3
Nephi 1:7
God
Will Have A Tried People
What
7 And
it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the
land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest by
any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass.
The
Saints started to doubt and were afraid. They were persecuted.
Why
The
Saints were warned that they would be put to death if the signs of
His coming did not happen when it had been prophesied. So they were
afraid because the time was very near and they didn't know if it had
passed or not.
Pattern
Persecution
Persecution,
Persecute
See
also Adversity ; Affliction ; Apostasy
of
Israel ; Chastening ; Cruelty ; Despise ; Enemies ; Hate ; Malice ; Oppression ;Prophets,
Rejection of ; Reviling ; Suffering ; Tribulation
Christ
Conference
April
1980 Howard W. Hunter
God
Will Have a Tried People
Friction,
or resistance, is an interesting phenomenon. Without this force, a
person or vehicle could not move about, or if already in motion,
could not be stopped except by collision. Simple things like nails,
screws, and bolts would not stay in place; a cork would not stay in a
bottle; a light globe would drop from its socket; a lid would not
stay on a jar.
The
law of friction or resistance that we think of as only applying to
science seems to find application in our personal lives. This is
probably what Lehi was referring to when he spoke to his son Jacob.
He reminded Jacob of the afflictions and sorrows that had come to him
because of the rudeness of his brethren, and told him how these
afflictions would ultimately result in good. These are the words of
Jacob to his son: “Thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall
consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain” (2
Ne. 2:2).
In
other words, the afflictions that had come to him in the form of
opposition or resistance would be for his good. Then Lehi added these
words that have become classic: “For it must needs be, that there
is an opposition in all things. If not so, … righteousness could
not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor
misery, neither good nor bad” (2
Ne. 2:11).
We
came to mortal life to encounter resistance. It was part of the plan
for our eternal progress. Without temptation, sickness, pain, and
sorrow, there could be no goodness, virtue, appreciation for
well-being, or joy. The law of opposition makes freedom of choice
possible; therefore, our Heavenly Father has commanded his children,
“Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you” (Moses
6:33).
He has counseled us to yield to his spirit and resist temptation.
Free agency, of course, permits us to oppose his directions; thus, we
see many who resist the truth and yield to temptation.
Today
the Church stands at the summit of a century and a half of progress.
The terrain over which we have traveled is a grim reminder that
struggle, persecution, and sorrow have been the lot of our forebears.
Kirtland, Jackson County, Clay County, Haun’s Mill, and Nauvoo seem
synonymous with suffering—a part of the tribulation the Lord
promised that his people would have to endure (see D&C
58:3).
As
we look back in retrospect, we see that it was because of the
opposition encountered in our early history that our progress today
has been made possible. Out of that caldron of persecution and
heartache, the Lord answered the soul-cry of the Prophet Joseph Smith
in these words: “Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but
a small moment;
...What
makes us imagine that we may be immune from the same experiences that
refined the lives of former-day Saints? We must remember that the
same forces of resistance which prevent our progress afford us also
opportunities to overcome. God will have a tried people!
May
God bless us to endure well the purpose for which we were sent, I
pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Apply
24 But
if ye bear it not patiently, it shall be accounted unto you as
being ameted out
as a just measure unto you.
25 And
again, if your enemy shall smite you the second time, and you revile
not against your enemy, and bear it patiently, your reward shall be
an ahundred-fold.
26 And
again, if he shall smite you the third time, and ye bear
it apatiently,
your reward shall be doubled unto you four-fold;
- if thou shouldst be cast … into the hands of murderers … these things shall give thee experience: D&C 122:7 .
Hymns
241-
when Upon Life's Billows
129-Where
Can I Turn for Peace
Children-
120-
Nephi's Courage
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