Talk for Knowledge experience #4.

Disclaimer: It's not really a talk,but the rambling of my mind. I have not had anyone else proof read this. So be patient with me. Read if you like. 

We all have something in common. I don’t care who you are, we share something in common, and This is it: We all have the problem of not getting what we want. If not getting what we want takes a huge spiritual, mental, physical toll on us, it’s called a trial. They can come from the choices we make, the choices of others, or just a natural part of life. I’m going through what some may call “a large Trial”. I don’t like to think of it as a trial. It’s just a part of life. Life is hard. Some call it “A learning experience”. I also don’t like that term either. I like to think of it as a Test of Endurance. Now these test are a win or fail. It’s like fire. The test is meant to make us stronger and to purify us. But if we don’t endure well we’ll get burn.

Analogy

I can just imagine the Spirit as a coach. He informs us that we are at a starting line for a 1 mile race. We remind him, We don’t actually like running. He informs us that it’s too late, we signed up for this race and many others following it; therefore, we must run. I can just imagine in the spirit world a scene from “The Emperor's’ New Groove.” Where this scene happens:

Pacha: Uh-oh.

Kuzco: Don't tell me. We're about to go over a huge waterfall.

Pacha: Yep.

Kuzco: Sharp rocks at the bottom?

Pacha: Most likely.

Kuzco: Bring it on.

I can just image some of us, like Kuzco, saying “bring it on” when we were told about some of our trails we would face here on earth.

So we run the race and many others. Some are only a mile, some are 5K, or 10K. There are even one or two marathons in the mix. These are our different trails life. Some last longer than others and test our endurance more. Some are uphill, through mud, or over sand. Trails come in different difficulty. Between the races our coach makes us practice the hills and the different terrains. Between trials we practice reading our scriptures, going to the Temple, having family home evening and serving others. Some breaks between races are longer than others. Preparation is important. It helps us to endure during a race. It helps us race better.

It doesn’t matter if we run fast or if we walk the whole thing. All that matters is we, like the Robinsons in Meet the Robinsons movie tell each other after a failure, “Keep moving forward.” Or if you prefer Dory in Finding Nemo: Just keep swimming.

There are other people on the course we race. Sometimes we tell each other encouraging words to urge us on. Sometimes we get jealous that someone is running the race better than we are. And sometimes we get smug because we are running the race better than them. These are both bad because we get distracted from our own race.

Some people tells us that there are shortcuts or we think that if we took a different route it will be easier and will get us to the end faster. Sometimes we are listen to these people and we end up lost or going an even more difficult way.

Sometimes during a race we trip and fall down. Sometimes we pick ourselves up and move forward. Other times we just lay there and our coach comes to us and gently picks us up. If we’re smart we let him, but sometimes we tell him to leave us alone and let us die there.

And then finally, if we always get up or get back to the correct course we do finish the race. Race after race. Sometimes when we get particularly discourage during a race we remind ourselves of the many races we have finished. Some may even be harder than the one we are doing now.

Then at the end of one race our coach congratulates us tells us “You have finish the course, well done you good and faithful servant. Now you shall enter into my rest.” All those races, those test of endurances, have lead you to the celestial kingdom.

Joy in Trials

That’s what these test are for. They are to help us get back to our Heavenly father. D&C all these shall be for you good. That’s what life is about. It’s about suffering. But it’s also about joy. Men are that they might have joy (2 Nephi 2:25). We are to have joy through our suffering. And it is possible. I came to that realization in college. That semester I was trying to get into the nursing school at BYU. I didn’t make it in. When I found out I cried, so it was a big deal. I had to figure out what to do with my life. Do I apply to a different school, do I pick a new major. One day after sacrament a friend asked me how I was doing. It was at that point when I realized it was both the worst time I’ve been through and the best. Yes I didn’t get what I want. But I also was doing better at being social with roommates and ward members. I was having fun in the classes I was taking. Not all was bad. I was having joy through my suffering.

