The Tempests of Life

Latter-day Saints place a great emphasis on the Book of Mormon and study it daily. They are told to liken the scriptures to themselves. What exactly does that mean? The purpose of this blog is to take a look into individual stories and experiences of The Book of Mormon and examine how exactly we can “liken” the scriptures for our own personal benefit. Scriptures are the word of God, and God wouldn’t go through all the trouble of making sure it was in the scriptures if it wasn’t important. 

Near the end of the Book of Mormon, we read an account of a people who came from the Tower of Babel. The Lord in his mercy and because of the faith of a good people chose not to confound the language of a certain group led by a man known as the Brother of Jared. The Lord promised this people that because of their faithfulness they would be taken to a promised land where they could prosper a live happily. The only catch was, the people had to find away to cross the great waters before them to make it to this promised land. 

We as Latter-day Saints, and millions of other people on the earth are seeking the “promised land” or that of returning to live with God. But we behold ahead of us a vast expanse of waters with great waves and an ocean full of creatures, rocks and other things that could surely destroy our barges or make the journey seem impossible. We hope so much to make it to the promised land, but we are unsure if it’s plausible or not. The people of the brother of Jared had a similar concern, and may have been a little hesitant to cross in such circumstances. But the Lord responded to their concerns in a very comforting way. He assured them that although they would be tossed around by the waves, and even sometimes brought low into the water, He, the Lord, would bring them back up out of the water and continue to steer them towards the promised land. 

It is a surety that in this life we will face storms and tempests. Sometimes the waves will crash over us as we deal with sickness, injury, death of loved ones, financial struggles, and many other adversities. But we can always take comfort knowing that although we may be under the water and our barge may be out of control at times, the Lord knows where the promised land is, and is steering us toward it, where we can soon enough rest from all our sorrows and cares.