Our Journey

A couple weeks ago I learned why bad things or hardships come upon people who don’t really deserve it. As it turns out, that statement is actually worded poorly. We are lucky to get all these trials because they make us who we are and it is one of the reasons we are here on earth. If hard times were kept from people, it would actually be detrimental to their development. Let’s look at an example from the Book of Mormon. Lehi and his family were living in Jerusalem and the Lord commanded them to leave their house and go to the promised land. They traveled in the wilderness for 8 years and “waded through much affliction,” as Nephi says. If the Lord wanted them in the promised land couldn’t he have just put them there himself? He could have but that wasn’t the whole point. After experiencing all the trials and hardships, they were becoming what God wanted them to become. Well, most everyone was except for Laman and Lemuel. The following scripture shows us why.

1 Nephi 2:14

And it came to pass that my father did speak unto them in the valley of Lemuel, with power, being filled with the Spirit, until their frames did shake before him. And he did confound them, that they durst not utter against him; wherefore, they did as he commanded them.

Laman and Lemuel obeyed because they had to. Nephi, on the other hand, obeyed for a different reason. He obeyed because he loved the Lord and he had faith in him.

Our life on earth is comparable to the Lehi’s journey through the wilderness to the promised land. Getting to the final destination is not the only reason we are here, though it is part of it. Having trials and hardships is one of the main reason we are on earth. They are part of our growth and progression if we allow them to be. So next time you’re in a rough patch, or if you’re in one right now, try to figure how you can grow from it and let it build you up rather than tear you down.