My recent HWN has been reflecting on the refining power of grief and sorrow. Elder Quinton L. Cook said:
“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.”
Even Christ was purified through suffering. He was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,” (Isaiah 53:3) and Heavenly Father made Christ, “the captain of [our] salvation perfect through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:10).
Somehow sorrow, pain, grief, suffering, heartache…etc. gave Christ the power to heal us. These same things sanctify us individually. It’s like the “refiner’s fire” mentioned by Malachi. James E Faust also said in this regard:
Here then is a great truth. In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. In this way the divine image can be mirrored from the soul. It is part of the purging toll exacted of some to become acquainted with God. In the agonies of life, we seem to listen better to the faint, godly whisperings of the Divine Shepherd.
Our fears, doubts, and temporal desires cannot withstand the heat of life’s trials. They melt away when we endure, leaving only the most pure form of ourselves that Heavenly Father knows we can become.
p.s. It was wonderful having my mom here for a week and a half :) Here’s an album of some of the pictures. We celebrated her birthday all week!
Loved this article. Praying for God’s children to understand the power and freedom gained through the purification processes — if we could take a brief glimpse ahead, we’d know that ABBA is doing marvelous things in us so he can shine His brightest THRU US! Thanks, Zach. PS: Beautiful Family!!
I agree. Sometimes I wish could see what’s ahead ;) But that’s where trust and faith come in
After all has cooled, the glory is in the polishing.
Nice imagery :)
It is all you, Zach.