Job: Our Exemplar Amidst Trials and Tribulations

I maintain a list of subjects that may lend themselves for future blog writings. For months, the subject of adversity has been on that list. Recently, I was asked to teach the Gospel Doctrine lesson on Job. What a fitting opportunity to consider the role of adversity in our lives.

This being a world-wide Church, we should consider that our brothers and sisters around the world are living in most of the possible national societies, and many of them are experiencing the effects of political, military, economic, and social upheavals. Indeed, some of the world’s societies are laboring under multiple of these debilitating crises. Closer to home, the present economic recession must have at least touched everyone of our citizens in some minor way. For many individuals and families, the ramifications of this economic downturn have been devastating. When to these circumstances we add the normal and expected personal crises resulting from accidents, illness, and death, the results for those so effected are personal trials coming in layers. If to this mix we add the sorrows of personal relationships gone wrong, we may rightfully speak of people in these times as experiencing trials and tribulations.

But as severe as our individual tests are or will be, few if any of us will ever face trials the likes of which befell Job. Here was an individual the Lord, Himself, declared to be a “perfect and upright” man (Job 1:1 & 8). And this favorable judgment is all the more revealing when we come to understand that Job possessed great personal wealth and secular power. Princes and nobles were apparently his inferiors (Job 29:9-11), and the services he provided to his fellow citizens ran the gamut from those of social welfare to law enforcement (Job 29:12-17). At the nadir of his agony, he had suffered, save for his wife, the loss of his entire family. His sources of income were taken from him, and he was cast out by his friends to exist alone suffering unimaginable pain from physical, mental, and spiritual torment. He came to view death as a means of welcome relief from his misery. However, through all of this, “Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:22).

Because Job managed to survive this period of extreme testing with such success and dignity, he provides for us a great example of how we ought to deal with the trials and tribulations we will encounter during our mortal probation. Job revealed three personal traits that were key to his success. First, “trust in the Lord.” “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him” (Job 13:15). Second, Job’s testimony of the Savior remained firm. “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another” (Job 19:25-27). Third, through his suffering, Job never lost his integrity. “As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul; All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me” (Job 27:2-5). Integrity, taught Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, is “always doing what is right and good, regardless of the immediate consequences. It means being righteous from the very depth of our soul, not only in our actions but, more important, in our thoughts and in our hearts. Personal integrity implies such trustworthiness and incorruptibility that we are incapable of being false to a trust or covenant” (Conference Report, April 1990, 38).

While the question is often asked, I do not see any real purpose in discussing here the sources from which our trials may come. Our reality is that trials and tribulations assuredly will come to each of us if our days on this earth are prolonged. Thus to my way of thinking, spending much time contemplating their possible sources or even asking the question “Why me?” are not really productive pastimes. Elder Richard G. Scott said: “When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this now? What have I done to cause this? will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God. Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help?” (Elder Richard G. Scott, Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 18).

As we face the trials of life, we will be able to better maintain our desired course of conduct if we apply the wisdom gleaned from Job’s experience. We should “trust in the Lord,” maintain a strong testimony of Christ and of His mission as they apply to us, and never lose our integrity concerning those principles we know to be true.

In the second of Mormon’s epistles to his son, Moroni, Mormon affirms a form of conduct that greatly applies during times of tribulation. “And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of god” (Moroni 9:6). Both Job and Mormon understood that quitting was not an acceptable option. No matter how desperate our situation may become, our only course must be the one that carries us forward toward the fulfillment of our eternal potential. If the matter comes down to the need that we just keep putting one foot ahead of the other, then that is what we do. Quitting is not an option.

Obedience

Please consider the following scriptures:

“I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (Doctrine and Covenants 82:10).

“And again I say unto you, if ye observe to do whatsoever I command you, I, the Lord, will turn away all wrath and indignation from you, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against you” (D&C 98:22).

“And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; . . . and they who keep [this] second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever” (Abraham 3:24-26).

It should be apparent from these few references and my last writing entitled, “Eternal Progression,” that the key to our fulfilling our God-given potential is the obedience we demonstrate relative to God’s law i.e., His commandments, revelations, ordinances, covenants, judgments, etc. (Mormon Doctrine, 149). There is no compulsion that we be obedient. The gift of agency places the decision as to our relative obedience squarely within our power. However and absolutely, the degree of salvation we will enjoy in eternity will be commensurate with the degree of obedience we have demonstrated toward God’s law during this period of probation or our “second estate.”

