The Temple of Trials

By Hollie Wells

Many thoughts have been stirring in my head and heart lately about the tests, trials, and adversity of life. Sometimes I hear about what struggles people face and I am almost overcome, wondering how God can ask so much from people. I have taken to studying talks, scriptures, and speeches that address this, and what I have found is precious to me, and closely tied to our temple covenants. 

In the recent General Conference, Elder Brook P. Hales gave a talk titled “Mortality Works!” In this speech, he explained that mortality was designed to be a test and that God perfectly engineers those tests to amplify our spiritual gifts and to refine us if we will draw closer to Him through them. Along with Elder Hales, I can testify that mortality does in fact work because Jesus Christ atoned and made change, growth, progress, healing, and comfort possible. 

I came across a scripture in the New Testament that has become my motto in my recent thoughts. “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; (1 Peter 4:12-13) 

We shouldn’t expect life to be easy. When God sends you a test, when someone is unkind or unfair, when tragedy strikes, don’t wonder why God would do this to you. Strive to be closer to Him. Remember it is part of the purpose of mortality (and “mortality works!”). Strive to learn the intended lessons of your mortal experiences. Try to have gratitude for the refining process and future healing that can come through Him. Suffering is part of mortality, and it will be added to us in glory just as Christ’s sufferings made Him who He is. 

Lastly, I learned so much from Elder Holland’s BYU Speech “Lessons from Liberty Jail.” I cannot recommend reading and rereading this talk highly enough. He describes how the horrific experiences that Joseph and his friends faced in Liberty Jail brought about some of the most profound revelations recorded in the Doctrine & Covenants (see Doctrine & Covenants 121-123). He recalls how Neal A. Maxwell and Elder Brigham H. Roberts would refer to Liberty Jail as a “prison-temple” because of what was learned inside. To summarize Elder Holland’s teachings, here is a quote: “…The restricting brutality and injustice of [Joseph’s] experience at Liberty would make it seem the very antithesis of the liberating, merciful spirit of our temples and the ordinances that are performed in them. So in what sense could Liberty Jail be called a “temple”—or at least a kind of temple…? You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experiences with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of your life” When you are in the middle of a test, try to remember there is a purpose in the prison (or as Elder Holland and others have put it, the prison-temple). 

As I read this, I asked myself: When am I most earnest in my prayers? When am I most spiritually-minded? It is when I am seeking for an answer, or am deeply saddened and distressed by circumstances of my life. There is something beautiful and refining about struggle. God is making more of you than you can make of yourself. Struggle is essential to the process. The covenant path is uphill which strains and stretches and tones our spiritual muscles.

The next time you are facing grief, heartache, struggle, or any other kind of trial, remember you are in the midst of a prison-temple, if you reach for Christ in the process.