Barbara Ritchie taught our lesson this week. It was a great lesson from the Joseph Smith book called "Stand Fast through the Storms of Life." There were lots of amazing stories from Joseph Smith's life--the trials and tribulations he went through, why we have trials our lives, and how we can stand fast and be faithful.
John Taylor, the third President of the Church, said: “I heard the Prophet Joseph say, in speaking to the Twelve on one occasion: ‘You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and (said he) God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God.’ … Joseph Smith never had many months of peace after he received the truth, and finally he was murdered in Carthage jail.”
“Stand fast, ye Saints of God, hold on a little while longer, and the storm of life will be past, and you will be rewarded by that God whose servants you are, and who will duly appreciate all your toils and afflictions for Christ’s sake and the Gospel’s. Your names will be handed down to posterity as Saints of God.”
George A. Smith, who served as a counselor to President Brigham Young, received the following counsel from the Prophet Joseph Smith at a time of great difficulty: “He told me I should never get discouraged, whatever difficulties might surround me. If I was sunk in the lowest pit of Nova Scotia and all the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me, I ought not to be discouraged but hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage and I should come out on the top of the heap at last.”
Next week our lesson will be from April's General Conference: "Daughters of God" by Elder M. Russell Ballard.
13 years ago
1 comment:
I needed to hear the lesson yesterday! With so much going on and Dades declining health (although you wouldn't know it with the way he throws) I've often thought "what's the point in trying?" But my problems, that feel like mountains on my shoulders, are nothing compared to what Joseph Smith and his family endured.
Thanks for a great lesson!
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