Even at its longest, mortality is a brief period within the expanse of our existence. Thus we have precious little time, relatively speaking, to demonstrate our true level of commitment to God’s way. Under these circumstances, we ought to be asking ourselves on a regular basis if we are making the personal progress that is required? In this mode, we ought to determine those aspects of our life that are not consistent with our established goals and commit ourselves to taking specific, identifiable steps to make the necessary adjustments to our practices. In this manner, we will be able to bring our conduct into more conformity with our Heavenly Father’s expectations for us.

If we are seeking an important area of our lives in which we may be significantly astray of our desired path, one in which meaningful course corrections may require even extraordinary efforts, in my opinion we should revaluate the time we spend on the various forms of entertainment that occupy our time. The enticements of the world are mostly presented in the context of entertainment and its sensual rewards. Given that these rewards span the full gamut of possibilities from the heavenly to the hellish, our constant vigilance as to the sources of our rewards in fact is imperative. Substantive course corrections in our habitual entertainments may prove, given their nature, very difficult. However, remember that Lot’s wife was so taken by the enticing rewards to be found in the likes of Sodom and Gomorrah, that her reluctance to make a clean break with the unacceptable was cause for her destruction. Her experience should serve as a powerful lesson for us in our pursuit of truth and light. What a waste it would be if we were to give up our birthright for a mess of pottage.

Now a word concerning an activity that will enhance our ability to be obedient. For most of my life, the Church’s membership has been admonished by its leaders to study the gospel on a daily basis. During certain periods, I have successfully rationalized my way out of daily gospel study. However, with time may come a better understanding of what is truly best, and I now know that the advice I heard many years ago on this subject is valid. It is also clear to me today that the rationalization of true principles cannot withstand honest, gospel-based scrutiny.

The summation of this writing I will leave to the author of Ecclesiastes: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:3-14).

Eternal Progression

Having wrestled on and off for years with the interrelatedness of light, truth, intelligence, and law and the role they must play in our individual eternal progression, I took the opportunity some years ago while teaching an Institute class on the Doctrine and Covenants to formulate for my own purposes a possible answer on this subject.

I believe that Godhood is a state or condition of being (See D&C 132: 19-24 and Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation 2:35-36). When an individual becomes a God, he has come into the possession of all the attributes we ascribe to a true God namely, being all-knowing (omniscient) and all-powerful (omnipotent), a supreme intelligence. There are Gods who provided the way for our Father in Heaven (Elohim) and his son, Jesus Christ (Jehovah), to become Gods, thus necessarily preceding them. More recently, at least several of our mortal brothers, Elohim’s spirit sons, have become Gods. “[A]nd because they [Abraham, Isaac and Jacob] did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods” (D&C 132:37).

In that portion of the universe under the control of Elohim, countless worlds have been created and have passed away through the power Jehovah exercises under the direction of his Father. This Light of Christ fills the immensity of space and is the power that governs it and provides to it light, life, and law. In other words, such is the impact of an all-powerful God upon his creations.

Truth, the “knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come” (D&C 93:24), as revealed by the Holy Ghost (D&C 79:2), is the power of knowledge that fills the immensity of His creations because He is all-knowing. Thus from the time we were born as spirit offspring of Elohim in the pre-mortal existence, light and truth have provided us the direction by which we progressed (matured) toward becoming as our heavenly parents are.

An understanding of the intelligence must go beyond just the realization that this “light and truth” (D&C 93:36) element of our being is co-eternal with God, and that when “this intelligence [is] combined with the spirit [it] constitutes a spiritual identity or individual” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Progress of Man 11). An infant intelligence possesses the capacity to grow in understanding, power, and light through obedience to law until it becomes like unto our Heavenly Father, the Supreme Intelligence (Mormon Doctrine 387). Joseph Smith taught that “God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself” . . . [i.e., gaining in] “knowledge, power, glory and intelligence” until they are as He is (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith 354).

So how do I understand these pieces work together? Truth and light emanating from the presence of God provide us direction at all stages of our progression enabling us to return to our Heavenly Father, if we so desire, and eventually become as He is. Like a directional beacon for an aircraft, we can find our way through the trials and circumstances of the pre-mortal, mortal, and post-mortal phases of our existence if we but follow God’s light and truth.

