In Peace and Trouble

by Autumn Dickson

The Saints in Missouri were experiencing tremendous persecution at this time. The leaders of the mob wanted the Saints to promise that they would leave Missouri by spring, and they wanted the Saints to promise it within 15 minutes of demanding that they do so. The situation was tricky. The Lord had commanded them to build up Zion, but the opportunity to do so was being taken forcefully out of their hands.

How would you have responded? You’ve been commanded to build up Zion, but you’re still finding yourself under the influence of evil men. The Lord is all-powerful and able to defend you against all your enemies, but He’s been pretty quiet.

When the leaders didn’t immediately promise that they would leave, the violence escalated. Property was destroyed. People were attacked. The leaders finally relented and promised to leave.

I’m not sure how many of us have been threatened with bodily harm if we do not relent following the commandments, but the Lord often allows obstacles to arise to oppose us as we try to follow His commandments. So what do you do?

The Lord recommends this course of action.

Doctrine and Covenants 98:1-2

1 Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;

2 Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

Fear not. Be comforted. Rejoice. Give thanks. Wait on the Lord.

Let’s talk about the first three together. Fear not; be comforted; rejoice.

Whenever I’ve felt commanded by the Lord to do something and it’s not working out, my main fear has become that I’m not doing enough to follow through on the Lord’s commands. I think of Nephi. If the Lord commands it, then it’s going to happen. So am I not being faithful enough? I worry that the Lord is upset with me or that I’m not being good enough.

Since then, I have learned that if I am putting forth an honest effort, I don’t need to be afraid of the Lord being angry. Nephi didn’t obtain the brass plates the first time despite his tremendous faith. The Lord wasn’t punishing him; He wasn’t upset with Nephi. Sometimes, the Lord simply doesn’t allow us to succeed the first time despite His ability to help us succeed the first time. It’s not because our faith is insufficient to bring the miracle immediately; it’s because true faith is acquired and shown when we keep at it after it didn’t work out the first time.

We do not have to be afraid that the Lord isn’t powerful enough to follow through. We do not have to be afraid we’re innately insufficient to fulfill what He has asked. We do not have to be afraid when it doesn’t work out how we were expecting. We do not have to be afraid that the Lord is angry with us because it doesn’t feel like it’s immediately coming together.

We can choose to trust the Lord so completely that we feel comforted and rejoice in His yet-to-be-fulfilled promises. If He promised it, it’s happening even if it takes a little while.

So fear not. Be comforted. Rejoice.

His next piece of advice is to give thanks. Interestingly enough, giving thanks is one practical way to help ourselves get to the point where we can set aside our fears, allow ourselves to be comforted, and rejoice. “Giving thanks” isn’t an “end;” it’s a journey that takes us to our desired end: peace and joy in Christ. We thank Him for the times He has shown up before. We thank Him that nothing in this life can take away our happy ending. We thank Him that despite our own imperfections, He is mighty to save. As we reflect and find gratitude for Him and His choices, we find that comfort and joy.

And as we rejoice, we show up diligently doing our best and wait on Him to come and do His own work on His own timetable. Waiting on Him is His last piece of advice.

If you were a leader in Missouri at this time, the right course of action is to wait on the Lord. We read about stories in the scriptures where the Lord fights all the battles for His people. We read about stories where the Lord commands His people to flee. We read about stories where He allows them to be attacked regardless of whether they were being righteous because sometimes He simply allows His children to be tried.

We might not be sure which scenario the Lord is going for, and so we wait on Him to answer and do the best we can in the meantime because He doesn’t always answer immediately even when the situation feels dire. We choose to trust the Lord in times of plenty and in times of scarcity. We rejoice in His wisdom in what He allows to come to pass, and we wait for all He’s promised.

I testify of a Lord who is all-powerful to save, but I also testify of a Lord who doesn’t step in to stop every tragedy. I testify of a Lord who has a plan even if He doesn’t reveal it immediately. I testify of a Lord who we can trust in, and I testify that if we trust in Him, we will find comfort and peace even when the situation is trying to pummel us with the opposite. We can set aside our fears, allow ourselves to be comforted, give thanks for however He chooses to let things play out, and we wait.

 

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

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