My heart is heavy today as I contemplate the suffering our nation went through twenty years ago. In the years since September 11th, 2001, I've tried to distance myself from the emotions I experienced that day, but as I scrolled through my Facebook feed and saw video footage of that dreadful event, my heart started racing, my stomach cramping and my eyes watering as my mind unlocked emotions I long ago tried to bury. How fitting that my scripture study this week led me to focus on adversity and the instructions we are given to help us get through it.
The background of section 98 of the Doctrine and Covenants is filled with the stories of saints in Jackson County, Missouri experiencing immense persecution from the local people. They are being forced from their homes by mobs that destroy their homes and businesses, burn their fields, and tar and feather them. Despite this persecution the Lord tells these Saints to give thanks in everything (98:1).
This counsel, to be grateful during our trials, is contradictory to the natural man. Saying "thanks" to God while going through trials is not a natural response, but if we can train ourselves to see God's hand in our lives during the good times, then seeing God's hand in our lives during the bad times will come more naturally.
I'm reading a book right now where this principle is very evident. It's called "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom and it's a true story about a Christian family (the ten Boom's) that lived in the Netherlands during WWII. This family is arrested for helping to hide Jews in their home and two of the sisters (Corrie and Betsie) end up in the same concentration camp. The author describes a great deal of their suffering as well as describing the effort Betsie puts forth looking for all the ways God is blessing them. They learn to be grateful that they are not alone, they have each other, they have their miniature Bible, and their bottle of vitamins that somehow never gets confiscated. They even learn to be grateful for their flea-infested barracks because it allows them more space to pray and minister to others because the guards avoid their barracks.
Dallin H. Oaks said: "Adversity will be a constant or occasional companion for each of us throughout our lives. We cannot avoid it. The only question is how we will react to it." (Adversity) Gratitude during trials can increase our trust in God and His promise that "all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good" (98:3). As you look for and acknowledge blessings in your life, you begin to realize how much God is aware of you and is watching over you in many ways.
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