I started studying on Friday afternoon, as instructed by my last two blessings. I stand in awe of what I learned in such a short afternoon. I have been brought to tears and touched so sweetly by the Spirit; I am So grateful for the Gospel and the bits I have been blessed to learn. I am digesting and pondering this simple lesson in preparation for the lessons yet to come. I am so blessed to be able to understand. I did not know I had such depths to my simple being.
Much of what I learned came from the first chapter of "If Thou Endure It Well" by President Neal A. Maxwell. Some here is paraphrased from his book, some a direct excerpt and some just my thoughts on this first step in what I can tell will be a long road to understanding the lesson I am meant to learn.
In Mosiah 23:21 and Abraham 3:25 God said that He would structure mortality to be a proving and testing experience. "The challenges differ for each of us. The configuration and weight of our own yoke of afflictions vary during the journey of discipleship such as the differing seasons of our individual lives. Unvarying, however, is the reality that only by taking upon us the yoke Jesus assigns to us, and then enduring, will we learn most deeply of Him, love Him the more and become more like Him." (page 3)
What does it truly mean in Matthew 11:30 'For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light'? According to Alma 31:38 the most profound relief awaits to be claimed: our afflictions can be 'swallowed up in the joy of Christ'. Only then will we understand the true meaning and the yoke and it's burdens will be made easy and light.
I shared this poem many months ago and feel that it fits well here as it came to mind during my reading this afternoon and I was prompted to reread it.
The Refiner of Silver
Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire.
If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my reflection in it."
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His reflection in you.
President Maxwell relates the following "Thus enduring well is clearly and essential part of mortality's planned refining process. Refining requires heat. Refining also requires time. Furthermore, if whatever constitutes "it" is to be endured well, refining also requires of it's recipients a genuine and continuing confidence in the Refiner. The painful and sometimes protracted process of refining is thus necessary in order to identify, separate, and cast off the dross... It is not only the dross impurities that must go but also coarseness of all kinds. This is necessary in order for us to develop the highest forms of personality and character." This passage leaves me to ponder 'what dross impurities do I need to cast off?'
"Some refining and defining moments do seem to come upon us suddenly. Yet even what may seem to be sudden trials or defining moments may have been building in quiet crescendo for a long time. In any case there is no quick fix and no easy, mortal equivalent of the speedy microwave oven. Even if there were, would we be willing to trade the higher speed for the higher heat? The fiery trials are warm enough as it is. Besides, refining occurs gradually "in a process of time.""
"It follows, then, that you and I cannot really expect to glide through life, coolly air conditioned, while naively petitioning "Lord, give me experience but not grief, a deeper appreciation of happiness but not deeper sorrow, joy in comfort but not in pain, more capacity to overcome but not more opposition: and please do not let me ever feel perplexed while on thine errand. Then let me come quickly and dwell with thee and fully share thy joy."" I know that one cannot experience the deepest joy without having known the deepest pain, otherwise how would one be able to measure and compare? What would you use as the measuring stick?
God knows all outcomes beforehand. So the experience of this mortal experience are solely for our purposes and growth. To hold us accountable for our actions and experiences during the mortal experience, we will go on record with the Lord as to the degree to which we have risen to meet the challenges of life. It will also allow each of us to see and know whether or not we have been successful in rising to the challenges. We must know, as Philippians 3:10 explains, we must endure for there is no free admission to the 'fellowship of His sufferings.'
"We need to endure a mix of trials. Some of these will be short and severs, others long and hard." Winston Churchill said 'We need to learn to be equally good at what is short and sharp and what is long and tough'." I pondered this today and realized that I am fairly good at handling the short and sharp, I bear down and push through for the pain, whatever type it may be, is short lived. I am not as well versed with the long and hard. Is this why so many loved ones have been taken in the past few years?
Daniel 3:25 reminds us that we are not alone in the furnace of our afflictions and D&C 14:7 explains that if we endure well now, we will receive the greatest gift later; eternal life. We need to keep these things in perspective now if we are to endure it well.
President Maxwell continues "Can we learn to keep "all these things" in perspective? Difficult as this can be, this is the course on which our faith must impel us if we are to endure it well. If we do not cling to this perspective, how can we expect to function fully and effectively in eternity without an acquired sense of proportion concerning which things matter most?... The perspective particularly achieved by those who endure it well includes learning how to distinguish between what is big and what is small."
We are here to learn to distinguish between the things that matter most and those that matter little, those things that are big and those things that are small. Without this mortal learning experience, how else would be be able to learn to make such important distinctions?
President Maxwell goes on to explain that "Mortality therefore is not a convenient, suburban, drive-around beltway with a view. Instead it passes slowly through life's inner city. Daily it involves real perspiration, real perplexity, real choosing, real suffering - and real refining! Thus by its very nature the crucial process of refining cannot occur without our enduring."
"Christ cannot perform our personal refining and enduring for us. He bore that huge, atoning portion - our sins - which we could not bear. Now He offers his grace to help us endure our smaller portion, the painful refining process in which He separates the sin, which He hates, from His children, whom He loves." We have such a difficult time with our easier portion, who can truly imagine what the price would be without Christ's assistance? He performed the hardest part on our behalf and now, when we are put to the test, He still offers assistance in the form of His grace.
"Ironically, often the most difficult part of enduring is choosing to begin the journey. We can pause too long as we contemplate this challenge or delay too long before we plunge into the process, causing too much needless trembling of the soul. It is vital therefore that we commence and then "continue as we commenced"." As with any journey that entails a trial of faith and and exercising of our character, I can imagine that we might all be hesitant to take the first steps. However, we all did choose to begin. Remember? We shouted for joy over the plan! We chose to begin by obtaining our second estate, our bodies. We have all already begun this journey. The hardest part is over; the choosing to begin. Now we must hold onto the path that we know is right. We must continue on and endure...
I know there is much more for me to learn during my study. Nothing so important could be learned in one single afternoon. I feel as if my blessing removed a tarp from the dark corner of the garage in my soul only to reveal a huge drum containing, what I presume to be, lessons for me to learn. This lesson enabled me to wipe the dust from the top of the drum to see that, yes it is a big drum and the label reads "Lessons for C'. I recounted this post to my Mom, she cried as I did so. Perhaps these lessons are not only meant for me, but also for some of those that I know?
