ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

 

 “We talk about our trials and troubles here in this life, but suppose that you could see yourselves thousands and millions of years after you have proved faithful to your religion during the few short years in this time, and have obtained eternal salvation and a crown of glory in the presence of God; then look back upon your lives here, and see the losses, crosses and disappointments, the sorrows arising from disobedient children, from wicked parents who have opposed their children who wished to embrace the truth, the persecutions from city to city, from state to state, being hunted and driven, you would be constrained to exclaim: ‘But what of all that? Those things were but for a moment, and we are now here. We have been faithful during a few moments in our mortality and now we enjoy eternal life and glory with power to progress in all the boundless knowledge and through the countless stages of progression, enjoying the smiles and approbation of our Father and God, and of Jesus Christ our elder brother.” (Brigham Young, Teachings of Presidents of the Church)

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.”  (1 Timothy 4:7,8)

I would rather be a vessel in Your hand

Than a crowned king on earthly throne;

I would rather be a bird in flight

Without a shelter to keep me warm;

I would rather cross the oceans

And go where you would want me to go

Than sit contented never knowing

the trail that leads me home.

- CATHRYENE ALLEN

(Art: Guiding Them Home by Yongsung Kim)

WE KNOW NOT

"There once was a village that had among its people a very wise old man. The villagers trusted this man to provide them answers to their questions and concerns.

One day, a farmer from the village went to the wise man and said in a frantic tone, "Wise man, help me. A horrible thing has happened. My ox has died and I have no animal to help me plow my field! Isn't this the worst thing that could have possibly happened?" The wise old man replied, "Maybe so, maybe not". The man hurried back to the village and reported to his neighbours that the wise man had gone mad. Surely this was the worst thing that could have happened. Why couldn't he see this?

The very next day, however, a strong, young horse was seen near the man's farm. Because the man had no ox to rely on, he had the idea to catch the horse to replace his ox - and he did. How joyful the farmer was. Plowing the field had never been easier. He went back to the wise man to apologize. "You were right, wise man. Losing my ox wasn't the worst thing that could have happened. You must agree that this is the best thing that could have happened". The wise man replied once again, "Maybe so, maybe not". Not again, thought the farmer. Surely the wise man had gone mad now.

But, once again, the farmer did not know what was to happen. A few days later the farmer's son was riding the horse and was thrown off. He broke his leg and would not be able to help with the crop. Oh no, thought the man. Now we will starve to death. Once again, the farmer went to the wise man. This time he said, "How did you know that capturing my horse was not a good thing? You were right again. My son is injured and won't be able to help with the crop. This time I'm sure that this is the worst thing that could have possibly happened. You must agree this time". But, just as he had done before, the wise man calmly looked at the farmer and in a compassionate tone replied once again, "Maybe so, maybe not". Enraged that the wise man could be so ignorant, the farmer stormed back to the village.

The next day troops arrived to take every able-bodied man to the war that had just broken out. The farmer's son was the only young man in the village who didn't have to go. He would live, while others would surely die."
-  Author Unknown


Some years ago while I worked at the Church Office, a group of us were discussing whether we had a choice of being born into the Church or not. The general opinion was that it is not fair that some are born into such choice circumstances whilst others are thrown into the deep end. The prevailing conclusion seemed to be that if we were presented with this choice everyone would have chosen to be born into the Church to righteous parents smack middle in Zion and thus have an easier life. I was of the opinion then and still am that this is a very narrow minded view of the matter. I do not agree that we all wanted to be born into perfect circumstances thus assuring an easy life. My view was and still is, that back then what we wanted most was to receive the maximum amount of personal growth during our mortal experience and because of it we agreed to all the trials and problems we could possibly endure. We did not want an easy ride else what would be the point? We might as well have stayed where we were, remaining children, never reaching adulthood. However, that was not the case. We were not one of the third of hosts of heaven who sought to avoid hardship wanting a life of ease. We were the valiant ones who planned our path to godhood with unsurpassed valour and we stood up to the forces of evil that threatened that plan convinced that the Saviour we chose could and would bring us home. The fact that we are here today is proof of our victory.

