Week 8

Yesterday in Sunday School we had a really good lesson about Emma Smith and her unfailing faith. We watched a video detailing the trials and tribulations she endured first from her family shutting her out after eloping with Joseph Smith and then with the unrelenting mobs that seemed to follow wherever they went and finally with the loss of many of her children. To try to get a better read on how hard this would all be to bear, I put myself in her shoes. I felt the fear of a young wife as her husband was roughly grabbed in the middle of the night and hot tar was poured over his entire body by a bloodthirsty mob. I felt the heart-wrenching sadness as Emma clutched her beloved child's lifeless body to her bosom and wept. I felt the elation she must have felt as she came to understand the fullness of the Gospel. And finally I felt the heavy burden of responsibility when Emma learned that Joseph had been shot and killed at Carthage Jail and now she was the sole provider of her little family now. All of these trials and tribulations she endured prompted this special revelation just for Emma Smith in D&C 25: 13. It reads: Behold, they sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called. 

To know for a fact that your Heavenly Father who knows you better than anyone in this earthly life knows that you are an elect lady is life changing. It gives you a whole new perspective on yourself and your worth in general. Whenever I read this verse I am reminded of Emma's strength and unfailing courage as she underwent all these trials. It makes me want one day to be proclaimed 'an elect lady' just as she was. I know that Heavenly Father helped her through her trials and I know that he can help me with anything I am struggling with as well. This verse further solidifies my understanding that each and every one of God's spirits sons and daughters is known by their Father and we all have the potential to be an elect follower of Christ if we follow the commandments and stand steadfastly in the faith no matter what types of hardships might befall us because he is aware of each and every one of his children.