“Why did this happen to me?” is the question many people ask when confronted with adversity.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said members of the LDS Church should ask instead: “how can I learn from that experience?”

The way people answer this second question may not only determine the quality of our life on earth but also our eternal life, Elder Wirthlin said.

“There is one thing the Lord expects of us no matter our difficulties and sorrows,” he said. “He expects us to press on. The Gospel of Jesus Christ includes enduring to the end.”

Elder Wirthlin then explained what this doctrine really means.

“Some think that enduring until the end is simply suffering through challenges,” Elder Wirthlin said. “There is so much more than that. It is a process of coming unto Christ and being perfected in him.”

To continue on the path members took when they were baptized and received the Holy Ghost, they must bring their whole souls to God, Elder Wirthlin said. Only then, will they receive eternal life.

To accomplish this, he said members need to let their lives become deeply rooted in the gospel by staying in the mainstream of the church, humbly serving their fellowmen, living Christ-like lives and keeping covenants.

“Those who endure are balanced, consistent, humble, constantly improving,” Elder Wirthlin said. “Their testimony is based not only on worldly reason; it is based on truth, knowledge, experience and the spirit.”

Elder Wirthlin used the parable of the sower and the seeds to illustrate his comments, with each type of soil representing an ability to endure.

He said some people are like a stony ground and don’t let the gospel become deeply rooted in them, but many members, like a good ground receiving seeds, are “those whose lives reflect their discipleship to the Master.”

In the same parable, he said the Savior identifies three obstacles to endurance, which can corrupt souls and stop eternal progress, Elder Wirthlin said.

The first obstacle, which Elder Wirthlin named “the cares of the world,” refers to pride observable in many ways.

He said the second obstacle is the search for riches.

“We must be careful in our daily lives that we do not allow things of this world to take precedence over spiritual things,” Elder Wirthlin said.

The third obstacle that he described is “the lust of other things,” like pornography.

“We cannot afford to sit back and take our salvation for granted,” Elder Wirthlin said. “We must be anxiously engaged our whole lives.”

He then said there is a purpose for each trial.

“These experiences are necessary,” he said. “Please do not lose hope in the Savior and his love for you. He promised that he would not leave us comfortless.”

Elder Wirthlin finished by saying members can stay faithful to the end by strengthening testimonies, staying humble and exercising repentance.



Copyright Brigham Young University 4 Oct 2004