I love the above story because it teaches us three things:

1. Something good always comes out of something bad. One of our greatest earthly challenges is not being able to see past the corner. We cannot tell where our trials are leading us. Sometimes what we consider a misfortune is in reality a clearing exercise for something better to take place, as this story so aptly illustrates. Sometimes the only but the most important thing that comes from our trials is our personal growth. When I got divorced I thought, very much like this farmer, that my divorce was the worst possible thing that could have happened to me until my daughter went on the path of self-destruction and I had to change my mind. Eighteen years ago I could not foresee the personal growth I would experience as a result of the wrong turn my life had taken. Whereas I would never recommend divorce to anyone for numerous reasons, this trial in my life has proved to be of profound advantage to me. Because we are all so eager to avoid pain, we fail to see trials as blessings. Any misfortune, no matter, how advantageous to our growth is always considered a bad deal.

2. To appreciate the sweet in our lives, we have to experience the bitter. There can never be a fullness of joy without first going through sorrow. For many years I could not understand this scripture: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25). I reasoned that this scripture was wrong and that Adam's purpose had somehow gone awry for how could we be men of joy when there is so much suffering here?   Now that I understand mortality a bit better, the meaning of this scripture is a bit clearer to me. The whole point of Adam's fall is not just for us to experience mortality but for us to arrive to godhood. We were never promised fulfillment and true joy in this life, only moments of happiness. The joy, I believe, will come when we have been made complete through the power of redemption and resurrection. Then we will be made perfect because of our tribulations in this life over which we had gained victory. We will look back at what we had accomplished and we will have joy because of it, forever after. The extent of sorrow and suffering we go through in this life is the measure of joy we will experience when we are crowned with glory for having endured and overcome and arrived to become what we always wanted to be.

3.  Trials are a necessary fabric of this life because through them we develop true faith and trust in God. It is a sad fact that man would never turn to God if his life was a bed of roses. We too, like the villagers in the story, need 'a very wise old man' who we can trust to provide us with answers to out questions and concerns. The harder your life, the closer you will get to God. If your trials are not of your making due to sin, then you have to have faith that they are a part of the individualized plan for your earthly life. Some people believe that we have come here to experience random situations and hardships and that some escape them and some don't and all that matters is how we deal with them. I do not believe that. I am of firm belief that there was a careful individualized plan made for each of us in our pre-existence according to growth that we each needed. If everything was random and had no rhyme or reason, then some of us would miss out on certain trials we needed because some of us know how to duck better than others. We are all different and we all need different things. We all came here with certain qualities already developed whilst lacking others. I might not need to go through a certain trial that my daughter for instance needs because that trial might offer understanding and growth that I already have so there is no need for me to experience that situation. She on the other hand might not need something I have to go through. The crucial thing here is to know and believe that God's plan is unfolding for you and to be accepting of that plan. Until the veil is taken away and we can once again see the past, present and future, we have to live by faith and trust that what we are enduring now is a masterpiece in progress. This is beautifully expressed in the following poem:

My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I let Him choose the colours,
He worketh steadily.

Oft times he worketh sorrow
And I in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the pattern
While I see the under side.

Not till the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why,

The dark threads were as needful
In the Weaver's skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He had planned.

- Anonymous

If you are being stretched and tested to the limit and your life seems unfair and overwhelming, know that the Saviour of this world is making something wonderful of you. You are a masterpiece in the making. He had descended below all things that He might rise above all things and take you with Him. Do not give up and end up an unfinished product, a piece of art undone. There is no need to feel you cannot do it for the Saviour's grace can get you home. Allow Him to weave the pattern of your life to perfection. Trust in Him and in His power to carry you when you cannot walk alone. Godhood comes at a price. The furnace is hot but the refining is worth it.

"For behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction". (1 Nephi 20:10)

JOSEPH, THE PURE IN HEART

"My life is but a weaving, between my God and me,
I do not choose the colours,  He worketh steadily.
Oftimes He worketh sorrow and I, in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.
Not till the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly, 
Will God unroll the canvas, and explain the reasons why
The dark threads were as needful in the skillful weaver's hand, 
As threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned."
- Anonymous

"The scriptures give us the opportunity to watch some great people come out of broken homes.  Abraham was one whose life was threatened by family members.  Joseph was another.  We are told of his brothers that 'they conspired against him to slay him' (Genesis 37:18).  And yet few men rose higher in life than these two.  It may be hard for people who suffer from imperfect families to convince the Father on judgement day that their lack of devotion and obedience ought to be excused because of what happened in their homes."
(Ted L. Gibbons, OT Lesson #11, "How Can I Do This Great Wickedness?")

