CFM: Job
What stood out to you this week as you read?
Job 1: 1 Describe Job’s character...what does it mean to be “perfect”...blameless
Job 1: 2-4 His family and possessions
Job 1: 6-8 Satan and God’s discussion
Job 1:9-12
Summarize what happens to Job’s property and children
Job 1:20-22 Love Job’s attitude!!
Job also struck with boils. He’s miserable.
Job 2:11-13... Job’s friends are loving and helpful at this point. They mourn with him. They sit with him in his grief and suffering.
What have friends or family done during a time of suffering that has been helpful? How have others mourned with you, comforted you, lifted up your hands when they hung down? (read Job 16:5) *Maybe review Job 42 and how at the end, despite the fact that his friends turned against him, Job prays for them and forgives them?
Job 3: 1-4, 11 Job grieves and questions. He wishes he had died. Throughout much of the rest of Job, his friends try to explain why these things have happened and Job grieves and suffers and wonders why these things have happened AND he argues with them, explains that it is not due to his sin, and cries out for help and deliverance.
Have class skim Job 12 and 13. Have people share: What did Job know about God that enabled him to keep trusting God despite his suffering and unanswered questions?
Job 19: 25-27
Job 13: 15-16
Job 31:6
Can you think of other scriptures (or quotes from General Conference) that help you when you are struggling or have unanswered questions? What verses give you comfort or strength in the midst of hard times? What helps you to remain faithful?
Some of mine:
*2 Nephi 2:24 “But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.”
*1 Nephi 11:16-17 “I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless I do not know the meaning of all things.”
*2 Nephi 26: 24: “He doeth not aanything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he bloveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw call men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.”
*Revelation 21:4 “4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more adeath, neither bsorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more cpain: for the former things are passed away.”
*Isaiah 61:1-3 “1 The aSpirit of the Lord bGod is upon me; because the Lord hath canointed me to dpreach egood tidings unto the fmeek; he hath sent me to gbind up the brokenhearted, to hproclaim iliberty to the jcaptives, and the opening of the kprison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of avengeance of our God; to bcomfort all that cmourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them abeauty for ashes, the oil of bjoy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called ctrees of drighteousness, the eplanting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”
#1 Quote from Elder Maxwell: “Therefore, how can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, “Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!”
Purposes of adversity:
#2 Come Follow Me manual says, “It’s natural to wonder why bad things happen to good people—or for that matter, why good things happen to bad people. Why would God, who is just, allow that? Questions like these are explored through the experience of Job, one of those good people to whom bad things happened. Because of Job’s trials, his friends wondered if he was really good after all. Job asserted his own righteousness and wondered if God is really just after all. But despite his suffering and wondering, Job maintained his integrity and faith in Jesus Christ. In the book of Job, faith is questioned and tested but never completely abandoned. That doesn’t mean that all of the questions are answered. But the book of Job teaches that until they are answered, questions and faith can coexist, and regardless of what happens in the meantime, we can say of our Lord, “Yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15).”
So why do we have adversity?
In a youth lesson on adversity, the lesson states: “As part of Heavenly Father’s plan, we must experience adversity during mortality. In some cases, adversity comes as the result of our own poor choices or the choices of others. Other trials are simply a natural part of our mortal experience. Though they are difficult, our challenges can help us grow spiritually and become more like Jesus Christ.”
Read Job 23:10-12 *refine us
#3 President Eyring said, “You might remember that Job doubted that his greater holiness, gained through greater adversity, had qualified him for greater happiness. It seemed to Job that holiness had brought misery.
Yet the Lord gave Job the same correcting lesson He gave Joseph Smith. He let Job see his heartbreaking situation with spiritual eyes. He said:
“Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
“Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
“Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
“When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”13 Job 38:3–7
Then, after Job repented of calling God unfair, Job was permitted to see his trials in a higher and holier way. He had repented.
After Job repented and so became more holy, the Lord blessed him beyond all he had lost. But perhaps the greatest blessing for Job was to have increased in holiness through adversity and repentance. He was qualified to have greater happiness in the days he had yet to live.
Greater holiness will not come simply by asking for it. It will come by doing what is needed for God to change us.”
#4 President Faust said, “The way to find joy in this life is to resolve, like Job, to endure all for God and His work. By so doing we will receive the infinite, priceless joy of being with our Savior in the eternities. As we sing in one of our well-known hymns:
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake! 15 [“How Firm a Foundation,” Hymns, no. 85.]
