Week 2

I was studying in Moses 1 verse 18 which reads “And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him: for his glory has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee. Depart hence, Satan”. In one of the lectures this week, we were talking about the first vision and how intensely spiritual experiences are either preceded or followed by extreme temptations. For example, when Joseph Smith was kneeling in the Sacred Grove following the instructions of James 1:5, he was accosted by a dark spirit and was about to be utterly destroyed when a ray of light similar to the brightness of the sun descended upon him and he was delivered. I always felt strange about this phenomenon because I didn’t understand how God could let something like this befall young Joseph, but when Joseph related his story to a preacher, he was told this mighty vision was of the devil. Joseph was surprised and pondered this possibility, but ultimately decided it was of God because he could distinguish between the feeling of utter despair from the devil and the joy from the godhead. It was necessary to go through this process so he could refute such claims. Likewise, I need to remember that hardships and challenges that I have been given are to better me as a person or to help me understand something. Trials are not punishments. They are meant to teach us something and we do not go through them alone. He will give us the power to overcome them so long as we trust in his mercy and love.