Adversity :: July, 2009 Teaching For Our Times Lesson based on a General Conference Talk by LDS President Henry B Eyring

This is one of those General Conference talks that has all the hallmarks of becoming a  ‘classic’. It was the only talk that made me cry.  1 

President Eyring spoke about the role of adversity in our lives. He taught very clearly  that the purpose of mortality was to prepare us for eternal life‐‐not mere immortality,  but the kind of life that God has, along with the power to have offspring forever. Part  of that preparation involves us becoming the kind of people who can be trusted with  that kind of power. The only way to do that is to expose us to adversity, hard  challenges, the kinds of tests that shake one to one's foundations.   2 

In these latter‐days of government bailouts, plummeting home values, increasingly  double‐digit unemployment, terrorism and persecution around the world, there is  plenty of adversity to go around, plenty of storms.   It was very helpful to have Pres. Eyring remind me – because I’m sorry but this talk  was just for me. I even live tweeted that comment at the time, generating waves of   “Me Too” from mormons all over the world. It was helpful to have him remind us of  of the useful perspective that the Gospel supplies regarding our troubles, and how to  transcend them. Note that I did not say 'avoid' them, or even resolve' them. Not  every challenge yields a direct solution.   Note: Not every question can be answered by Google.   3 

Some things are, and will continue to be, outside of my, or your, control. As many of  you know, over the past year my family has been facing a long, deep trial that quite  frankly would have broken apart many families, especially those who do not have the  benefit of the gospel in their lives. We are so blessed to have opened our door, our  hearts and our minds to Elders Lewis and Allison on that warm Autumn afternoon.  Even if I cannot control what happens outside my control, I can control my response.  This was perhaps the biggest lesson I have personally learned. Choosing the Gospel  and the teachings of Christ are getting me through this time of adversity.  As President Eyring teaches, the Lord uses adversity to bring about His purposes and  to help us learn valuable lessons.  As we examine the  scriptures and the history of  the Church, we can see how the Lord uses adversity to bring about His purposes and  to help us learn valuable lessons.  4 

What is the place for adversity in our lives? As we examine the history of the Church  and accounts from the scriptures, we can see how the Lord uses adversity to bring  about His purposes and to help us learn valuable lessons.  5 

Through adversity or, as President Eyring puts it: “education” we experience, “misery  and happiness, sickness and health, the sadness from sin and the joy of forgiveness.  That forgiveness can come only through the infinite Atonement of the Savior, which  He worked out through pain we could not bear and which we can only faintly  comprehend.  It will comfort us when we must wait in distress for the Savior’s promised relief that  He knows, from experience, how to heal and help us. The Book of Mormon gives us  the certain assurance of His power to comfort. And faith in that power will give us  patience as we pray and work and wait for help. He could have known how to succor  us simply by revelation,”  6 

President Eyring reminds us about the poor in Alma 34.   “Once they had repented and were converted, they were still poor. But He sent them  to do for others what they might reasonably have thought was beyond them and  which they still needed. They were to give others what they would have hoped He  would give them. Through His servant, the Lord gave these poor converts this hard  task:   “After ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and  visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who  stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is  vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.  That may seem much to ask of people in such great need themselves.  7 

Even when you feel the truth of that capacity and kindness of the Lord to deliver you  in your trials, it may still test your courage and strength to endure.    The Prophet Joseph Smith faced adversity. Clearly. When he was held in the Libery jail  in 1839, D&C 121: 1‐2 states that he cried out:  “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?  “How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the  eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be  penetrated with their cries?  8 

Chalkboard discussion  • What kinds of adversity can we choose to avoid?  List responses in a column on the  chalkboard.   e.g. poor health or addiction because of breaking the Word of Wisdom, family  quarrels because of selfishness and greed, guilt or punishment because of breaking  the law of the land, or any other adversity brought on by our own poor choices.  Explain that if we are facing adversity that comes from sin, work toward repenting of  that sin. Repenting of the sin will help remove or reduce the adversity.   Sometimes, we face adversity brought on by other people.  • What kinds of adversity might come to us regardless of our own choices? List  responses in a second column on the chalkboard.   e.g. illness or disability, injuries or financial losses; accidents; unemployment; lapsed  family members, etc.  We cannot choose to avoid these kinds of trials but we can determine how we will  react to them and what we learn from how we respond. If we regard our trials as  opportunities to learn and grow, they can become blessings for us.  9 

