I am taking a New Testament class this semester. We are studying the epistles right now...and this week it was Peter.
I've read Peter before. But this time it meant more to me.
So this is what happened - Tuesday was kind of a rough day for me. Ok, it was just all together
terrible.
I even made banana bread that day just to give my hands something to do.
But of course, Heavenly Father always answers my prayers and when it seems like I am feeling the lowest...that is when He steps in. On Wednesday morning, I was reading 1 Peter to get ready for class and I loved it! It made me so happy and I felt/read so many things that I needed to hear.
I decided in that moment that 1 Peter is one of my most favorite books of scripture of all time.
In class that day, Brother Wightman was asking us about what we read and I made a comment but I started out by saying that the way Peter writes is pretty and Bro Wightman, when I was done, said,
"First off, don't ever refer to what a man writes as 'pretty.'" hahaha fair enough.
"Peter pinned the most sublime language of any of the apostles."
- Joseph Smith
I guess
sublime really is the better word.
When Joseph was in Liberty Jail, and things couldn't get any worse, Peter's words
comforted his soul and gave him perspective in his trials.
His words did the same for me this week.
We read parts of a talk by Elder Richard G. Scott from not long after his wife passed away.
Elder Scott's talks have a way of changing my life.
I'm going to paste in some pretty good sized chunks of his talk. Just a few parts that I loved...but I only do this to refrain from just pasting in the whole thing. I highly suggest you go read it
here.
"Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain.
When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this, now? What have I done to cause this? will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God. Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help? How can I remember my many blessings in times of trial? Willing sacrifice of deeply held personal desires in favor of the will of God is very hard to do. Yet, when you pray with real conviction, “Please let me know Thy will” and “May Thy will be done,” you are in the strongest position to receive the maximum help from your loving Father."
" To produce fruit, your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experience."
"Your willingness to accept the will of the Father will not change what in His wisdom He has chosen to do. However, it will certainly change the effect of those decisions on you personally. That evidence of the proper exercise of agency allows His decisions to produce far greater blessings in your life."
"I testify that when the Lord closes one important door in your life, He shows His continuing love and compassion by opening many other compensating doors through your exercise of faith. He will place in your path packets of spiritual sunlight to brighten your way. They often come after the trial has been the greatest, as evidence of the compassion and love of an all-knowing Father. They point the way to greater happiness, more understanding, and strengthen your determination to accept and be obedient to His will."
"True enduring happiness with the accompanying strength, courage, and capacity to overcome the most challenging difficulties comes from a life centered in Jesus Christ."
Through the course of that day, everything was resolved.
I felt so much peace. It is the kind of peace that can only come from whole-hearted acceptance of the will of the Lord. It is such a good feeling.
And seriously, this class was only one of the blessings that was poured upon me Wednesday.
He lets us suffer and feel the sorrow for a little bit...because that is how we grow. But in my experience, when He comes to succor me, all the hard feelings are
completely washed away and replaced with
hope and joy.
I guess I'm sharing this because I just feel so reverenced. In awe of the way the Lord works. He knows what I need. Letting him take the reins is the only happy way to live. I felt this week the power of the Atonement. It is so so real.
Casting all your care upon him;
for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7
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