Schmutz - God Shall Wipe Away All Tears - October 2016

Elder Schmutz of the Seventy speaks during the October 2016 General Conference.  He speaks about the purpose of trials in our lives and what we need to learn from the experiences that God allows for us.

• As part of our Heavenly Father’s plan, He allowed sorrow to be woven into our mortal experience. While it seems that painful trials fall unevenly on us, we can be assured that to one degree or another, we all suffer and struggle.
  

The sorrows of life are not reserved for a select few.  They are something that each of us face to one degree or another.  It is important that when we experience trials and heartache, we have our faith in place to know that the pain is temporary and that one day we will be welcomed home to our heavenly home.

• Everyone listening today is acquainted with some measure of loneliness, despair, grief, pain, or sorrow. Without an “eye of faith” and an understanding of eternal truth, we often find that the misery and suffering experienced in mortality can obscure or eclipse the eternal joy of knowing that the great plan of our Father in Heaven really is the eternal plan of happiness. There is no other way to receive a fulness of joy.
  

We all pray to have our suffering diminished.  When that does not happen, we tend to question if God is hearing our prayers.  He hears us and for reasons not known, may have us endure a little longer to teach us.  But we can be assured that He is there and will help us endure the trials of our life.

• Many of us have pleaded with God to remove the cause of our suffering, and when the relief we seek has not come, we have been tempted to think He is not listening. I testify that, even in those moments, He hears our prayers, has a reason for allowing our afflictions to continue, and will help us bear them.
  

It is vital that we have an eternal perspective and that we look for greater meaning in the trials of our lives.

• As we acquire this eternal perspective in our lives, our capacity to endure grows, we learn how to succor those in need of succor, and we come to appreciate and even express gratitude for the experiences God allows us to have as tutors in the path to eternal life.
  

Elder Schmutz encourages us to learn from the suffering that we experience and remember that we are all known to God.  We can find courage that He will keep all the promises He has made to us.

• When we find ourselves laboring through tribulation, it can be difficult to see our trials as signposts on our personal trail of discipleship. But whether we find ourselves at times in the dark valley of despair or on the high road of happiness, learning from and feeling compassion for the sufferings of others can be a blessing.
  
• Your personal struggles—your individual sorrows, pains, tribulations, and infirmities of every kind—are all known to our Father in Heaven and to His Son. Take courage! Have faith! And believe in the promises of God!
  

Elder Schmutz tells us that our suffering is in vain if we become involved in learning and exercising our faith in the Savior's ultimate plan for our lives.

• To fully receive these gifts our Savior has so freely offered, we all must learn that suffering in and of itself does not teach or grant to us anything of lasting value unless we deliberately become involved in the process of learning from our afflictions through the exercise of faith.
  

Finally, he reminds us that the darkest moments in life are temporary and that the sun will rise as we exercise our faith.

• We can take strength in knowing that all the hard experiences in this life are temporary; even the darkest nights turn into dawn for the faithful.
  

In recent weeks, I have been studying talks that have talked about darkness and light.  Darkness is real in our lives and it can be hard to find light in our darkest times.  Elder Schmutz gives us courage to find the light when the darkness of trials overshadows our mortal experience.  I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that allows trials to happen in my life but also provides the encouragement to me to not give us.  He has made it possible for me to find peace in this life even when times of discouragement are present in my life.  The exercise of faith in the midst of our trials is difficult but as we look for deeper meaning in our trials, we can be assured that our exercise of faith will allow us to have teachable experiences with the Spirit and provide meaning to the reason for our trials.  Our responsibility is to have enough faith that we learn from the trials of our life, all that God needs us to experience to prepare us for greater things to come.  It is my prayer that we can find peace in our trials and assurance that God is in charge of these teachable moments.