Follow Him: A Come, Follow Me Podcast - How can we find hope & joy in difficult circumstances? • followHIM Favorites • Nov 20 - Nov 26

Episode Date: November 16, 2023

Hank Smith and John Bytheway answer a question from this week's Come, Follow Me study.Please rate and review the podcast which makes it easier to find.Show Notes (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese): https://followhim.co/new-testament-episodes-41-52/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followhimpodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FollowHimOfficialChannelThanks to the followHIM team:Shannon Sorensen: Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesJamie Neilson: Social Media, Graphic DesignAnnabelle Sorensen: Creative Project ManagerWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish Transcripts"Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com/products/let-zion-in-her-beauty-rise-piano

Hello, my friends. Welcome to another follow him favorites. My name is Hank Smith. I'm here with the incredible John by the way. We are going to take on a question from this week's lesson, which is going to be in first and second Peter. John, the question comes right out of the manual. What gives you hope that you can find joy in difficult circumstances out of these epistles from Peter first and second Peter, John, what would you say answers that question? This is one of those big picture eternal perspective type answers. I love first Peter 3, 17. It says, it is better if the will of God be so, that he's suffer for well-doing than for evil doing. And it kind of made me laugh because it's like,

you're gonna suffer either way. Either way, you're just, you're in a fallen world, it's gonna be hard. But if way. You're just, you're in a fallen world, it's gonna be hard. But if it's well doing, you know, God is there, you know, he's with you, you know, you're gonna make it, you know, he's gonna help you through it. There's an old saying that in life,

suffering's mandatory, but misery is optional. So we don't suffer as those without hope, as Joseph Smith would say. There's always hope, smiling brightly before us. And that's kind of what that verse says to me. Life is going to be suffering. What's that Princess bride quote, hang? Life is pain, heinous.

Anyone who tells you differently is selling something, right? It's going to be hard, but we know why we know what's at the end of it. We know there's a wonderful ending to all of this. That's a different type of pain when you're suffering for your own just really dumb decisions you make over and over and over or when you're suffering for doing really well. And yet there's some opposition there. There's just a difference in that type of difficulty. In 1 Peter 4, Peter says, you are partakers of Christ's sufferings.

Verse 14, if you are reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. That sounds like it's right out of the Beatitudes, doesn't it? In fact, happy and blessed are translated interchangeably in the New Testament. Sometimes the Beatitudes are called the happy attitudes. And speaking of those, aren't those crazy? Happy are the poor in spirit. The people must be like, what? Happy are the sad in spirit. The people must be like, what? Happy are the sad. Yeah.

It makes me think if I am going through very difficult trying circumstances that so did the Lord. He went through very difficult trying circumstances. So there's something to be said about how that can make me feel in my difficulty that I am lining up with him, that I'm shoulder to shoulder with him. Not in scope, he's going to go through things that are far more difficult and eternal than I am, but still, what did Elder Holland say? It's not easy for us because it was never easy for him. And that means he can help us. He knows what we're going through. He knows how to sucker us as Elma 7, 11 and 12 might say. Yep. This can give us a way. Again, not easy. Still going

to excavate our souls in difficulty and suffering. There's a purpose to it. We're moving towards something. Well, put, we hope you'll join us on our full podcast. It's called Follow Him. You can get it wherever you get your podcast. We're going to be joined by Dr. Andrew Skinner. He's been the dean of religious education at VYU and he's going to take these two epistles of Peter apart for us. He'll show you things you haven't seen before. And then come back here next week.'re gonna do another follow in favorites.