No Trial is Too Difficult

       In the Book of Mormon a prophet named Lehi had a vision (See 1 Nephi 8). In this vision he saw a tree representing the love of God. The fruit of this tree was so delicious he wanted others to partake of it also. Numberless concourses of people pressed their way forward all trying to make it to this tree of life. The people found the path that led to the tree but when a mist of darkness descended upon them many wandered and were lost.

       Our Heavenly Father does allow trials and temptations to enter into our lives. We must learn to make righteous decisions. However, we are promised that we will never have more than we can handle. We will never be tempted above that which we are able (See 1 Corinthians 10:13).

Practice Prepares us for Success

Deuternomy 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

Before the regular football season starts, in high school anyway, the team will go through extensive practicing and a lot of hard work. You might even call it a refiner's fire. Perhaps, one of the most significant reasons the coach will put his players through this is to weed out the ones who are too weak, or who simply do not want to work hard.

The Lord is our coach, so to speak. He wants us to enjoy the blessing of playing in the homecoming game and enjoy a successful season in the promised land. But He must test and try us before we can come up out of the wildnerness. If we will prove to Him that we will keep His commandments then we will reap the reward.

Our Life on Earth

        Our lives here on earth are full of trials and struggles (See Tests, Trials, and Turmoil). But we can have joy and happiness if we follow God's commandments. In Matthew 25 the Savior teaches us an important lesson about what we need to do. In the parable of the talents he tells us of three different servants (What's a talent?) . One is given five talents, one is given two, and one is given one. The first two men manage do double their money but the third hides his in the ground. The lord promises the first two men that they will be made rulers over many things but calls the last servant slothful and unfaithful. Why? He didn't lose any of his lord's money. It must be very important to Jesus Christ that we work hard and improve the great gifts that we have been given.

       In our lives here on earth we need to do our very best. I testify that if we use our time and talents wisely our Lord will say of us, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (See Matthew 25:21)

Footprints in the Sand

There is a poem entitled "Footprints in the Sand" that I'm sure most everyone has heard of: I'd like to share that for you all.

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

---

Mary Stevenson, 1936

Tests, Trials, and Turmoil

Abraham 3:25 "And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them." This life is a a  testing period, or a probationary state. Heavenly Father has given us commandments that, if followed, will make us happy and allow us to return to Him.
In life we go through hardships and it is often difficult to know what exactly we should do.  God has given us different tools to overcome these trials. The greatest gift Heavenly Father has given us is His son (John 3:16). Jesus Christ can, and will, help carry our burdens. As we exercise faith, God will grant unto us that our burdens be light, through the joy of his son (Alma 33:23).
Sometimes we can't seem to see how these hard times can be beneficial. We learn from Moroni that, "...ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." (Ether 12:6). So when times get tough I pray that we will turn to Him who can help, Jesus Christ.