2.218 Why Is It So Hard Sometimes?

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, a bold reminder that our lives are meant to carry His flavor, His truth, and His love to the world. Join me each day to explore one verse of scripture and one thought, striving to stay full of savor and truly live as savory salt. Hello, my friends, it's great to have you with me.

Today let's be anxiously engaged in a good cause and bring to pass much righteousness. Why is it so hard sometimes? We're going to take a look at that today as we go into our readings.

We've been reading this week Doctrine and Covenants sections 85 through 87, as well as Alma chapters 43 through 47. And inside of Doctrine and Covenants sections 85 through 87, there's a section here that talks about the... We're going to talk specifically about Joseph wondering and trying to review a little bit in his translation of the Bible as he lands on the idea of the parable of the wheat and the tares.

And that comes in Doctrine and Covenants section 86. We learn inside of here that the Lord has... He mentions inside here that there are angels literally waiting to come down and separate the wheat from the tares, and that He's holding back.

The angels are saying, "Why can't we go and separate the wheat from the tares?" And that He's holding back. That the angels are saying, "Why can't we go and stop all of these people that are trying to stop the growth of the Church?" And the Lord mentions that He is going to stop those angels for just a little bit. And then we get to verse 7, which perhaps explains, maybe in a little bit of a sense, why it's so hard for us sometimes when we're trying to do what's right and we're trying to follow the promptings of the Spirit.

Let's read it and see what it says here. Doctrine and Covenants, section 86, verse 7, says: "Therefore let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest is fully ripe. Then ye shall first gather out the wheat from among the tares, and after the gathering of the wheat, behold and lo, the tares are bound in bundles, and the field remaineth to be burned." My friends, I think sometimes the Lord realizes that we are living in a fallen world, right?

There's a simple truth to that. But what we forget sometimes in this fallen world is that the Lord has equipped us to be able to handle this. So, our wheat, we're the wheat, we're growing with tares.

I guess I should be careful labeling myself wheat. I believe myself to be wheat. I hope I'm certainly seen as wheat instead of the tares.

But as we're growing here, the Lord has equipped us with the Spirit for those that have been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. We're promised in scriptures that we have the armor of God if we will just put that on. We have the temple, which literally can endow us with power from on high.

So the Lord has given us tools and armor to protect us during this time, but it doesn't change the fact that sometimes we're simply wheat growing amongst tares. And He's going to allow that to continue to happen. I find myself sometimes amongst groups of people, especially in the personal development field or that realm, where the idea of growth on the outside looks and sounds like it's the right thing and it's the right path.

This podcast is brought to you by 10, 5, and some by 40 other happening podcasts. Thank you for joining us today. I think the Lord understands that we are in a difficult time, but I think He also equips us with tools and resources to be able to stand firm in that time and know that at some point in the future the Lord will gather His sheep and together we'll be one, and the rest of the world, let them be and do whatever it is the Lord has in store for them.

I'm grateful to the Lord for supplying us with armor, with Spirit, with places like the temple to be able to stand and grow side by side with the tares. It doesn't necessarily make it easier in the moment when you're facing a bunch of tares, but perhaps it does help us to realize that the Lord is with us while we continue to try and focus to grow and follow His commandments. That's all for today, my friends.

Lift up your hearts and rejoice. Cleave unto the covenants you have made, and together we will be savory salt.