September 1, 2024 - Bill Patrick
Recently I have been pondering the principle of enduring to the end. To endure to the end means to remain true to the commandments of God despite temptation, opposition, and adversity throughout life. During these obstacles of temptation, opposition, and adversity I often think of the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8 where the Lord is speaking to Joseph Smith in Liberty jail;
7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
When I read these words I would often think to myself, “I hope this lasts ‘but a small moment’. I can’t wait for this obstacle to be over—then I will be happy again and have joy.” I have come to realize that I was focusing on the wrong words. The key to these verses is in the phrase, “If thou endure it well…”
I began to realize that “enduring” adversity means more than “getting through it.” Many of us struggle and I think of those within our wards and stake who have trials that seem endless or may not even be resolved in this life. There are some cases where there is no such thing as “sitting tight” or “waiting it out”. For those of you in this situation, the Lord loves you and many are praying for you every day. It is not enough to have trials and to get through them. The Lord wants us to have joy in our lives and we can find it through him even during adversity.
Once again the answer is always Jesus Christ and his love for us. Through our active use of the Atonement, it is indeed possible to be “troubled on every side, yet not distressed; … perplexed, but not in despair; “Persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)
In my former understanding of endurance, happiness came at the end, after the hard part was over. But this scripture, coupled with my own experiences, has taught me that you can be happy while enduring. Our struggles can humble us and humility keeps us close to our Heavenly Father and that is exactly where he wants us to be.