This has been a great week with all of our family coming to visit us in Portugal. We first stayed at the Casa do Passal-Country House located in Penafiel about 35 minutes East of Porto. We went to Porto on Friday, December 22nd with 11 of us.
SCRIPTURE POWER
When experiencing the inequities, injuries and pains of this life do we ever refuse to be comforted?
There are several examples in the scriptures of people (who at least for a time) refused to be comforted.
Jacob later known as Israel is the first example:
“Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.” (Gen. 37:3-4) Joseph when 17 years old was sold into slavery and his coat was dipped in the blood of a goat.
“And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no. And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.” (Gen. 37: 32-35)
The comfort of his sons who sold Joseph into slavery and misrepresented his death was no doubt disingenuous. However, the comfort of his daughters who were not involved and likely unaware of the evil would have been sincere/genuine. Nevertheless, “he refused to be comforted”.
Far worse than refusing to be comforted by our friends and family is when one refuses to be comforted by God.
Psalms states: “I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.” (Psalms 77:1-3)
“And it came to pass when Coriantumr had recovered of his wounds, he began to remember the words which Ether had spoken unto him. He saw that there had been slain by the sword already nearly two millions of his people, and he began to sorrow in his heart; yea, there had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children. He began to repent of the evil which he had done; he began to remember the words which had been spoken by the mouth of all the prophets, and he saw them that they were fulfilled thus far, every whit; and his soul mourned and refused to be comforted.” (Ether 15: 1-3)
The First Presidency have said: “In addition to offering redemption from the pain of sin, the Savior offers peace in times of trial. As part of His Atonement, Jesus took upon Himself the pains, sicknesses, and infirmities of all people (see Alma 7:11–12). He understands your suffering because He has experienced it. With this perfect understanding, He knows how to help you. You can cast “all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
“Through your faith and righteousness and through His atoning sacrifice, all the inequities, injuries, and pains of this life can be fully compensated for and made right. Blessings denied in this life will be given in the eternities. And although He may not relieve all your suffering now, He will bless you with comfort and understanding and with strength to “bear up [your] burdens with ease” (Mosiah 24:15).
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,” the Savior said, “and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). On another occasion He again promised His peace, saying, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). These are the promises of the Atonement, in this life and throughout eternity.” (“Atonement of Jesus Christ”, Principles of the Gospel)
The apostle Paul said: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ” (2 Cor.1:3-5)
Jesus Christ is the source of our consolation and comfort. When we completely trust in Him and in His timing we can be comforted.
Alma prays prior to preaching to the apostate Zoramites: “O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ….O Lord, wilt thou comfort my soul, and give unto me success, and also my fellow laborers who are with me—yea, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and also Amulek and Zeezrom, and also my two sons—yea, even all these wilt thou comfort, O Lord. Yea, wilt thou comfort their souls in Christ.” (Alma 31:31-32)
“the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love,” (Moroni 8:26)
“And I, Moroni, having heard these words, was comforted,” (Ether 12:29)
“And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time. And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest.” (Enos 1:16-17)
In speaking at a mission presidents seminar on June 27, 2001, Elder Dallin H. Oaks said: “Faith in the Lord is trust in the Lord. We cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. As a result, no matter how strong our faith is, it cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him in whom we have faith. Remember that when your prayers do not seem to be answered in the way or at the time you desire. The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. When we have that kind of faith and trust in the Lord, we have true security and serenity in our lives.” (Ensign-August 2013-“In His Own Time, in His Own Way)
Why do we refuse to be comforted and rely on our own understanding? The solution is to: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Prov. 3:5)
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said: “Consider, for example, the Savior’s benediction upon his disciples even as he moved toward the pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. On that very night, the night of the greatest suffering that has ever taken place in the world or that ever will take place, the Savior said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). I submit to you, that may be one of the Savior’s commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally disobeyed; and yet I wonder whether our resistance to this invitation could be any more grievous to the Lord’s merciful heart. I can tell you this as a parent: as concerned as I would be if somewhere in their lives one of my children were seriously troubled or unhappy or disobedient, nevertheless I would be infinitely more devastated if I felt that at such a time that child could not trust me to help or thought his or her interest was unimportant to me or unsafe in my care. In that same spirit, I am convinced that none of us can appreciate how deeply it wounds the loving heart of the Savior of the world when he finds that his people do not feel confident in his care or secure in his hands or trust in his commandments.” (‘Come unto Me’, Ensign, April, 1998)
The Savior is the giver/source of all comfort. Sadly, at times it appears we refuse to accept/apply His Atonement and to be comforted/consoled. “to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received. For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.” (D & C 88:32-33) “And behold, the Lord hath reserved their blessings, which they might have received” (Mor. 5:19)
Isaiah said: “the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all” (Isa. 51:3; 2 Ne. 8:3) “our God; to comfort all that mourn” (Isa. 61:2)
Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted” (Luke 4:18) Jesus wants to heal our broken hearts but this requires us to trust Him with all our heart.
The apostle Paul, suggests: “we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Rom. 15:4) “visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love” (Moro. 8:26) The scriptures can provide comfort as the Holy Ghost will fill us with hope and perfect love.
“But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions,… O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever.” (Jac. 3:1-2)
We can “feast upon his love” as we study the scriptures. “He will console you in your afflictions.”
How can we “Look unto God with firmness of mind”… “if your minds are firm” which is needed to transfer our grief and sorrow to the Savior?
“Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.” (Hel. 3:35)
“relying alone upon the merits of Christ” (Moroni 6:4) “relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.” (2 Ne. 31:19)
By humbly focusing on Jesus Christ and His life and His sufferings, combined with prayer and fasting we can become “firmer and firmer” “in the faith of Christ” “unto the filling [of our] souls with joy and consolation”
The solution for all grief and sorrow is Jesus Christ. When we refuse to be comforted we please Satan who “had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind.” (2 Ne. 2:18) “he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” (2 Ne. 2:27)
Elder Neal A. Maxwell said: “Even though he knew he had been called personally by a personal God, Enoch wrestled with feelings of personal inadequacy (see Moses 6:31). Enoch also wept over the human condition, but he was told, “Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look” (Moses 7:44). If Enoch had not looked and been spiritually informed, he would have seen the human condition in isolation from the grand reality. If God were not there, Enoch’s “Why?” would have become an unanswered scream of despair! At first, Enoch refused “to be comforted” (Moses 7:44). Finally, he saw God’s plan, the later coming of the Messiah in the meridian of time, and the eventual triumph of God’s purposes. Enoch saw how the throne of God features justice and mercy (see Moses 7:31). Significantly, the consequences of misused human agency were explained to Enoch: mortals had been given a commandment to “love one another,” yet those then had become a people “without affection” who “hate their own blood” (Moses 7:33). We, too, can “refuse to be comforted.” We can wrongly charge God with that large portion of human misery which is actually caused by mortals’ failure to keep His commandments. Or, like Enoch, we can be intellectually meek enough to look and to accept the truths about God’s being there and about His personality and plans. Alas, when the Lord gives us “line upon line” and “precept upon precept” about Himself and His plans, many ignore these great gifts. Instead of lines, some demand paragraphs and even pages. When God provides “here a little, and there a little” (Isa. 28:10), some want a lot—now!” (“Yet Thou Art There”, Ensign, Nov. 1987)
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