President Howard W. Hunter once said, “God knows what we do not know and sees what we do not see.” 16 [In Conference Report, Oct. 1987, 71; or Ensign, Nov. 1987, 60.] None of us knows the wisdom of the Lord. We do not know in advance exactly how He would get us from where we are to where we need to be, but He does offer us broad outlines in our patriarchal blessings. We encounter many bumps, bends, and forks in the road of life that leads to the eternities. There is so much teaching and correction as we travel on that road. Said the Lord, “He that will not bear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom.” 17 D&C 136:31 “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.” 18 Heb. 12:6”
D&C 122:4-9
Are there things we can do to allow our trials to refine us and draw us closer to God rather than making us bitter or angry or resentful toward God?
Job 38: Job has felt like God has been silent. He hasn’t felt like he could see or hear God. But in chapter 38, God comes and speaks to Job.
38: 2-7...If you read chapters 38 and 39, God points out (through questions) what He can do and what He has done and what He knows. And as I read these chapters, I was struck (again!) by how humble we ought to be. No matter how knowledgeable, intelligent or wise we are, God’s wisdom, knowledge, experience, skills, perspective and understanding far exceed ours! He has skills and attributes that we have not yet developed. He sees a bigger picture. We are foolish to discount Him or discount the teachings of His prophet.
Another lesson from these chapters...God is there! Even if you have periods where you can’t see or hear or feel Him (which may happen because of sin, or because you are struggling with a mental illness, or because you are being tested or for some other reason), He is there. He hears you. He sees you. He is working...sometimes in plain sight and sometimes behind the scenes...to guide you and help you and always He loves you.
Vs. 7 We shouted for joy! We were so thrilled to have this mortal experience, despite its challenges.
Job 42:12 The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning.
*Compensatory blessings
#5 Elder Holland said, “"Some blessings come soon, some come late, some don't come until heaven -- but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ they come."
Real Talk Come Follow Me: “Any story authored by Jesus is going to end happily. And so if your story is not happy, it’s not over yet.”
Charles Spurgeon, a Baptist preacher, said: “I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.”
#6 Elder Neil L. Andersen spoke of compensatory blessings in a BYU speech. It’s such a great speech, but I just want to share a few things he said that give me great comfort: “As evil increases in the world, there is a compensatory spiritual power for the righteous. As the world slides from its spiritual moorings, the Lord prepares the way for those who seek Him, offering them greater assurance, greater confirmation, and greater confidence in the spiritual direction they are traveling. The gift of the Holy Ghost becomes a brighter light in the emerging twilight.
To understand better, think of these comparisons: If the world were growing more physically dark, He could give us enhanced night vision. If loud noises were constantly in our ears, He could give us a filtering mechanism to block the unwanted sound. If the race we were running was extended, He could give us increased lung and muscle capacity. If the exam we were taking was more difficult, He could quicken our minds—a blessing many here at BYU would like to receive.
My brothers and sisters, as evil increases in the world, there is a compensatory power, an additional spiritual endowment, a revelatory gift for the righteous.”
#7 Elder Andersen also said, “Our Heavenly Father desires that faith will grow within the hearts of all His sons and daughters. As one repents, opens her heart, or seeks to strengthen his faith, the Lord is magnanimous and generous in return. Alma said, “Remember, that God is merciful unto all who believe on his name.”16 You of course will remember that Alma talked about arousing our faculties, experimenting upon the words of Christ, and exercising faith to give additional place for faith to grow.17
Never forget that the seed must be nourished. We need to help those we love to understand that faith is not stagnant. It is either growing or it is diminishing. We have all been taught these things. Faith grows by repentance and obedience, by prayer and scripture study, by attending Church and taking the sacrament, and by serving and associating with other believers.
I emphasize once again: As evil increases in the world, the Lord does not leave us on the same footing. In a world that would diminish or discard or impair belief, there is an added spiritual power for those who are willing to set their course on increasing their faith in Jesus Christ.”
Elder Andersen gave a few examples of the compensatory blessings that the Lord has given us now. He mentioned the ability to easily do family history work in our own home or even on our phone. This ease of use allows us to do spiritual work and receive spiritual strength that required much greater sacrifices of time and effort in the past. Another example is the number of temples now dotting the Earth. When I was born, there were fewer temples on the entire Earth than there are in Utah! In a period of about 20 years, the number of temples tripled. President Monson taught us that as we attend the temple we would be better able to overcome temptations, bear our trials, and find peace. President Nelson has taught us that gathering Israel (which includes temple and family history work) is the most important cause on the Earth today. The last compensatory blessing that he mentions (but certainly not the last compensatory blessing that we have!) is that we have the words of the prophets and apostles at our fingertips and can be guided in our choices by their teachings. If we follow the prophet, we WON’T be led astray.