President Eyring reassures us: “ I have seen faith and courage come from a testimony  that it is true that we are being prepared for eternal life. The Lord will rescue His  faithful disciples. And the disciple who accepts a trial as an invitation to grow and  therefore qualify for eternal life can find peace in the midst of the struggle.”  He compares the story of a young man he had recently met who had prepared for  challenging times with that of the prophet Alma. The young man, had prepared more  than food storage and financial savings; he had begun to prepare his heart to be  worthy of the Lord’s help which he knew he would in the near future need.  Perhaps  most telling is the young man’s wife. Her response, upon learning her husband had  lost his job, was with cheerfulness in her voice. Cheerfulness! Why? She was filled  with faith that the Lord had given them a trial. They had visited with their bishop.  They were full‐tithe payers. And the sense of peace the Lord promised would be with  them during this trial. Think of the last trial you were faced with and your response –  was it cheerful?  Alma teaches: “Yea, he that truly humbleth himself, and repenteth of his sins, and  endureth to the end, the same shall be blessed—yea, much more blessed than they  who are compelled to be humble because of their exceeding poverty.”  10 

Through adversity or, as President Eyring puts it: “education” we experience, “misery  and happiness, sickness and health, the sadness from sin and the joy of forgiveness.  That forgiveness can come only through the infinite Atonement of the Savior, which  He worked out through pain we could not bear and which we can only faintly  comprehend.  It will comfort us when we must wait in distress for the Savior’s promised relief that  He knows, from experience, how to heal and help us. The Book of Mormon gives us  the certain assurance of His power to comfort. And faith in that power will give us  patience as we pray and work and wait for help. He could have known how to succor  us simply by revelation,”  This is where I lost it. President Eyring shares a story about a friend of his who served  as a Bishop when his daughters were still at home  11 

His story:   His health began a slow decline. I can’t remember all the ailments he suffered. He  needed surgery. He was in constant pain. Yet every time I visited him to give him  comfort, he turned the tables; I always was the one comforted. His back and legs  forced him to use a cane to walk. Yet there he was in church, always sitting near the  door, where he could greet those arriving early, with a smile.  I will never forget the feeling of wonder and admiration which came over me when I  opened the back door at home and saw him coming up our driveway. It was the day  we put out our garbage cans to be picked up by city workers. I had put the can out in  the morning. But there he was dragging my garbage can up the hill with one hand  while he balanced himself with a cane in his other hand. He was giving me the help he  thought I needed when he needed it far more than I did. And he was helping with a  smile and without being asked.  12 

Chalkboard Discussion  Discuss some trials people at their (your) stage of life might endure. Less about age,  more about, for example, being a mom or a student or taking care of a parent. You  could be a student at 20 and face the trial of a poor semester at school or at 40  returning to school. Or a mom faced with a child’s newly diagnosed illness. It could be  breaking an arm or moving house. Or caregiving for a parent or family member that  may be different for someone who never had children. Or if it is too personal, ask to  share the experience of a friend or family member.  Discuss the lessons that were learned through each trial. For example, The death of a  loved one may increase our testimony of the plan of salvation. List these lessons on  the chalkboard under the second heading, and discuss how each lesson can help us  become more like our Father in Heaven and our Savior. Draw the point out about the  lessons learned as blessings as compared with the trial that was endured.  13 

For everyday questions and times of adversity, there is The Ultimate Answer.  Don’t let adversity define your life – see it as the gift that it is from the Lord to help  teach us become more like Him.  He promises us the absolute power to overcome all things.   I bear my testimony that the Savior lives. His Atonement makes everything possible.   <Refer to slide>  14 

During some of my personal darkest moments over the last year, all I had to do was  think about the betrayal of our Savior by those closest to him and how endured the  outcome of that betrayal. He lived a life of perfection. He suffered and endured until  the end. He can and will give us strength to rise through every trial.   President Monson is the Lord’s prophet. As President Eyring testified, President  Monson holds all the keys of the priesthood. This is the Lord’s true Church restored  on this earth by the Lord’s prophet Joseph Smith. Through this church and the  scriptures, we are being blessed to help others He places in our path. I leave this  lesson with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.  15 

Adversity :: July, 2009 Teaching For Our Times Lesson based on a General Conference Talk by LDS President Henry B Eyring

by Mormon Mom on Jul 26, 2009

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Adversity :: July, 2009 Teaching For Our Times Lesson based on a General Conference Talk by LDS President Henry B Eyring — Document Transcript