Temporary Trials, Timeless Blessings

In the last (final) session of the las (most recent) General Conference, Elder Rafael E. Pino gave a talk on The Eternal Perspective of the Gospel. In that talk, he shared the following quote from President Spencer W. Kimball:

If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.

With an eternal perspective, and faith in the principle of compensation, even the greatest tragedies of life can be put into proper perspective and endured well. Right now, there are many tragedies going on, affecting the lives of ten of millions of people. These events are devastating, but thankfully, they won't last. Our trials will someday end and become a memory.  Eventually, they'll become a distant memory. When that happens, the pain we experienced won't matter anymore. What will matter is how we acted during our trials.

When I was younger, I was playing tag with a couple of relatives. Our game included a small thicket, in which a colony of hornets had built themselves a nest. In our running and playing, I accidentally destroyed the nest, causing the hornets to swarm and attack me. At first, I reacted as any child might - I ran in circles, screaming. Eventually, I calmed down, and I was taken into the house and given a blessing. To this day, I cannot remember the pain that I knew I must have felt then, but I do remember the lesson that experience taught me: That God listens to and answers our prayers and that Priesthood Blessings can invoke the powers of heaven.

More recently, my family found ourselves in the custody of a black and white pit bull mix, whom we named Miss Jane Pitman. Over the course of the following few weeks, our lives were filled with complications and challenges. Mistakes were made, hearts were broken, and testimonies were challenged. Eventually, God turned my mistake into a miracle, and that trial turned into a lesson that God's plans are perfect, and that they account for all the foolish mistakes we will make when we try to follow them. I have not yet forgotten the pain I caused during those weeks, but I know that eventually, we all will. What will remain after that are the lessons we learned then.

God gives all of us trials. Some are more severe than others,  but they all have some combination of the same few purposes. They are all meant to teach us lessons, test and strengthen our testimonies, and give us experience. In life, there will be many tragedies, and they can really bring us down and challenge us. Thankfully, they can also raise us up and strengthen us. No matter what trials you're going through right now, please try to remember that the pain won't last forever, but the wisdom, strength, and personal growth you gain from your tragedies can.