Week 39 - May 16, 2016

Hello there!
 

Man the week flew.  It was a busy one.  Very very busy.  Went to the
temple, got a new car, meetings, service, planning, exchanges,
transfer calls, trainings.  Lots of stuff going on for sure!
 

I don't really have too much to write about this week, I think I'll
just share a bit out of a lesson we taught the other day to some less
active members.
 

We are often asked the typical, "If God exists, why do bad things
happen to good people?" or "Why am I facing hardship even if I am
following the gospel?" stuff like that, and I often think to myself...
Nowhere In the Bible, Book of Mormon, conference talks does it ever
EVER say if you follow the gospel your life will be easy.  It never
anywhere says if you follow the gospel you won't have problems in your
life.  That is not a promise that has been made.  The promise that has
been made is that if you live the gospel of Jesus Christ to the best
of your ability, your faith will become unwavering and whatever things
happen in your life you will be able to get THROUGH it not around or
over or underneath but through it.  

I often think of some of the
greatest people such as Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ, Moses, Nephi,
Abinadi, etc.  These are men who did everything to their best ability in
living and keeping the commandments and they lived a harder life than
most.  They were persecuted, mocked, tortured, this that and more.
They went through so many different trials, but each one of them
relied on the Lord (except for Jesus Christ obviously), relied on the
teachings, and were able to get through whatever they were facing.
This scripture never says life is going to be easy if you follow
Christ, it says if you'll follow Christ you will be ready when the
hard times come.

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our
Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your
foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds,
yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his
mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to
drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the
rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation
whereon if men build they cannot fall." Helaman 5:12
 

People begin to murmur when they don't understand God's plan for them.
It is so very interesting because there are definitely two types of
people.  There are people who do have faith and do understand God's
magnificent plan for all of us, and there are people who don't have
faith and don't know God's plan.  You can see so easily the difference in lives

 these people have. 

One lady that we work with has had four members of her family pass away this
month... Yet she is all smiles all around.  I asked her I was like....
"How are you still happy?  How are you handling this?  Four deaths in a
family, that is out of this world!"  And she was like, "Elder Wilde!  You
know exactly where they are and what they are doing and so do I!  Why
should we have to worry?"
 

Then there are those people who don't have the knowledge of the
restored gospel of Jesus Christ and they have no clue where the person
is and they are very very sad and resort to worldly devices to help
them.  You see them question the divinity of the Godhead amongst other
things.  It's very sad to see because they go on to make poor decisions
and then just more sadness comes to them.
 

There is an AWESOME conference talk entitled, "Hold on Thy Way" and Elder Koichi Aoyagi says some very interesting things.

Hold On Thy Way 

(Click on the link above to read or listen to the entire talk Elder Wilde is talking about.)

The principle is that the God who created the heavens and the earth
knows the grand design of this earth, that He has dominion over all
things in the heavens and the earth, and that in order to bring to
pass the Plan of Salvation, He provides us with many different
experiences--including some trials--while we are on this earth.
 

And the Lord said the following to Joseph Smith:
"Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience,
and shall be for thy good. …
“Therefore, hold on thy way … , for God shall be with you forever and ever.”
The trials of this earth--including illness and death--are a part of
the Plan of Salvation and are inevitable experiences.  It is necessary
for us to “hold on [our] way” and accept our trials with faith.
However, the purpose of our lives is not merely to endure trials.
Heavenly Father sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior and
Redeemer so we could overcome the trials we face on this earth; in
other words, He makes our weak things become strong, He atones for our
sins and our imperfections, and He makes it possible for us to obtain
immortality and eternal life.
 

President Henry B. Eyring stated: “The test a loving God has set
before us is not to see if we can endure difficulty.  It is to see if
we can endure it well.  We pass the test by showing that we remembered
Him and the commandments He gave us.”
“Hold on thy way” is a key choice during times of trial.  Turn your
heart to God, especially when you face trials.  Humbly obey the
commandments of God.  Show faith to reconcile your wishes with the will
of God.

I am so very grateful for the wonderful opportunity I have had the
past nine months to teach the Plan of Salvation, God's beautiful plan to
people who have been searching, to people who have had questions that
could only be answered by Jesus Christ's restored church on earth.  I
am grateful for the knowledge and comfort it brings into my life and
into the lives of others.  Hold on thy way and trust in the Lord. 

Love you all!

Elder Wilde