Charity Beareth All Things
When I think of bearing all things, I think of Jesus Christ. He truly is the perfect example of bearing all things. In Doctrine and Covenants, a compilation of revelations Joseph Smith received, section 19:15-19, it reads:
“15 Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.
16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.”
We will not be asked to bear what our Savior, Jesus Christ, bore for us as long as we repent, however, we will have to bear other trials and tribulations that come into our life that will squeeze our very heart strings and seem to be too much to bear. Yet, with our Savior, Jesus Christ, we truly can bear all things. When we take the Holy Spirit as our guide we can be directed as to things to do that will help strengthen us.
I love how Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, a deceased Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, explained to us that Sunday morning will come, things in our life will pass. I remember when I was pregnant with my second child. My morning sickness was horrible. I was throwing up all the time it seemed. It got to the point I did not feel I could bear it anymore. I was especially sick one night while working at the temple. I asked my boss for a blessing. In it, he reminded me this too will pass. It eventually did a few months later.
There was another time in my life, as a mother and spouse, I tried to take the blame and responsibility upon myself for four other people’s choices. It brought me so low even to where I felt I was in some eternal inferno of a pit. The only way out was to lay everything at the feet of Jesus Christ. He allowed me to feel this, so I could have the smallest, tiniest fraction of what it might have been like for Him. It was so very painful and so much more than I could bear.
There have been other things that have come into my life as well, which have twisted and pulled at my very heart strings, such as marriage conflict and being a parent. By applying Jesus Christ’s Infinite Atonement and turning to the scriptures, prayer, fasting, and temple attendance, I was able to bear all things that came my way and not give up. My Savior, Jesus Christ, made this possible for me. For without Him, I truly could not have carried all that came into my life.
Here are some questions to ask yourself for an evaluation:
What trials and tribulations have you gone through, or are going through?
Which ones pulled and twisted at your heart strings?
How did you get through it?
What did you learn through your experience?
Elder Jerffrey R. Holland, an Apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the April 2006 General Conference said, “It seems clear that the essence of our duty and the fundamental requirement of our mortal life is captured in these brief phrases from any number of scenes in the Savior’s mortal ministry. He is saying to us, “Trust me, learn of me, do what I do. Then, when you walk where I am going,” He says, “we can talk about where you are going, and the problems you face and the troubles you have. If you will follow me, I will lead you out of darkness,” He promises. “I will give you answers to your prayers. I will give you rest to your souls” (Broken Things to Mend). How can He do this? Because He bore all things for us as He went into the Garden of Gethsemane and continued on to the cross of Calvary, where He died for us! This is what is called His Infinite Atonement and it is how He can help us to bear all things today.