Discipleship Through Adversity by Sister Emma Webb
I have enjoyed every bit of my mission, the happy moments as well as the hard moments where I’ve grown the most. And that’s what I want to share today, those hard moments that we all face and how we can maintain our discipleship. It can be a tough thing at times or a lot of the time, but I hope by the end of this meeting you will all feel added strength as disciples of Jesus Christ.
I’ve come to realize that our discipleship comes through the experiences we have. All throughout life we have experiences, so this would mean that being a disciple of Jesus Christ is a lifelong thing. As hard as it is, the trials and challenges that come with this responsibility is what defines us the most.
On Monday, I was talking with my parents about this topic and my mom shared something with me that she heard the other day. She was talking about a woman who had gone through a lot of difficulties throughout her life. Many questioned why God had given her these many trials and instead of complaining about them, she said, “I have been given many opportunities to know the Lord.” When we change our perspective on our trials, they can turn into sacred moments where we come to know our Savior.
Sister Ramona Hopkins once stated
Adversity in some form will likely come into all of our lives. For some of us it might be a light dusting while for others it may appear as an insurmountable, all-encompassing avalanche. If we rely on the Lord, we not only can survive adversity, we can learn, grow, and thrive.
As I’ve reflected on this statement, I am reminded of so many amazing heroes of the Book of Mormon who maintained their discipleship through all the avalanches life threw at them. The first one that came to mind was Nephi. I’ve recently restarted reading the Book of Mormon and studied the chapter where Nephi and his family were making their journey through the wilderness. Things were getting rough and everyone was beginning to suffer because of the lack of food coming in but this is where Nephi has one of his moments where he learns, grows and thrives.
It came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food. …
And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord.
Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food.
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food?
Nephi was a disciple of Jesus Christ. Something that always catches my attention here is how Laman and Lemuel’s bows broke, too. Instead of complaining and giving up on the problem that wouldn’t solve itself like they did, Nephi did something about it and the Lord provided a way.
My dad always taught me to not stop at the bare minimum. Although he might have always said that to me when I was doing my chores, I know he meant it in more profound ways than one. He meant it in all aspects of my life. As I’ve grown, I’ve seen many differences in the times where I’ve done the bare minimum and in the times that I didn’t, the results that come from my actions.
As I’ve thought about this a new question comes to mind. “Do I want to minimize or multiply my potential to do good?”
Disciples of Jesus Christ don’t give up when things get hard, they go the second mile even when they can’t see the mile marker. That mile marker will always be there, even when the adversary leads us to think it’s not because he doesn’t want us to have that opportunity to run that last leg with our Savior Jesus Christ. How more fulfilled we will feel when we pass through our trials with our Savior instead of falling behind with the adversary?
I’ve been reading a book called The Divine Center by Stephen Covey, and in it he said,
We must never deceive ourselves into thinking that the growth processes are easy. At each new level there will be entirely new challenges. The understanding and covenanting at an early level may simply not be sufficient to deal with the challenges of a later level. That’s when temptations come of entirely different kinds, kinds which perhaps we could never have endured earlier. But the Lord is faithful and will not allow His children to be tempted beyond their capacity to endure and as they deal with each new challenge or temptation and overcome it, they unleash within themselves a new kind of freedom or power or capacity to soar to heights previously undreamed of.
I’m sure all of you have big dreams and I’m a big advocate of following those dreams. One of my biggest dreams is to go skydiving one day. Unfortunately, there’s a couple of bumps in the road to get me there. First of all, I’m a missionary and I’m pretty sure that’s highly against mission standards. Second of all, skydiving’s expensive. Third of all, I don’t think my mom would like to see her favorite child jump out of an airplane.
Thomas S. Monson once said
To live greatly, we must develop the capacity to face troubles with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility. You ask, “How might we achieve these goals?” I answer, “By getting a true perspective of who we really are!” We are sons and daughters of a living God in whose image we have been created. Think of that truth: “Created in the image of God.” We cannot sincerely hold this conviction without experiencing a profound new sense of strength and power.
Even though I might not be jumping out of an airplane anytime soon, I can, in fact, do more things that bring me joy. Instead of sitting around like Laman and Lemuel, we can be like Nephi and go and do. We can all be optimistic about the future by doing the things we need to do to bring success and fulfillment in our lives despite the things we face!
James E. Faust said
Discipleship brings purpose to our lives so that rather than wandering aimlessly, we walk steadily on that strait and narrow way that leads us back to our Heavenly Father. Discipleship brings us comfort in times of sorrow, peace of conscience, and joy in service—all of which help us to be more like Jesus.
Ultimately becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ means trying to be more like Him. To me, Jesus Christ is my friend. He’s that friend I can always count on. He helps me feel loved and not alone. He gives us second chances, wipes our tears and takes our fears and turn them into moments of comfort and determination. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are friends to Him. As we reciprocate the love He shows for us, to Him as well as those around us, His ways become our ways which increase our capacity to be more like Him and devoted disciples of Jesus Christ.
I pray that you all will be blessed with courage on this journey through life. This courage comes from the one standing right beside you, even our savior Jesus Christ, may we all strive to be more like Him. I would like to close with one last quote by James E. Faust.
One of the greatest blessings of life and eternity is to be counted as one of the devoted disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The blessings are there and God’s just waiting to pour them down on you. Like my friend Tori always says, “Let go and let God.” The blessings are there and God’s just waiting to pour them down on you. You are so loved and so needed. You all play such a special role in Heavenly Father’s plan.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In