I gave a lesson for the young women of my Church last Sunday. We also used it as a family lesson the following night. This whole month I have been thinking of the talks that were suggested in the lesson plan and the quotes that were referenced therein.
The first quote is by President Spencer W. Kimball
"There are great challenges ahead of us, giant opportunities to be met. I welcome that exciting prospect and feel to say to the Lord, humbly, 'Give me this mountain,' give me these challenges."
I asked the young women and my children the same question:
"Why do you think President Kimball wants 'these challenges'? Notice, not only does he want them but he says he 'welcome[s] that exciting prospect'. What is he, nuts? Why would someone call challenges exciting?"
Our current Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson shared the other thing I've been thinking of all month. He read a portion of this poem I've heard many times before.
Good Timber
The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.
-Douglas Malloch
An ancient prophet in the New Testament also shared his testimony of joy and beauty through adversity, "No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grevious: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." - Hebrews 12:11
All three of these righteous men are testifying that beautiful, "joyous", "peaceable", wonderful things come out of pressing through our opposition, through our adversity.
Joseph Smith was another who had trials I cannot even begin to fathom.
He received this promise in Liberty Jail, "if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." - D&C 122:7
It's that word, "EXPERINCE" that strikes me, what we learn, what we gain, what we come to know as we go through and faithfully endure these challenges. These prophets who have shared the beauty that can come of opposition are speaking from their own experiences. I believe they know what it is first hand to cry out with the most soulful tears, with heart-wrenching agony over the sorrows that dig trenches in their hearts. They know what it means to pray and to "pray more earnestly". They have anxiously sought for answers through the scriptures and turned to the word of the Lord for guidance. And I am certain that every one of them have in their searching for answers, hope, and healing came to appreciate more fully the One Who carried all our suffering and descended below all things.
All of these ingredients: "soulful prayer", "serious study of the scriptures," and "seeking the Savior" work in us something amazing and beautiful. It opens up our hearts to receive His Spirit and as we receive this Spirit within us we are changed into "new creatures". Through this process, we witness over and over again the reality of God because we see undeniable, direct answers to our prayers. We feel and experience for ourselves the reality of heaven. This mountain we have climbed, however painful, has opened our "vision". We see the bigger picture now, not just for our own lives but for others as well. We WANT to "lift up the hands that hang down and strengthen the feebled knees." We have become converted, transformed, with new eyes, a new heart, and a new Spirit within us! Like Jacob, our faith becomes "unshakeable".
I can see clearly from my own experiences why President Kimball said, "'Give me this mountain,' give me these challenges." Through my adversities I have come to know my Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ. Through these trials I have gained an appreciation for the strong shoulders of my Savior. He is able!!! I have found that this is the way to eternal life. This is the fruit of the tree. And a testimony like this worth every effort for it is "sweet above all that is sweet."
I humbly thank my Father for His infinite wisdom. And I am deeply thankful that He loves me enough to provide for me opposition and challenges. I too, welcome them.
-Alicia
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