by: Norberto Betita
In my long and almost
uninterrupted service I had been a witness of sincere expressions of unwavering
and genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice of members
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Philippines. I knew that life has not been very good to
many of them, but they have the willingness and desire to sacrifice their time,
talents and means to build the Kingdom of God.
Many of those who are
experiencing critical and difficult times of life understood that in all their
days in mortality they will pass the refining tests that will strengthen them
in their journey to eternity. They learned that adversity is a friend which
points to the way of joy and happiness.
Pres. Henry B. Eyring has
said, “I encouraged those who are in the midst of hard trials, those who feel
their faith is fading under the onslaught of troubles. Trouble itself can be
your way to strengthen and finally gain unshakable faith.”
Indeed, those who have learned
to squarely face the crucible of hardships; climb the highest mountains of
difficulties and prevail over the deepening valleys of sorrows and gloom did
increase in faith and hope for the wondrous blessings of eternity. Their love of
God expands even beyond all the pains of afflictions; the rivers of physical
and mental anguish of soul and the increasing storm of disappointments. In
their adversity they see even most clearly the beautiful rainbow that decorates
the path of their journey to the highest heavens. They develop the faith
necessary for exaltation high above the glory of the Celestial world.
As Latter-Day Saints, we are
taught that we can never escape trials and tribulations. It may at times be even
difficult to understand why we suffer more despite our obedience, while those
who chose to wallow in the vanities of the world seems to experience only a
few. Then somehow, rather than strengthening our understanding and testimony of
the divine purpose of adversity, we cross the line between good and evil and
join the march of humanity into the forbidden path.
Elder Glenn L. Pace wrote,
“The greatest protection against the perils of the last days is obedience.
However, in spite of our obedience, trials and tribulations will come our way.
These are not always for the punishment of the wicked, but often for the
sanctification of the righteous.”
The scripture is replete with
accounts where the gloom of sufferings precedes the calm and comforting
assurance of a brighter day. One such clear example was that of Alma in the
Book of Mormon. While he was preaching in the land of Ammonihah, he was
reviled, spit upon and cast out of their city. But on his journey towards the
City of Aaron, “...being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation
and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the
city of Ammonihah, ...behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying:
Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast
great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments
of God... (Alma 8:13-15).” Hence, if we are totally obedient, we have every
reason to be joyful even in the midst of adversity and trials.
I am no stranger to adversity. I have a lot of them from
infancy even unto this final stretch and sunset of my life. I had been through
all the agony and grief of poverty and deprivations, and the devastating
assaults of hard times since then and now. My mortality road seemed
to have been devoid of ease and comfort. The way is generally rough and steep. Yet I know that the Lord, for a wise purpose,
did not provide an imperial avenue in the main thoroughfare towards the
celestial shores. He did not provide us with easy mine of gold and silver. And
so in my deepest and most painful sufferings I had come to understand
better God’s penetrating and comforting promise: “My son, peace be unto thy
soul. Thine adversity and thine affliction shall be but a small moment. And if
thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high...” (D & C 121:7-8). As I battle with my personal
goliaths, I came to realize and better comprehend that indeed, “The Son of Man
hath descended below them all...” (D & C 122: 8.)
Therefore, we are not alone in
all our sufferings. While we are brought down into the valley of all adversity,
temptation and sin, the Lord, even Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer
experienced even the worst of it all. Stephen E. Robinson explained in his book
Believing Christ: “According to the scriptures, he knows more of the dark side
than any of us. In fact, he knows more about pain, grief, loneliness,
contradiction, shame, rejection, betrayal, anguish, depression, and guilt than
all of us combined. For in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the hill of Calvary,
Jesus took upon himself the sins and pains of all the world. Jesus Christ did
not just assume the punishment for our sins---He took the guilt as well. The
sin, the experience itself with all its negative consequences and
ramifications, and not just the penalty of sin, became his. This is a crucial
distinction. In the Atonement, Jesus not just suffers our punishment for us, he
becomes the guilty party in our place---he becomes guilty for us and
experiences our guilt.
