"And it came to pass that so great were their afflictions that they began to cry mightily to God." (Mosiah 24:10) But when the ruler Amulon saw this he "... commanded them that they should stop their cries; and he put guards over them to watch them, that whosoever should be found calling upon God should be put to death."
"And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts." (Mosiah 24:11-12)
So why are we faced with such hard things in this life?
God puts us in situations that may seem unbearable, but it's important to note that as long we exercise faith he will help us. It's a common misunderstanding that God will not give us more than we can handle. This is somewhat true, but actually God will give us more than we can handle by ourself. The key is that he is by our side and we have to have faith in Christ that he will help. Only then, can we handle the things thrown at our face, and dodge those nasty fiery darts of life.
A neighbor of mine back home in Utah once said " We've all heard the quote 'When life hands you lemons make lemonaid', well, unless life is going to hand us some water and sugar, that's going to be some pretty awful lemonade."
We have to put in some effort, and whole lot of faith. Faith requires that we are actively trying! In the Book of Mormon it says "...for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." Sometimes people tend get hung up on that "after all." The words 'after all' which here means, "in proportion to." God does require our effort, but grace is the power of God in our life to do all things he asks of us.
In a talk by Brad Wilcox, he uses an example of how a mom pays for piano lessons for her daughter.
God puts us in situations that may seem unbearable, but it's important to note that as long we exercise faith he will help us. It's a common misunderstanding that God will not give us more than we can handle. This is somewhat true, but actually God will give us more than we can handle by ourself. The key is that he is by our side and we have to have faith in Christ that he will help. Only then, can we handle the things thrown at our face, and dodge those nasty fiery darts of life.
A neighbor of mine back home in Utah once said " We've all heard the quote 'When life hands you lemons make lemonaid', well, unless life is going to hand us some water and sugar, that's going to be some pretty awful lemonade."We have to put in some effort, and whole lot of faith. Faith requires that we are actively trying! In the Book of Mormon it says "...for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." Sometimes people tend get hung up on that "after all." The words 'after all' which here means, "in proportion to." God does require our effort, but grace is the power of God in our life to do all things he asks of us.
In a talk by Brad Wilcox, he uses an example of how a mom pays for piano lessons for her daughter.
"Christ’s arrangement with us is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. Mom pays the piano teacher. Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. What is it? Practice! Does the child’s practice pay the piano teacher? No. Does the child’s practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No. Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is giving him to live his life at a higher level. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used—seeing her child improve. And so she continues to call for practice, practice, practice." (full talk: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1966)
There are times when it may seem impossible to even think about practicing. Remember that the Lord not only suffered for our short comings, but our pains, afflictions and sorrows.
"And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people." - Alma 7:11
Grace is the divine means and enabling power to help us through EVERYTHING!
He will not abandon us! His hand is always extended towards us, he knows each of our pain, afflictions, sorrows, heartaches even more than we do. So grab hold of his hand and don't let go!
"And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.
And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.
And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage." (Mosiah 24:13-16)
Link for the video if it doesn't work: http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages#mountains-to-climb
Grace is the divine means and enabling power to help us through EVERYTHING!
He will not abandon us! His hand is always extended towards us, he knows each of our pain, afflictions, sorrows, heartaches even more than we do. So grab hold of his hand and don't let go!
"And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.
And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.
And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage." (Mosiah 24:13-16)
Link for the video if it doesn't work: http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages#mountains-to-climb
