NT Reading Assignments 2/27-3/5

2/27	Mon	2 Cor. 1
2/28	Tues	2 Cor. 2-3
3/1	Wed	2 Cor. 4-5
3/2	Thur	2 Cor. 6-7
3/3	Fri	2 Cor. 8
3/4	Sat	2 Cor. 9-10
3/5	Sun	Catch Up

NT Reading Assignments 2/20-2/26

2/20	Mon	1 Cor. 10
2/21	Tues	1 Cor. 11
2/22	Wed	1 Cor. 12-13
2/23	Thur	1 Cor. 14
2/24	Fri	1 Cor. 15
2/25	Sat	1 Cor. 16
2/26	Sun	Catch Up

NT Reading Assignments 2/13-2/19

2/13	Mon	1 Cor. 1
2/14	Tues	1 Cor. 2-3
2/15	Wed	1 Cor. 4
2/16	Thur	1 Cor. 5-6
2/17	Fri	1 Cor. 7
2/18	Sat	1 Cor. 8-9
2/19	Sun	Catch Up

Acts 14:22 Role of Tribulation

ROLE OF REFINING PAIN AND TRIAL

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained the purposes of affliction in mortal life:

“There are many kinds of challenges. Some give us necessary experiences. Adverse results in this mortal life are not evidence of lack of faith or of an imperfection in our Father in Heaven’s overall plan. The refiner’s fire is real, and qualities of character and righteousness that are forged in the furnace of affliction perfect and purify us and prepare us to meet God” (“The Songs They Could Not Sing,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 106).

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. …" (Orson F. Whitney, as cited in Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 98.)

Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Prov. 3:11–12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain.

When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this, now? What have I done to cause this? will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God. Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help? How can I remember my many blessings in times of trial? Willing sacrifice of deeply held personal desires in favor of the will of God is very hard to do. Yet, when you pray with real conviction, “Please let me know Thy will” and “May Thy will be done,” you are in the strongest position to receive the maximum help from your loving Father (Elder Richard G. Scott, “Trust in the Lord,” Oct. Conf. 1995).

No cross, no crown. No gall, no glory. No thorns, no throne. (Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson , p.394)

Good Timber

The tree that never had to fight

For sun and sky and air and light,

But stood out in the open plain

And always got its share of rain,

Never became a forest king

But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil

To gain and farm his patch of soil,

Who never had to win his share

Of sun and sky and light and air,

Never became a manly man

But lived and died as he began.

Good Timber does not grow with ease,

The stronger wind, the stronger trees,

The further sky, the greater length,

The more the storm the more the strength.

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

In trees and men good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth

We find the patriarchs of both.

And they hold counsel with the stars

Whose broken branches show the scars

Of many winds and much of strife.

This is the common law of life.

(Douglas Malloch as quoted in Sterling W. Sill,

Making the Most of Yourself

 [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1971], p. 23)

NT Reading Assignments 2/6-2/12

2/6	Mon	Rom. 10
2/7	Tues	Rom. 11
2/8	Wed	Rom. 12-13
2/9	Thur	Rom. 14
2/10	Fri	Rom. 15
2/11	Sat	Rom. 16
2/12	Sun	Catch Up