The Lesson

Sometimes you don't want to do what you are supposed to do. The dishes, the folding, the homework, go to bed. Sometimes, you don't want to do what you are asked to do. Teach, volunteer...best be careful of what I list there. It's not that we don't want to do good things. But.... Sometimes you don't want to do what you must do. You must because it was thrust on you.

Carol Lynn Pearson wrote a book called The Lesson. It's a terribly accurate story of a child growing through the years as he answers his math problems. Sometimes, it is easy. Sometimes, it is hard and he hides under the desk. Sometimes, he cries. He doesn't want to do what he is supposed to do, asked to do, must do. But he does it. What other option is there?

I was given a problem to solve some time ago. I realized this week, the problem is not what I thought it was. I thought the word problem read something like this:  If someone you love and have had great hopes and general respect for cuts you out, how long will it be until they forgive you and love you again?

The real word problem is more like this:  If a portion of the paradigm which formed your view of the world and people disintegrates, what are you going to do to stay upright while you regain your balance during the confusion? And if the confusion never abates, what will you do with the hole left? Will you abandon the entire foundation? If you choose to rebuild, what materials or ideals will you use and how will you construct them?  Who will you hurt in the process and how will you help them heal in the aftermath?  How many degrees will your perception shift in 1 year, 5 years, 7 years? Is it going to be okay.

I don't want this problem.








So sometimes I have to look at this, over and over. To remind me,  it doesn't have to be over. There must be another way to build, a sure foundation that will not rock, crumble, surprise me, or make me cry in the night.

On Thursday, I read this in 2 Corinthians 4 in the Bible:

 8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

Dallin H Oaks posted the following on facebook. I can't believe I'm referencing a facebook post, but it was so very timely for me.

We live in challenging times. Values and standards honored for thousands of years are now being denied or cast aside. Selfishness is replacing service. Evil is being called good, and good is being called evil.

Though men’s hearts are failing them, you should take heart. There have always been challenging times. We, the generations of your predecessors, have survived daunting challenges, and so will you. The answer to all of these challenges is the same as it has always been.

We have a Savior, and He has taught us what we should do. At the conclusion of His earthly ministry He declared: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
What overcomes the world is the power of God, manifested through His Son, Jesus Christ, and given to us through the principles and doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the stressful circumstances that surround us, we must trust in God and His promises and hold fast to the vital gospel teaching of hope. As the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9).

When we trust in the Lord that all will work out, this hope keeps us moving. Hope is a characteristic Christian virtue. I know it will counter all current despairs.

When you feel down, put faith and hope to work in your lives. While others may abandon progress, you of faith should hope on and press on with your education, your lives, and your families. As the Lord said to our early Church members, “Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail” (D&C 6:34).