The Wilderness

This week in class Brother Griffin, my professor, was teaching us about a man named Lehi and his family. To escape the soon-to-be description of a wicked Jerusalem, the Lord commanded Lehi to flee to the wilderness. This required a lot of sacrifice from him and his family. They left many possessions (and probably social connections) behind, had to live in the harsh conditions of a wilderness for a few years, and then finally made it to their “promised land”, full of rich resources and a truly hopeful future. What especially stood out to me in this passage of scripture was this verse:

“And my father dwelt in a tent.” {1 Nephi 2:15}

This short verse can sometimes seem a little pointless or funny to us. But in reality, it describes a hardship that was very real for this family. It describes our lives. Sometimes we find isolation, discomfort, and hardship when all we want is to be happy and have the inheritance that our Heavenly Father has promised us is waiting for us. We have great promises ahead, and we believe in them, and we had great things before, that are left behind, but now, we find ourselves dwelling in the desert, wondering when we will finally make it to our promised land.

Brother Griffin emphasized that Lehi’s family wasn’t just magically transported from Jerusalem to their promised land in the Americas. Of course, God could do anything, and so He could’ve done that. But, for His wise purposes, He didn’t.

Why is that?

Why does He let us go through our own wildernesses? Why isn’t life just smooth sailing?

I don’t know, exactly. But I do know that our challenges can refine us. I do know that i’m grateful for the challenges I have had in life.

I find more understanding of the “why” of trials in our lives when I look to the past—my own past, and the pasts of others.

One of the best examples of how hardships bless our lives, I think, is that of the Mormon pioneers. These were faith-filled men and women, who trekked thousands of miles to gather with those of their own faith in Utah, and to escape persecution. Some of my own ancestors were a part of this mass exodus. One group of pioneers, the Willie Handcart Company, began their trek too late in the season and suffered from extreme weather and a lack of food as a result. Many people died. Years after the fact, someone was making a negative comment about the choice of the handcart company to leave when they did. A man stood up and began speaking.

He said, “Mistake to send the Handcart Company out so late in the season? Yes. But I was in that company and my wife was in it. … We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? … everyone of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities [difficulties] ... Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company” .

{Quote found here: https://www.lds.org/manual/primary-5-doctrine-and-covenants-and-church-history/lesson-43-handcart-companies-come-to-the-salt-lake-valley?lang=eng }

I love this so much. The pioneers are such incredible examples to me of strength.

I feel so inspired by their examples. I think that their trials shaped them into the valiant people that they became. At the end of the day, their trials brought them closer to God and along the way they learned Christlike attributes.

I have heard a story about my great-great-great-something aunt, Amelia Evans. She was a part of the Willie Handcart Company, and she was given the nickname “charity” for generously sharing her spices with others along the trail. She showed her positive attributes even in the midst of a literal wilderness.

In my own life, the hardest year of my life was when I poured out my soul the most to God. It was when I gained the most compassion. It was when I learned most what hope and healing meant. It was when I felt the deepest desire to understand what others were going through, and to share in their sorrows if I could.

It was a hard year, but I am so grateful it happened.

I just want to bear my witness that trials are for a reason. God doesn’t lead us to the wilderness for a while to abandon us. He does it because He knows that that is the environment that we need in order to grow. If we let them, if we keep an eternal perspective, and if we hold on tight to hope, God will be with us and our wildernesses will turn out to be beautiful blessings and the very stepping stones that lead us to our eventual paradise.

If you are going through a wilderness, I would love to talk with you about it.

You can do it, and it’ll all be worth it in the end!

Love,

Abby