We see in Joseph of Egypt a perfect study in commitment, dedication, determination, persistence, endurance and faithfulness to God under any circumstance. Joseph is a perfect example of someone 'willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him' (Mosiah 3:19), willing to endure valiantly through trials with faith unshaken, not knowing the reason why.  Father Lehi lamented over his son Lemuel by saying: "O that thou mightest be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord" (1 Nephi 2:10).  This is exactly what Joseph was like: firm, steadfast and immovable like a valley.  Jesus claimed if we had faith 'as a grain of mustard seed' we could move mountains (Matt 17:20). The brother of Jared did just that (Ether 12:30) and proved that even something as formidable as a mountain can be moved but the valley, however, is firm, steadfast and immovable.  This was Joseph of Egypt. Because he was steadfast and trusted God in all things, God made of him a mighty man, a prototype of the Saviour himself.

At the tender age of 17 Joseph was torn away from his family by the brothers who were supposed to love him and protect him and spent 13 years as a slave or a prisoner. You could say he had every reason to believe that the Lord had dealt with him unjustly despite his devotion to the God of his fathers.  Joseph, however, knew he had an important destiny which was revealed to him through his dreams, and he chose to continue to believe in God by recognising opportunities that could turn his tragedies into blessings.  He trusted the Lord at every turn throughout all his tribulations.  The scriptures are replete with the Lord's promises that He will prosper those who keep His commandments (1 Nephi 2:20, 1 Nephi  4:14, 2 Nephi 1:9, 2 Nephi 1:20, 2 Nephi 4:4, Jarom 1:9, Omni 1:6, Mosiah 1:7 etc)  As Joseph sat in prison, stripped of his position and livelihood and unjustly accused because he chose to resist evil,  he could have been excused for believing that this promise did not apply to him.  Joseph, however, proved that God keeps his promises under any circumstance.  Where ever Joseph was, he endeared people to him because 'the Lord was with him'.  We read in Genesis chapter 39:

"And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.  And his master saw the the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.  And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.  And it came to pass from the time he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.  And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat.  And Joseph was a goodly person and well favored." (Genesis 39:22-6)

Imagine having earned such respect and trust of someone that they put all their financial affairs in your hands, to the point that they don't even know how much money they have but trust that you would provide their next meal.  This is the kind of man that Joseph was.  This kind of trustworthy and good character can only come through obedience to God and his commandments.  Consider this:

"This blessing comes only by obedience, and in this case it came to a young man who had every excuse to be disobedient.  His faith in God had not seemed to help him avoid troubles.  His obedience to the commandments had not prevented tragedy.  He cannot ask the bishop for an interview nor seek a blessing from his father.  No thoughtful members of his priests' quorum will be by to offer support in his troubles. He is alone and utterly on his own.  He has no reason to keep the commandments unless he wants to. If he does not, other than God, who will ever know?"  (Ted L. Gibbons, OT Lesson #11)

Joseph's ultimate test of faith came in the form of a woman.  This test of faith became the crowning glory of proof that he would never stray from his faith and commitment to live God's laws.  Joseph referred to Potiphar's wife's invitation as 'great wickedness' (Genesis 39:9).  The following insight into Joseph's character helps us have appreciation of Joseph's tenacity and his ability to overcome what could have been an overwhelming sense of hopelessness as his life took a turn for the worse:

