Sunday, October 25, 2009

Consecrated

I have long found comfort in the midst of adversity (my own or others') in several scriptures. When thing are especially difficult I remind myself often,
We know that all things work together for good to them that love God...
Romans 8: 28
or I think of the words given to Joseph in Liberty Jail:
...know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.
D&C 122: 7

I've thought of these scriptures a lot in the last few years. Cindy Lynn has had such difficult and ongoing health issues that I sometimes feel frustration and despair at the problems that seem never-ending. I have had to consciously remind myself of these promises from the Lord to be able to have peace in my heart.

As I was reading in 2nd Nephi recently something caught my eye. At first it seemed to be a verse that said the same thing as these other verses that have given me hope and peace. But as I looked at it, I realized that it was slightly different. Lehi, speaking to his son Jacob, said:
Nevertheless, Jacob, my first-born in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain.
2 Nephi 2:2

The difference, I realized, was the word consecrate. Lehi was saying that not only would these experiences benefit him, but that they would be consecrated. I tried to figure out exactly what that would mean, and finally looked up consecrate in one of my reference books.
Consecrate: To do something "with sacredness," to dedicate, devote, and focus oneself toward the realization of a sacred end. In addition, it is to set apart and designate for sacred purposes...
This touched my heart deeply; the idea that our trials and tribulations can be set apart and designated for a sacred pupose — the sacred purpose of helping us learn and grow and become more like our Father in Heaven. As I thought about this verse over the next several days, I started to see that in this context our trials might actually be seen as sacred and holy experiences.

This idea is a stretch for me, and it's a far cry from the "I think life should be a beach vacation" mantra that I've lived by for so much of my life. I am hoping that as I keep these thoughts in my mind and heart, I can be more open to this understanding and eventually truly feel the truth of Lehi's words...
he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain...

3 comments:

  1. I was thinking along this topic today in Sunday School as we discussed the sacrifices of the early Utah Saints in building the Salt Lake temple... the frustration of having to start over after Johnston's army left and they discovered the foundation they'd worked so hard to build & then protect had cracked. ...the extraordinary amount of *hard* work it took to even get the granite to the temple site, let alone build with it. ...their daily struggle for survival as they planted crops in the desert and subsisted on what they could forage while at this same time working for 40 years on a temple many of them would not live to enter.

    All contrasted with the vision of knowing they were building something to last through the Millenium so they needed to do it right. It seems to me in that context that their struggles were definitely made sacred & holy -- and especially should be in our eyes as the recipients of that dedication.

    Perhaps the capacity to see our mortal Now with an Eternal Perspective is a spiritual gift we can seek.

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  2. Good thoughts. I've felt often lately the words "Big Picture"....in capital letters. :) Endure to the end. Wait. How about "Grow to the end"...oh. That might mean hard things to come. But, in growing to the end, trying to see the Big Picture...these experiences are for my good. And, (sometimes) I don't resist those hard times...it actually can work! :) Make any sense?

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  3. Megan--wow, what a story to think about. Although I am always sort of relieved for them and consider it a blessing that something intervened in the building process for long enough that the foundation weakness would be exposed. Much better then than 100 years later, don't you think? But yes, you're right--their physical labor & effort certainly was consecrated.

    I'd never thought of eternal perspective as a spiritual gift. But you know, I completely lack it and should really pray for it!

    Mindy--absolutely. I think I've been having some of those thoughts as well...

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