Because we did so in heaven, we received an opportunity to come to earth as opposed to being cast down to Hell with Satan. In this world, we are responsible to find light and truth and cling to their direction as opposed to following the ways of the world that are really the ways of the devil. If we fail to recognize and follow the correct path, we will be condemned (D&C 93:31-32). How is this fair? Our intelligence, that is light and truth, recognized light and truth while we were in Elohim’s presence. With that experience, we should be able to detect light and truth even in this darkened existence. However, our Father has not left us entirely alone in this pursuit of his “way.” The Light of Christ seeks to direct all men toward doing what is righteous as opposed to that which is sinful. If we respond to the promptings of his Spirit, we can find the gospel and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The latter will serve as a powerful ally in our efforts to remain on course. If we are worthy when we leave this world, we will have the benefit of Christ’s presence, the Second Comforter, to provide us even more potent assistance in our pursuit to become as our Father in Heaven is.

In mortality, God’s law manifests itself in the form of commandments, revelations, ordinances, covenants, judgments, etc. (Mormon Doctrine 149). These are the steps we are to follow in the “way” that light and truth delineate for us. The degree to which we are obedient to God’s law will determine the nature of our resurrection (D&C 88:28-45). In addition, we will be resurrected with a body that is materially consistent with the degree of glory (celestial, terrestrial, telestial) or non-glory (hell) we have earned in this life as a result of our obedience or disobedience to God’s law. The Savior said, “He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things” (D&C 93:28). Having progressed to that end by means provided by a loving Father and a loving Savior, we will have fulfilled the full measure and purpose of our creation.

The Church of Jesus Christ in All Dispensations

During August, Priesthood brethren and Relief Society sisters should study lesson #16 in our lesson manual, Gospel Principles, entitled “The Church of Jesus Christ in Former Times.” I was delighted to see this lesson title inasmuch as we spend precious little time discussing this topic. As I read the lesson, my delight diminished. “Former times” as used in the lesson title is interpreted to mean the two Churches organized by the Savior in Asia and America during the meridian of time. Unfortunately, this lesson will tend to perpetuate the mistaken notion that the Church of Jesus Christ did not exist on the earth before the Lord’s birth. This situation is only slightly mitigated by the contents of lesson #15 that concerns the subjects of covenants and the Abrahamic covenant in particular. The purpose of this writing is to set forth materials that substantiate that the Church of Jesus Christ has existed on the earth since the days of Adam.

An individual might begin his or her consideration of this subject by turning to the “Bible Dictionary” that is located near the back of the Holy Bible published by the LDS Church. It is well worth the space needed here to quote from the material that appears there under the topic heading “Church.” “The church is the organized body of believers who have taken upon themselves the name of Jesus Christ by baptism and confirmation. To be the true church it must be the Lord’s church, and must have his laws, his name, and be governed by him through representatives whom he has appointed. In this sense, the church began with the days of Adam, and has been on the earth among mankind whenever there were a group of believers who had the priesthood and revelations of heaven. . . . The O.T. uses the term congregation for church. The word kingdom is often used in the scriptures to mean the church, since the church is literally the kingdom of God on the earth.”

The Prophet Joseph Smith bore testimony to the truthfulness of this statement. “I say, in the name of the Lord, that the kingdom of God was set up on the earth from the days of Adam to the present time. Whenever there has been a righteous man on earth unto whom God revealed His word and gave power and authority to administer in His name, and where there is a priest of God--a minister who has power and authority from God to administer in the ordinances of the gospel and officiate in the priesthood of God, there is the kingdom of God; . . . Where there is no kingdom of God there is no salvation” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 271-272). Unless I am misreading the Prophet’s first sentence, we may assume that somewhere on the earth the Kingdom of God has existed unabated from the days of Adam to our very day.

In what the Prophet Joseph Smith called “a revelation on priesthood,” he was instructed concerning the lineage through which the Melchizedek Priesthood passed from Adam to Abraham. The Lord concludes this discussion by saying, “Which priesthood continueth in the church of God in all generations, and is without beginning of days or end of years” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:17). About three years later in another revelation on the Priesthood, the Lord explained the reason for the renaming of the High Priesthood. “Before [Melchizedek’s] day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God. But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood” (D&C 107:3-4).

Book of Mormon prophets spoke clearly upon this subject. Nephi taught his people concerning the baptism of Jesus Christ and the importance of following His example. “Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. . . . And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there in none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end” (2 Nephi 31:17 & 21) In all dispensations beginning with Adam, baptism and confirmation have been the necessary means by which all individuals were required to enter the Kingdom of God or His Church on the earth. Nephi’s teachings preceded the condescension of Jesus Christ as savior by well more than five hundred years.

And if the point has not been made sufficiently, then I will conclude this writing with the words of God spoken to Adam: “I am God. I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh. If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you” (Moses 6:51-52).