"Young man, a thousand miles away from home, can you keep the standards of your mother and father?  One man changed the history of the world by taking into a foreign country these standards: He was good looking, he had personality; he was young.  Because of his physique and general carriage, he carried prestige.  She was a woman of importance - yes, I presume she was attractive. She tempted him once - she tempted him twice - yes, and many more times.  Each time he remembered the teachings of his folk at home.  He looked sin in the face and stood like a rock.  Yes, as the saying goes, he took it on the chin.  For just a moment what a price he paid to keep straight - and don't forget he was praying all the time. When she found herself unvictorious, she caught his garment as he fled.  The sample of the clothing was shown to her husband and if we can use our imagination, a remark from her treacherous lips went to her husband about as follows: "Well, here's the evidence. You thought he was lily-white, didn't you?"  Into a dark dungeon he went for two years.  And he was still praying.  And when he was sold into Egypt by his brothers for a few pieces of silver, he was praying.  Does the Lord really answer prayers? But let's shift to the last act of our play. The curtain goes up with an entirely different scene. "And they came from all nations to buy corn". Who was head of this great commissary department? Who was it that was next to the king of the land? Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, the boy who could say "no" - the lad who took the standards of his parents into a foreign land!  It was that boy who stood at the crossroads all alone". (Bisop Marvin O. Ashton, Improvement Era, Vol. XIviii, December, 1945, No. 12)

Joseph never failed to recognise that something good always comes out of something bad.  He believed that even his unjust imprisonment was a blessing.  The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs quotes Joseph as saying "I gave thanks to the Lord and sang praise in the house of darkness, and how I rejoiced with cheerful voice, glorifying my God, because through her trumped-up charge I was set free from this Egyptian woman".
(James H. Charlesworth, The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments)

It is staggering to think of what lay on the line when Joseph was tempted by his master's wife.  Had Joseph succumbed,  his destiny, the destiny of his family and the destiny of his descendants would have all been in peril. Had he chosen the life of sin, he would never have become the man that he became.  Joseph became the temporal saviour of his father's house by saving them from famine.  According to the dream he had where his brother's sheaves of grain bowed to his, Joseph was elevated to his position, not to be worshipped by his brothers, like they had supposed, but to serve them.  Their bowing 'was an act of receiving their brother's help, not meant to establish some kind of family pecking order'. (Phillip Allred, OT Lesson 11, Meridian Magazine)

Just as Joseph saved his family temporally, his progeny is to become spiritual saviours to their brethren of Israel and the rest of the Father's children.  The JST records the responsibility of Joseph's seed in our day:

"Wherefore thy brethren (the other tribes of Israel) shall bow down unto thee, from generation to generation, unto the fruit of thy loins (Ephraim and Manasseh) for ever; For thou shalt be a light unto my people, to deliver them in the days of their captivity, from bondage; and to bring salvation unto them, when they are altogether bowed down under sin". (JST Gen. 48:10-11)

"During this last dispensation, Joseph's descendants are charged with providing the covenants, ordinances, and saving truths of the gospel for the rest of the family.  With this in mind, it is exciting to see our modern temples as veritable spiritual granaries or storehouses where souls are literally delivered and saved while all around a famine seeks to lay waste precious mortal opportunities". (Phillip Allred, OT Lesson 11, Meridian Magazine)

"It is Ephraim who is building temples and performing the ordinances in them for both the living and for the dead. When the 'lost tribes' come, and it will be a most wonderful sight and a marvelous thing when they do come to Zion, in fulfillment of the promises made through Isaiah and Jeremiah, they will have to receive the crowning blessings from their brother Ephraim, the 'firstborn' in Israel".  (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:252)

What a glorious destiny Joseph stood to lose!  When his father Jacob gave Reuben, his first born, his final blessing he began the blessing with some powerful words, "Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power....".(Gen. 49:3)  What amazing words those are.  Reuben was the birthright son who stood to receive the priesthood blessings of the fathers and through whom the patriarchal line should have continued but Reuben did not abstain from temptation like Joseph did.  Reuben committed a terrible sin by committing adultery with one of his father's wives, Bilhah.  Because of this he lost everything.  What should have been an amazing blessing ended with:
"Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it..." (Gen. 49:3)

Because he was 'unstable as water' Reuben's birthright was inherited by Joseph who received a double portion for his sons.  If you poured water into different shape glasses, the water would take the shape of the glass that it is in.  If however, you tried to put a brick into three different containers, the brick would not change its' shape.  The containers would have to change their shape instead.  While water is changeable, variable, mutable, unsteady, uncertain, transitory and unstable; a brick is entirely opposite. While Reuben was 'weak as water',  Joseph was as strong as a brick and because of it, he in the end had it all.