Follow Him: A Come, Follow Me Podcast - How do trials become blessings? • followHIM Favorites • Aug 11 - Aug 17

Episode Date: September 7, 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-31-40/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 wonderful John by the way. Welcome John. Thanks, Hank. John, you know how this works? We're going to take on a single question from this week's lesson. We're in second Corinthians this week, the first half of the letter, chapters one through seven. And right out of the Come Follow Me manual, there's a statement that says, my trials can be a blessing. And I thought that is a crazy statement. So John, can you help me understand how my trials can be blessings? Yeah, I remember once someone saying,

why do I have so many trials? And before I thought about it too long, this just poured out of my mouth because God loves you too much to let your life be easy. You know, after he hit me, no, I'm just kidding. It's the kind of thing where they can make us what we are if we let God help us in wonderful ways. other word for trial is test. Another word for test is prove. I will prove you and God even asks us to prove him. Test me and see if I'll open you the windows of heaven. So I life without trials, I think Sherry do said would be like a test without questions.

I like it. Yeah. If you just look at the story of so many people in the scriptures over and over and over, it's these difficult, difficult problems and hardships that they face. And as you watch the story play out, it often turns into something wonderful, something so good, right? That wouldn't have happened had they not gone through that thing. I remember President Oukdorf talking about writing his bicycle when he was a kid and hating the bicycle and then finding out later the bicycle actually saved his life. So something he hated at the time actually became something he's so grateful for later in life. Yeah, I remember Emily Watts telling a story at time out for

women about a little girl who was walking across the plains and a guy pulled up in a wagon and said, you want to ride? And she said, yes. And he grabbed her hand and then said, gimme up. I don't think it was gimme up. I mean, the horse was probably trotting, but she was running with everything she had. And she thought, this is possibly the meanest man I have ever seen in my life. She's running. she's out of breath. And then finally, when she's just about done, he grabs her, lifts her up, sits him next to him, scoops her up, wraps her in a blanket. And she said it took me a while to realize that he had just saved my feet because she was so cold, this got the blood circulating and everything. And

then he grabbed her and wrapped her in a blanket. Oh, wow That's a had he grabbed her before The blood wouldn't have been circulating. I'm reminded John of a story where the Provo tabernacle this building that had been around for over a century had done so much good as a building as much good as a building can do for the church in December of 2010 it it burns so heavily that it basically guts much good as a building, as much good as a building can do for the church. In December of 2010, it burns so heavily that it basically guts the building. And I've often thought, if that building had thoughts and feelings, it might say something like, why me? Yeah. There are other buildings on this street that deserve this. I've tried my hardest to be a good building.

Why would you do this to me? And then over the course of the next few years, the building is transformed into what we know is the Provo City Center temple. And how would the Lord answer that prayer of, why would you do this to me? I don't deserve this. I've tried so hard to be good.

And he might be saying something like, I see your future. I see what's coming. So hold on, right? Hold on. This is actually going to end up being the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to you. You're going to become even more holy. And you're going to become even more venerated by people. I try to keep that in mind when going through difficult things. more venerated by people. I try to keep that in mind when going through difficult things. The great, great story that he can take a trial and make it something better. He can take the lost book of Lehigh and the Book of Mormon and say, well, actually, I arranged that Nephi would keep a separate record and it has greater views. And so the Book of Mormon becomes greater

even though that Book of Lehigh was lost. With God, the mess can become a message I've found. 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 with Dr. Larry Nelson this week and he does some wonderful things with these chapters. We think you're going to love. And then come back next week and we'll do another Follow Him favorites.