Counting Blessings

To help deal with these test so we can become stronger we can count our blessings. When we remember what we have been given, our blessing, we remember that not all is bad. Elder Robert D. Hales reminds us of the Savior's last week on earth in his talk “Faith Through Tribulation Brings Peace and Joy”. In that last week “the chief priests challenged His authority, tried to trap Him, and twice conspired to kill Him. In Gethsemane, while His disciples slept, He suffered the sins of all mankind and bled from every pore. He was betrayed, arrested, questioned, struck, spat upon, and beaten. After interrogation by the ruling council, He was mocked by Herod and finally taken to Pilate, where He was made to stand before an angry mob. Whipped and crowned with thorns, He was forced to carry His cross to Golgotha. Nails were driven into His hands and feet. His body was raised up between common thieves. Soldiers cast lots for His earthly possessions, and vinegar was given to quench His thirst.” And then He died. There’s a lot of suffering in that last week.

But that is not all that happened to Him. Jesus also “taught, testified, lifted, blessed and strengthened others. He raised Lazarus from the dead, set his temple in order, gave several parables, witnessed the widow offering her mite, visited friends, instituted the sacrament, washed the feet of the Apostles, and taught His disciples to love one another.” Not all was bad that first week. We just need to remember to think about the good that is happening in our lives even though we are going through hard times.

Counting our blessing also takes the focus away from our test. In a BYU devotional talked titled “What Happens When Life Gets One Degree Colder” Dallan R. Moody tells of a time when he was a missionary in England tracking. He and his companion had been knocking door to door with no success. It was a colder than usual day. They sat down dejected and downcast on a  bench. Then his companion said, “It’s okay, Elder. It could be worse: It could be one degree colder right now.” This helped lighten the mood. It helped Dallan R. Moody remember that he had the gospel and he as a missionary in a beautiful country. He remembered that he had more blessings than problems. He was able to go back to work in better spirits. The challenges didn’t change. He was still damp and cold and no one would listen, but his focus was away from what was bad to what was good. He focused on his blessings rather than his test.

Serving

By serving others we help them on their own test of endurance. We serve and connect with people, helping us to build a support system that we need. There will be people to shout encouragement to us. We can watch and see how they deal with their test: we look at their example. See if there is anything that we need to change in ourselves that we may better finish our test.

Scriptures

Reading scriptures is also helpful. In the scriptures there are stories of people's lives. These people also had challenges and their own tests of endurances. These stories gives us examples to follow. There are also examples of what not to do. As we read, we can underline the things that helped people get through their problems.

There are a myriad of stories. These people didn’t face all the same test. So as we read we can remember that we are not alone. Our own test of endurance is not new. It is possible to overcome and come off conqueror.

One of the most important story in the scriptures is the story of Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. Stories of the atonement will help us in our test. The atonement provides a way to get back to the correct course we need to finish our race if we have strayed. It also provides us strength to finish our race if we find that we just can’t get up.

Praying and Fasting

Praying and Fasting with faith is also essential to finish our race. We need to talk to our Heavenly Father about our hard races. We need to ask for help, for strength. In the Bible Dictionary the definition of Prayer is “Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.” I’ve always liked that by praying I am getting closer to my Father. And as I get closer, I get better at having his will be the same as mine.

I often need to remind myself that just because I have faith and I pray for something does not mean that I will get it. Which is good. If we start to run our own course instead of his, we will get lost. It’s like in the stories where the main characters gets a chance to wish for something. They do wish for something and with that wish things backfire. I’ve come to the conclusion that if given the chance to wish for something I would not take that risk. I don’t really know the best way so I shouldn’t pretend that I know. I will probably hurt myself. I’m pretty sure that if an Angel came down and told me that anything that I wished for would come to pass, I would not wish for what I desire, but for God’s will. Even though I’ll have tears running down my face and hoping with all of my heart for my desire. God knows best. I’ll just need to have faith in God’s plan.

Just remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. They had faith in God. They would not do anything that would break the commandments. Consequently, we find in Daniel 3, that trait led to them being put to death in a fiery furnace. I’m sure that if they were like most of us they prayed not to die, especially since they were doing what God had told them to do. However in verses 17 and 18 we learn how great their faith was and what they put their faith in. They put their faith and trust in God. They told the King We know that God can save us and if it be his will, But if not we will still not break the commandments. “If not”. You can still have faith without getting what you want. Jesus Christ also showed this faith. “Not my will, but Thine”. Have faith in God when you pray.

I’ll end with this scripture: Alma 36:3 “And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.”