In the last year, the church set up a 'Mormon Messages' channel on You-Tube. If you haven't had the chance to check it out, do! This week, I've been thinking a lot about the Lord's purpose for us. Our lesson this upcoming Sunday is about Zion's Camp. Originally, these men believed they were marching to Missouri to avenge this misplaced saints and take back the land that was rightfully theirs. The Lord was with them the whole way, but because of the Saints' lack of understanding the Law of Consecration, Zion's redemption was to be in 'a little season' (see D&C 105).
Some of the members of Zion's camp, and the Saints they were coming to help, were upset about this revelation; why did they have to suffer when they were trying to live righteously? They did not understand that the Lord had a different timetable for them. His true purpose of Zion's Camp was to test and strengthen the faith of the Church's future leaders. Nine of the twelve original apostles and all of the members of the seventy marched on Zion's Camp. That is no concidence.
I guess my point is that the Lord's timetable is the one we should be looking for. We may think we're ready, or not ready, for something to happen but the Lord has purposes behind when certain events come to pass. A lot of families can relate to the family in this video; myself---to a certain degree---included. When it's the hardest for us to do, we need to step back and say what am I learning from this trial? The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves; he knows what we need as this moment to learn and grow. We just need to trust in Him and everything will work out for our benefit.
Sometimes the trials make us more grateful than we would have been without them. And maybe God wanted us to have them, or sometimes they might have been brought on by our choices. For example, there is mounting evidence and studies that infertility is often caused by malnutrition. So, sometimes you have to learn what you can learn and then trust God to make up the difference.
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