He Shall Consecrate Thine Afflictions for Thy Gain

2 Nephi 2:2  "... he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain."

Sometimes our afflictions and trials seem more than we can bear.  We think about our mistakes and all the insults and slights and mean and demeaning and rude things said to and about us.  Have these awful things been chiseled upon our souls?  Have they become part of our DNA, always to remain with us?

If we believe the words of Lehi, that is not the case.  Lehi is talking to his son, Jacob, who became a great prophet to succeed Nephi.  Lehi tells us that Jacob had a hard time as a child, because of his older brothers, suffering "afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness of thy brethren."  We don't know more details than that, although we know that Nephi received a lot of persecution and even attempts on his life from Laman and Lemuel.  They probably weren't any more kind to a small boy who idolized Nephi.  If anything could scar a child, you'd think these experiences would.

However, Lehi doesn't indicate that this is the case.  He tells the young Jacob that the Lord would consecrate those afflictions to bless Jacob's life.  They would make him a stronger person, perhaps one who had more empathy for others.  He would be a better person BECAUSE of his afflictions than he would have been without them.

From the perspective of experience, we can look back on past trials and problems and see how they have blessed our lives.  Especially when we take into account the Savior's Atonement, we find that His healing balm has not only healed our wounds but given us a strength and peace we never before thought possible. 

Howard W. Hunter gave a talk in General Conference in 1987, in which he said this:

I share the view expressed by Orson F. Whitney in these words:

“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God … and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven” (as quoted in Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 98).

At various times in our lives, probably at repeated times in our lives, we do have to acknowledge that God knows what we do not know and sees what we do not see. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” ( Isa. 55:8).

If you have troubles at home with children who stray, if you suffer financial reverses and emotional strain that threaten your homes and your happiness, if you must face the loss of life or health, may peace be unto your soul. We will not be tempted beyond our ability to withstand. Our detours and disappointments are the straight and narrow path to Him, as we sing in one of our favorite hymns:

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.