I live in a picturesque town in the mountains of Idaho. It’s easy to see the goodness of God in the beauty of nature. It can be more difficult to see His kindness in our lives—especially when the storms of adversities come. The Psalmist wrote, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalms 14:1). It is a foolish man, indeed, who doubts the power of God and refuses His help in a time of need. The knowledge I have of God, His nature and His plan are essential when the storms of life are raging.

The Nature of God is Love

 When the storms of life, rage, it’s easy to ask, “Where is God? How could He let this happen?” God, by His very nature, will never abandon us. Elder Henry B. Eyring, the first counselor in the First Presidency—with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ—answers this question:

That aching for an answer to “How could this happen?” becomes even more painful when those struggling include those we love. And it is especially hard for us to accept when those afflicted seem to us to be blameless. Then the distress can shake faith in the reality of a loving and all-powerful God. …

My purpose today is to assure you that our Heavenly Father and the Savior live and that They love all humanity. The very opportunity for us to face adversity and affliction is part of the evidence of Their infinite love. God gave us the gift of living in mortality so that we could be prepared to receive the greatest of all the gifts of God, which is eternal life. [1]  

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, the second counselor in the First Presidency and an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, explains the depth of Their love:

Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love for you.… Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. …He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked. [2]  

When adversity seems to pile up around us—and around those we love—it is comforting to know that God is our Father in Heaven, and He loves us. He will always be there for us. In times of distress, we can turn to Him in prayer. We find answers to those prayers as we study the scriptures and serve others, becoming in tune with His Spirit.

Heavenly Father Has a Plan for Us

The other comforting thought in times of trial is that Heavenly Father has a plan for us. As the Father of our spirits, God did not send us to earth by accident. Heavenly Father created a plan that is large enough in scope for the entire human family and yet personally designed for each individual. Elder Quentin L. Cook, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said:

From the limited perspective of those who do not have knowledge, understanding, or faith in the Father’s plan—who look at the world only through the lens of mortality with its wars, violence, disease, and evil—this life can seem depressing, chaotic, unfair, and meaningless. Church leaders have compared this perspective with someone walking into the middle of a three-act play. Those without knowledge of the Father’s plan do not understand what happened in the first act, or the premortal existence, and the purposes established there; nor do they understand the clarification and resolution that come in the third act, which is the glorious fulfillment of the Father’s plan. [3]  

In the first act, we lived in a pre-mortal realm as spirit children of our Father. He outlined His plan for us, explaining His part and our part. In the second act, He would send us to earth to gain mortal bodies—with all of the joys and sorrows and everything in between—as a test to see if we would obey His commandments in all things, no matter what. He knew we would commit sin, and no unclean thing can dwell in His presence (1 Nephi 10:21 in the Book of Mormon: Another testament of Jesus Christ and a companion scripture to the Bible). So He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to set the example for us to follow and to perform the Atonement, whereby we can be forgiven of our sins after we repent. The third act is the resolution of all things. If we have passed the test of mortality and proven ourselves faithful to God in all things, we can live with Him again.

But included in our Heavenly Father’s plan for us were trials and tribulations to test us, purify us and teach us the things that God wants us to learn. Elder Cook said:

There are many kinds of challenges. Some give us necessary experiences. Adverse results in this mortal life are not evidence of lack of faith or of an imperfection in our Father in Heaven’s overall plan. The refiner’s fire is real, and qualities of character and righteousness that are forged in the furnace of affliction perfect and purify us and prepare us to meet God. [3]

In the midst of trials and hard times, it is helpful to understand that there is purpose in all things. Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us, custom tailored to our personality and needs. That plan includes heartache and suffering as well as joy and gladness.

Several years ago, I hiked to a beautiful spot called Goose Creek Falls with the teenage girls in our ward (or congregation). As I was sitting there, looking at the beautiful scenery, I saw a large tree growing out of the rock at the side of the cliff. Not growing through a couple of boulders, but out of the bedrock. I was amazed at the resilience of the tree, and it brought to my mind some lines from a poem called “Good Timber,” by Douglas Malloch:

The tree that never had to fight

For sun and sky and air and light,

But stood out on the open plain

And always got its share of rain

Never became a forest king

But lived and died a scrubby thing. [4]

The beauty of the tree was not just in its leaves and certainly not in its gnarled trunk, but in its sheer determination to fight through the bedrock of the cliff and grow into a forest king. That is the purpose of trials in our lives. They are refining fires that build our character and solidify our faith in Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, if we allow them to do so.

What Mormons know about God is this: He is real, He loves us and He has a plan for us. When we are in the midst of sore trials, and we can see Satan’s hand upon us, we just need to look up. Up to our Father in Heaven. He will always be there, and He will never leave us comfortless. He loves us with a perfect, pure love. His plan for us is perfect and pure. As we have faith in that knowledge, we can withstand the storms of life.

Cub Scouts—A Time for Preparation

In The Church of Jesus Christ, boys enter the Scouting program as Cubs at 8—the age at which they become accountable to God for their actions and are baptized. Cub Scouts is a time of preparation, a time to prepare to enter the Boy Scouts and to receive the priesthood (if they are worthy), both of which will happen when boys turn 12. Cub Scouts memorize the Scout Oath and Scout Law. They also learn why and how to follow the guidelines. In The Church of Jesus Christ, “Primary” is the program for children ages 3 to 11. Sister Rosemary M. Wixom, Primary General President, said:

Primary is a time for preparation — and the time of preparation is as critical as the time of performance. [1]

Thus, preparation for receiving the priesthood begins in Cub Scouts, where the boys are taught a higher code of ethical and moral conduct. Each boy learns the Scout Oath, which is:

On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight. [2]

The Scout Law outlines the desired characteristics of participants: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. [2] Each trait is vital for one to honor the oath and covenant he will make when he receives the priesthood of God. But the preparation does not end with teaching values. In a world of ever-increasing permissiveness, Sister Wixom said even Cub Scouts need the frank discussions once reserved for older boys. She said the average age a boy is first exposed to pornography is 9. [1] The Cub Scout program helps to warn both parents and children of the potential dangers. I still remember my surprise when I opened my then-8-year-old son’s Cub Scout book and discovered that we had to discuss sexual predators and Internet pornography. But I realized that safety comes in knowledge; danger lurks in ignorance. From the beginning of the program, boys are taught how to make correct decisions and avoid potential pitfalls. As they advance through the Cub Scout program, they are well-prepared for the greater responsibilities and challenges that lie ahead. The values taught in Scouting reinforce those taught in the home and at Church.

Boy Scouts—Leadership in Action

The Cub Scout program in The Church of Jesus Christ teaches boys the leadership skills necessary to progress not only in Scouts, but also in the priesthood. But the training doesn’t end in Cub Scouts. Boys Scouts is leadership in action—especially for the young men of The Church of Jesus Christ who are holders of the Aaronic—or preparatory—priesthood. From the time young men enter the Boy Scouts, they have six short years to prepare for full-time missionary service and the responsibilities of the higher, or Melchizedek, priesthood. Speaking of Scouting and the Young Men program in the Church, Elder Robert D. Hales, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (with the First Presidency, the governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ), said:

Some of the great blessings of these programs that have been developed are that as the youth of the Church, you will have a clear understanding of who you are, you will be accountable for your actions, you will take responsibility for the conduct of your life, and you will be able to set goals so that you might achieve what you were sent to earth to achieve. Our plea is that you strive to do your very best. [3]

hat is the first line of the Scout oath: Do your best. And as you do your best, the Lord will help you. Elder Hales continued:

During the preparatory period of your lives it is so important that you cultivate spiritual growth, physical growth, education, personal development, career preparation, citizenship, and social skills. These qualities are all part of your priesthood duties and will help in the decisions that lie ahead for the next decades of your life.  [3]

All of these are part of the Scouting program.

Duty to God—The Tie That Binds Mormons and Scouts

The strong ethical and moral values taught in the Boy Scout program are an excellent companion to the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ has been loyal to the Scouting program because Scout leaders have stayed true to their ethical and moral roots. Bishop Gary E. Stevenson, the Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ, said:

Boy Scouts of today face issues not faced by generations before them:  declining morals, technology, addictive behavior and declining academic performance to name a few. I believe that the key to solving these issues lies in family and duty to God. If boys truly understood what their duty to God entails and lived it, they would grow safely into manhood.

…It is this common belief in duty to God that has forged the iron-strong connection with Boy Scouts of America we (i.e. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) have shared over the last 100 years. One hundred years of evidence has shown that this impact-proof, non-rusting core principle works better than whatever has been, historically, the next-best idea. Duty to God is where the power lies. Duty to God is what changes lives. [4]

Teaching young men their Duty to God is the focus of the Boy Scouts of America. And that is the focus of The Church of Jesus Christ. Neither organization has an agenda, concerning youth, other than teaching the next generation how to be the best they can be. Both organizations’ strong commitment to their core values—which have stood for a hundred years—allows them to work together on their common goal.

The scriptures teach us that “pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:17). In other words, pure religion is charity. Religion isn’t just a belief in a higher, divine power but also the expression of that belief. Spirituality, according to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, is “spiritual character, quality, or nature” and “religious devotion.” Romans 8:6 says, “To be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Our spiritual character is a function of how we practice our religion, or our belief in God.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes inadvertently called the Mormon Church, I have been taught the value of serving others. Pure religion isn’t a belief, it is action based on belief. In an April 1998 address titled “Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart,” President James E. Faust, then second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ, quoted a story from a newspaper that illustrates this:

A group of religion instructors [were] taking a summer course on the life of the Savior and focusing particularly on the parables. When the final exam time came, … the students arrived at the classroom to find a note that the exam would be given in another building across campus. Moreover, the note said, it must be finished within the two-hour time period that was starting almost at that moment. The students hurried across campus. On the way they passed a little girl crying over a flat tire on her new bike. An old man hobbled painfully toward the library with a cane in one hand, spilling books from a stack he was trying to manage with the other. On a bench by the union building sat a shabbily dressed, bearded man [in obvious distress].

“Rushing into the other classroom, the students were met by the professor, who announced they had all flunked the final exam. The only true test of whether they understood the Savior’s life and teaching, he said, was how they treated people in need. Their weeks of study at the feet of a capable professor had taught them a great deal of what Christ had said and done” (“Viewpoint: Too Hurried to Serve?” [LDS] Church News, 1 Oct. 1988, 16).

President Faust continued:

In their haste to finish the technicalities of the course, … they failed to recognize the application represented by the three scenes that had been deliberately staged. They learned the letter but not the spirit [of the law]. Their neglect of the little girl and the two men showed that the profound message of the course had not entered into their inward parts.”

I can relate to the religion students who were so focused on finishing their test on time that they missed—or figured someone else would help— those in need around them. It probably would not have taken that long to stop and help either the little girl or the men. How often do I get so caught up in what I’m doing that I miss opportunities for little acts of service all around me?

Service makes us spiritual

Several years ago, I was in a store parking lot and a man came up to my car and asked for money, saying he had run out of gas. My first thought was, “Yeah, right.” So I told him no. But immediately the thought came to me that I should help him. I tried to go back and help him, but he was long gone. I have always felt bad about that. I had some cash in my wallet, but I didn’t listen to the prompting from the Holy Spirit to help. I did not practice pure religion, and spiritually I suffered, because I knew I should have helped.

A few weeks ago, I drove to the gas station about 11 at night. As I was filling up, a woman approached me and asked where a certain hotel was. I live in a small town, but there are several hotels, and I wasn’t sure where this particular hotel was. So I looked it up and told her the address. I asked if she wanted a ride because it was cold outside and she wasn’t wearing a coat. She declined. I finished pumping my gas and then left. As I drove down the street, I saw her walking, and she looked cold. I called my husband and asked where the hotel was. He told me, and it was a lot further than I thought. So I turned around and stopped and asked the woman again if she wanted a ride. I told her the hotel was further down the road than I had thought, and I was headed that direction. This time, she accepted the invitation. We chatted during the few-minute drive, and then I dropped her off at the hotel. I don’t know why she was out alone so late at night with no coat, but I felt good knowing that this time, I didn’t ignore the prompting to help. That is the essence of pure religion—helping people when they need it, not when it’s convenient for us.

President Faust said:

“We must at times search our own souls and discover what we really are. Our real character, much as we would wish, cannot be hidden. It shines from within us transparently. Attempts to deceive others only deceive ourselves. We are often like the emperor in the fairy tale who thought he was arrayed in beautiful garments when he was in fact unclothed.”

I love the title of President Faust’s address: Search me, O God, and know my heart. For those who are true followers of Christ, who want to practice pure religion with the right spirit, that is the litmus test. Honest, true seekers of Jesus Christ will want the sweet assurance that God has seen their hearts and knows their intents are sincere.

According to Wikipedia, Lent is “the period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter.” According to Wikipedia, the length of Lent commemorates the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness and where he was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). Lent is a time of preparation through prayer, fasting, penance, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial, according to the site. Often, believers give up a luxury or vice during this time.

Although members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints don’t observe Lent, the traditions of Lent are similar in nature to a monthly Mormon observance called “Fast Sunday.” Fast Sunday is usually the first Sunday of each month, unless other church-wide or regional meetings are scheduled. In that case, Fast Sunday is either the Sunday before or after. This Sunday is also a time of prayer, fasting, repentance and almsgiving.

Fast Sunday, as the name connotes, is a time of fasting. In the LDS Church, members usually abstain from food and drink for two full meals. Fasting is a way to humble ourselves before the Lord and purify, or chasten, our hearts. Psalms 35:13 says, “I humbled my soul with fasting.” Psalms 69:10 reads, “I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting.”

In the scriptures, fasting is rarely mentioned without prayer. When members fast, they prepare themselves to commune with God through prayer. Daniel 9:3 reads, “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.” In the LDS Church, members are taught to fast with a purpose, and to begin with a prayer, asking for guidance and help. During the fast, in “sackcloth and ashes”—in other words, in humility— members prayerfully ponder and study their scriptures and the words of the prophets. It is also a time to repent and seek to do better, to recommit oneself to the Lord. These acts of humility allow our hearts to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and the answers we are seeking.

Last Fast Sunday, the members of my family (the ones who are old enough to do so) fasted for my 8-year-old daughter regarding some health concerns. She was sick, so she and I stayed home from church. Her health issues had been going on for years but were so subtle that I missed the signs. My friend texted me later that day and asked why I had missed church. I told her my daughter was sick. She asked what her symptoms were, and I told her. She told me it sounded like something she had when she was my daughter’s age. She explained it to me. I searched online for more information and then took my daughter back to the doctor, who gave her some much-needed medicine for temporary relief. I had a follow-up visit two weeks later with our family doctor, who scheduled lab work and tests to find out exactly what needs to be done for her. We are in the middle of that process now. My friend’s text and subsequent information was the answer to our prayers. The Lord does not always answer as quickly as He did that day, but He always answers our sincere prayers.

On Fast Sunday, members of the Church donate the money that would have been spent on meals to the Church. This donation is called Fast Offering, and the money is used to care for the needy both locally and around the world. The Savior teaches, in Luke 11:41, to “give alms of such things as ye have.” In Matthew 19:21, He teaches: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.” As part of the baptismal and temple covenants, LDS Church members promise to give of their resources to help others, especially those in need.

In the LDS Church, sacrament meeting has special significance on Fast Day. First, members partake of the sacrament, “an ordinance in which Church members partake of bread and water in remembrance of Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice. This ordinance is an essential part of worship and spiritual development. Through this ordinance, Church members renew the covenants they made with God when they were baptized,” according to lds.org.

In the Mormon Church, another component of Fast Day is the bearing of testimonies, which comprise the remainder of the sacrament meeting. Members, as they feel prompted by the Holy Spirit, stand before the congregation and share their feelings of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and His restored gospel. They sometimes share short experiences that have strengthened their faith.

Similar to Lent, Fast Sunday is a time for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to prepare themselves spiritually as well as to increase their faith and commitment to the Savior, Jesus Christ. At Easter, all Christians would be wise to spiritually prepare themselves to celebrate the greatest victory known to man—the resurrection of our Lord. If we will do this, our Easter celebrations will become more sacred and meaningful in our lives.

This article was written by Lisa Montague, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Additional Resources:

A Mormon Temple in a Catholic Country

Mormon Sacrament Meeting

Worship with Mormons