“In Christ there is a real
transfer of guilt for innocence.”
“All the negative aspects of
human existence brought about by the fall, Jesus Christ absorbed into himself.
He experiences vicariously in Gethsemane all the private griefs and heartaches,
all the physical pains and handicaps, all the emotional burdens and depressions
of the human family. He knows the loneliness of those who don’t fit in or who
aren’t handsome or pretty... He knows the anguish of parents whose children go
wrong. He knows the private hell of the abused child or spouse. He knows all
these things personally and intimately because he lived them in the Gethsemane
experience. Having personally lived a perfect life, he then chose to experience
our imperfect lives. In that infinite Gethsemane experience, the meridian of
time, the center of eternity, he lived a billion billion lifetimes of sin,
pain, disease and sorrow.” (Stephen E. Robinson, Believing Christ, pp.
116-123).
And so, we have a hope in Christ,
we have the assurance that He can carry us even from the depths of our
sinfulness, of our infirmities, of our problems, of our sorrows, of our
sicknesses. His reassuring promise and commitment rings as ever into our ears as
he declared: “For behold, I, God have suffered these things for all, that they
might not suffer if they would repent, but if they would not repent, they would
suffer even as I. Which suffering caused myself even God, the greatest of all,
to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body
and spirit and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink. But
glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the
children of men.” (D & C 19:16-19).
Repentance, obedience, and
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are necessary so that the effects of His
infinite sacrifice may be manifested in our lives. Even as he suffered for us,
He gives us the agency to choose whether unto death or unto life, or unto
salvation or unto destruction. He, however, continued to remind us that no unclean
thing can enter into the Kingdom of the Father, and explained through His
prophets the consequences of our choices. The prophet Alma of the Book of
Mormon explaining to his son Corianton in connection with the “...state of the
soul between death and the resurrection...” declared, “And then shall it come
to pass that the Spirit of those who are righteous are received in a state of
happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where
they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care and sorrow. And then,
shall it come to pass that the spirit of the wicked, yea, who are evil, for
they have no part nor portion of the spirit of the Lord, for they choose to do
evil works rather than good, therefore, the spirit of the devil did enter into
them, and take possession of their house, and these shall be cast out into
outer darkness; there shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, this
because of their own inequity, being led captive by the will of the devil. And
now this is the state of the wicked souls, in darkness, and a state of awful,
fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them. Thus,
they remain in that state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time
of their resurrection.” (Alma 40:11-14).
And at the time of the
resurrection the Lord promised: “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the
first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be
priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”
(Revelation 20:6) “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes shall be
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4.) “He that
overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God and he shall be my
son.” (Revelation 21:7)
To the wicked He echoes His clear warning, “But the
fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers,
and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Revelation
21:8) “...And (together with the devil) shall be tormented day and night
forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)
As a long time student of the gospel I found these
scriptural passages and many others as equitable and balanced warning of the sure
consequences of our choices. While we have the freedom to choose for ourselves,
yet we are as ever taught to use such agency to choose the right, for other
than that is eternal bondage. Of course, “... all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) And in fact John emphasized and clarified it
even better as he wrote: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him
(Jesus Christ) a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8, 10) But here is
the healing promise, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) However, many still refuse to accept the
wondrous offer to repent and be cleansed and instead walk on the broad and
expansive way towards captivity and death.
Pres. Thomas S. Monson said,
“We live far below our divine possibilities. Some become confused by
materialism, entangled by sin, and lost among the passing parade of humanity.”
Yet still, the condition of the
Lord’s infinite atonement ever remains, giving us every chance and opportunity
to renew our covenant relationship through repentance. The Atonement of Jesus Christ not only
saves us from the guilt and remorse of conscience resulting from our
sinfulness, but it also gives us the power to relieve us from the pains of
trials and adversities that are necessary for our refinement. Stephen E.
Robinson wrote, “No matter how lost we get, Jesus Christ, the way back, the
door home, is always at our elbow.” The Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ can be our daily source of
power as we battle with our anguish, our grief, and our miseries. It is a
healing balm that is ever available for all.
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