His property and riches were lost. His family killed. His friends betrayed him and health deteriorated; boils covered his body, enemies infiltrated his home, and all his vast wealth was lost.
Even when Joseph Smith suffered terribly in Liberty Jail and pleaded with God for deliverance, the Lord reminded Joseph that he was not yet as Job. D&C 121:10
The book of Job is a profoundly provocative and rewarding book. It refuses to provide us with ready-made answers about why any of us, individually, suffers. It acknowledges how inexplicably cruel life can be. At the same time, it points to a way of enduring adversity. As Samuel Terrien observes, the Book of Job offers “not a speculative answer … but a way of consecrated living.”
Like facing rejection on a mission, when we suffer for a greater cause, it makes all the difference because our suffering is not in vain. In fact, the most significant act in the history of the world and heaven involved immense suffering.
Yet because it had meaning, we have hope of deliverance.
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