Rest Unto Your Souls

"Take my ^ayoke upon you, and ^blearn of me; for I am ^cmeek and ^dlowly in ^eheart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

Consider these words spoken by Jesus Christ in the Holy Bible--words that invite us to come unto him and find true peace of mind. His merciful invitation invites us to learn of him and follow His perfect example with the promise that we shall have repose. In an unforeseen lesson this evening, we visited a family recently ripped apart financially and spiritually by the claws of injustice. Their once comfortable life is now filled with unsurety, their bleak future slighted by the greediness of others. Yes, their situation is personal, and thus avoiding details I simply say that a sense of desperation has visibly enveloped them. Can we not all relate to their situation? Have we not all felt cheated, cast away, or forgotten at some point in our lives? Have we not all felt that initial rage or discomfort within us when the cruel hand of unfairness grasps us? Do we not at times feel extreme loneliness or abandonment? I have and do from time to time. Consider the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith at Liberty Jail when under similar circumstances:

"O God, ^awhere art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy ^bhiding place? How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries? Yea, O Lord, ^ahow long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful ^boppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with ^ccompassion toward them? O Lord God ^aAlmighty, maker of ^bheaven, earth, and seas, and of all things that in them are, and who controllest and subjectest the devil, and the dark and benighted dominion of Sheol—stretch forth thy hand; let thine eye pierce; let thy ^cpavilion be taken up; let thy ^dhiding place no longer be covered; let thine ear be inclined; let thine ^eheart be softened, and thy bowels moved with compassion toward us. Let thine ^aanger be kindled against our enemies; and, in the fury of thine heart, with thy ^bsword ^cavenge us of our wrongs. Remember thy ^asuffering saints, O our God; and thy servants will rejoice in thy name forever."

I could not relate to that family's ordeal but I could relate to the sense of hopelessness that my own personal trials and tribulations have brought me. The only thing my missionary companion and I could testify of was the Savior's gracious plea to come unto him and find rest, which I know to be true. I pray that we might give our whole souls as an offering to the God of Israel. Let us accept his help. If the Lord is with us, who against us? I know of myself the merciful power of His great atonement. It has brought me rest when my soul had none. It has quenched my hunger and my thirst. Of this I testify as one called to represent Him.

I end this blog with the Lord's response to Joseph Smith: "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine ^badversity and thine afflictions shall be but a ^csmall moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy ^bfoes. Thy ^afriends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands. Thou art not yet as Job; thy ^afriends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job. And they who do charge thee with transgression, their hope shall be blasted, and their prospects shall ^amelt away as the hoar frost melteth before the burning rays of the rising sun; ...How long can rolling waters remain impure? What ^apower shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints."