" (Book of Mormon -
Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Ether 12:6).
"And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit,
or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if
thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if
fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the
elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell
shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these
things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good" (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7).
Each and every one of us experiences trials and
disappointments at times, and much of our success in life depends on how we act
in response to our trials. We have two
basic choices: we can choose to do
things the Lord's way or we can choose to do things Satan's way. The choices we make will determine whether
we are happy or unhappy.
An ancient prophet by the name of Lehi gave the
following counsel to his posterity just prior to his death. "And
I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an
angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven;
wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God.
"And
because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought
also the misery of all mankind.
Wherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the
devil, who is the father of all lies, wherefore he said: Partake of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall
not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil….
"Wherefore,
men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are
expedient unto man. And they are free to
choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to
choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil;
for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself" (Book of Mormon, 2
Nephi 2:17-18, 27).
Lehi taught that Satan wants all of us to
"be miserable like unto himself".
Other prophets and apostles explained some of the ways that Satan makes
us miserable.
Elder
Marvin J. Ashton, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, taught: "One of Satan's most powerful tools is
discouragement.
"Whisperings of `you can't do it,' `you're
no good,' `it's too late,' `what's the use?' or `things are hopeless' are tools
of destruction. Satan … wants you to
quit trying. It is important that
discouragement is cast out of [our lives].
This may take a decided amount of work and energy, but it can be
accomplished" (Ensign, May 1988,
63).
You may ask, "How does discouragement help
Satan accomplish his goal to make us `miserable like unto himself'?" If you think about it for a moment or two,
you will realize that discouragement either slows us down or stops our efforts
completely - whether we are trying to be obedient to God's commandments or in
any part of our lives.
On the other hand, our Heavenly Father and His
Son, Jesus Christ, want us to be successful and happy; They want us to feel joy
just as They do. The Savior suffered
greater trials than any of us will ever experience, but He did not get
discouraged.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles said, "Even with such a solemn mission given to Him, the
Savior found delight in living; He enjoyed people and told His disciples to be
of good cheer….
"Remember the unkind treatment He received,
the rejection He experienced, and the injustice… He endured. When we, too, then face some of that in life,
we can remember that Christ was also troubled on every side, but not
distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast
down, but not destroyed (see 2 Corinthians 4:8-9)" (Ensign, Nov. 1995, 68-69).
Our Savior, even Jesus Christ reminded us that we
can find peace and joy in our earthly lives regardless of our
circumstances. He encouraged us to keep
trying when He said, "These things I
have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the
world" (John 16:33).
The Savior overcame spiritual death when He took
upon Himself the sins of mankind while in the Garden of Gethsemane;
He overcame physical death when He was resurrected. We should "be of good cheer"
because we know that the Savior made it possible for all mankind to be
resurrected and to have eternal life.
We can be of good cheer even in difficult times. For nearly a year I have taken the time each
day to write down three blessings in my life, and I have been blessed for doing
so. I will admit that I sometimes have a
difficult time thinking of the first blessing because life seems so difficult
at the moment; however, I have an easier time remembering the second and third
blessings. The simple act of writing
down the three blessings each day shows Heavenly Father that I am grateful for
those blessings. I know from personal
experience that gratitude helps bring happiness into my life. I know that I can "be of good
cheer" by counting my many blessings and remembering how good my life
really is!
One of my favorite hymns is entitled "Count
Your Blessings" (Hymns, no. 241;
written by Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1856-1922, with music written by Edwin O.
Excell, 1851-1921). Each verse of this
hymn has a particular message, and the overall message is that counting our
blessings will make us happier.
"When
upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed,
When
you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count
your many blessings; name them one by one,
And
it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
"Are
you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does
the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count
your many blessings; every doubt will fly,
And
you will be singing as the days go by.
"When
you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think
that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.
Count
your many blessings; money cannot buy
Your
reward in heaven nor your home on high.
So
amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do
not be discouraged; God is over all.
Count
your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help
and comfort give you to your journey's end."
One of my favorite stories from the life of President
Gordon B. Hinckley took place while he was serving his mission in England. This story explains some of the things we
need to do to overcome discouragement.
"I was not well when I arrived. Those first few weeks, because of illness and
the opposition which we felt, I was discouraged. I wrote a letter home to my good father and
said that I felt I was wasting my time and his money. He was my father and my stake president, and
he was a wise and inspired man. He wrote
a very short letter to me which said, `Dear Gordon, I have your recent letter. I have only one suggestion: forget yourself and go to work.' Earlier that morning in our scripture class
my companion and I had read these words of the Lord: `Whosoever will save his life shall lose it;
but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall
save it.' (Mark 8:35.)
"Those words of the Master, followed by my
father's letter with his counsel to forget myself and go to work, went into my
very being. With my father's letter in
hand, I went into our bedroom in the house at 15 Wadham Road, where we lived, and got
on my knees and made a pledge with the Lord.
I covenanted that I would try to forget myself and lose myself in His
service.
"That July day in 1933 was my day of
decision. A new light came into my life
and a new joy into my heart. The fog of England seemed
to lift, and I saw the sunlight. I had a
rich and wonderful mission experience, for which I shall ever be grateful"
("Gospel to Great
Britain," Ensign, July 1987, 7).
The young Elder Hinckley overcame disappointment
and discouragement by communicating with his Heavenly Father and committing
himself to the Lord's service. He
studied the scriptures and hearkened to the counsel there. He followed his earthly father's counsel to "forget
[himself] and go to work." He
"lost" himself in serving others and brought much happiness into his
own life.
The Prophet Joseph Smith faced trials much greater
than those Elder Hinckley experienced in England. During a particularly difficult time, Joseph
was a prisoner in the jail at Liberty,
Missouri. He cried to God, asking how long God would
permit the Saints to be persecuted, and received the following answer:
"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity
and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
"And
then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph
over all thy foes.
"Thy
friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and
friendly hands" (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-9).
Joseph Smith was also told, "If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils
among false brethren; if thou art in perils among robbers; if thou art in
perils by land or by sea;
"If
thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall
upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother and
brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from
the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and thine elder son, although
but six years of age, shall cling to thy garments, and shall say, My father, my
father, why can't you stay with us? O,
my father, what are the men going to do with you? And if then he shall be thrust from thee by
the sword, and thou be dragged to prison, and thine enemies prowl around thee
like wolves for the blood of the lamb;
"And
if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the
sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the
billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if
the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way;
and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after
thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and
shall be for thy good.
"The
Son of Man hath descended below them all.
Art thou greater than he?
"Therefore,
hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds
are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are
known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man
can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever" (Doctrine and
Covenants 122-5-9).
I expect that Joseph Smith was very comforted
when the Lord told him, "Fear not what man can do, for God shall be with
you forever and ever"? (D&C 122:9).
In fact, Joseph said, "Never be discouraged. If I were sunk in the lowest pit of Nova Scotia, with the Rocky
Mountains piled on me, I would hang on, exercise faith, and keep
up good courage, and I would come out on top." (Joseph Smith, quoted by John Henry
Evans, in Joseph Smith, an American
Prophet [1946], 9)
I have endured many disappointments, discouragements,
and difficult times. I know that they
are real, but I also know that I can "be of good cheer" even during trials
by following the teachings of the Savior.