Tuesday, November 29, 2016

God Will Have A Tried People-3 Nephi 1:7

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
  • The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: Ps. 10:2 .
  • Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted: Acts 7:52 .
  • they stoned Stephen: Acts 7:59 .
  • great persecution against the church: Acts 8:1 .
  • Saul, why persecutest thou me: Acts 9:4 . ( Acts 22:7 ; Acts 26:14 . )
  • scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose: Acts 11:19 .
  • commanded that they should be put to death: Acts 12:19 .
  • Jews stirred up … persecution against Paul: Acts 13:50 .
  • having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city: Acts 14:19 .
  • Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall … persecution: Rom. 8:35 .
  • they did treat me with much harshness: 1 Ne. 18:11 .
  • because they are rich … they persecute the meek: 2 Ne. 9:30 . ( 2 Ne. 28:13 . )
  • steadfastness … notwithstanding all persecution: 2 Ne. 26:8 .
  • should not any unbeliever persecute any … who belonged to the church: Mosiah 27:2 .
  • why persecutest thou the church of God: Mosiah 27:13 .
Christ
  • therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus: John 5:16 .
  • If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you: John 15:20 .
brought as a lamb to the slaughter: Isa. 53:7 . ( Jer. 11:19 ; Mosiah 14:7 .
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!
I witness today this truth from a verse of one of our favorite hymns:
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
May God bless us to endure well the purpose for which we were sent, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Apply
  •  23 Now, I speak unto you concerning your families—if men will asmite you, or your families, once, and ye bbear it patiently and crevile not against them, neither seek drevenge, ye shall be erewarded;
 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;
  • proclaim … gospel … in the midst of persecution: D&C 99:1 .
  • your brethren who have been afflicted, and persecuted: D&C 101:1 .
  • left unto himself … to persecute the saints: D&C 121:38 .
  • if thou shouldst be cast … into the hands of murderers … these things shall give thee experience: D&C 122:7 .
  • nation that has driven you out: D&C 136:34 .
Hymns
241- when Upon Life's Billows
129-Where Can I Turn for Peace

Children-
120- Nephi's Courage


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