Opposition: All is Well

This past summer, I finally had the chance to take a break from my normal summer routine. Rather than return to the swamps of southeastern Louisiana to sweat out another summer performing physical labor, I took a chance on an internship in Cincinnati, Ohio. Admittedly, when I first learned that I would be going to Ohio for my internship, I had mixed feelings. My Dad raised me a staunch SEC football fan (Geaux Tigers), and I don't believe this upbringing encouraged a loathing for the BIG 10, yet I still felt a bit of resentment at the idea of being so close to Ohio State. Fortunately though, I found my summer in Ohio to be almost magical, and while I left as single as I arrived (to my parents' disappointment), I had fallen for the "Queen City." The included picture captures my softening heart for the great state of Ohio at a Cincinnati Reds' game.

While I absolutely loved my time in Cincinnati, there were times I liked my experience less (I've come to terms with the Buckeyes as a disclaimer to that statement). Some of these times actually were fairly tough, and some of these times were a little lonely. However, I feel like I learned a lot through the whole experience. At the end of the summer, I was asked to give a talk in the congregation I had attended while in Cincinnati and was given the topic, "Opposition: All is Well." When I first heard this topic, I thought to myself, "Me and Brother Perryman (the guy who assigned me the topic) must experience opposition differently." However, as I studied and pondered on this topic, I discovered that Brother Perryman was onto something with this topic.

In Helaman 3 of The Book of Mormon, we read of a point in time following the Nephite's wars with the Lamanites where the church is prospering. However, the prospering causes some of the members to become prideful to the point of persecuting their more faithful, humble brethren. Verse 35 of Helaman 3 describes the faithful's response as "they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling of their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God."

I once heard as a missionary for my church the sentiment expressed "we are not humans being, we are humans becoming." Within the LDS faith, we believe that we are all children of God and that He desires for us to become more like He is. However, I have often wondered to myself what exactly it would take for a person to become more like Him. It was in studying verses like this one found in Helaman that it occurred to me that the experiences required for me to become more like God were... well, the very ones I was then experiencing--both the good and the seemingly bad. Sometimes, we can be like those faithful members of the church who are doing our best but yet, bad things or challenges confront us. The truth is God is personally involved in our becoming and accordingly, knows what we personally need to become more like Him. What that means is the opposition we face, is well, tailor made/tailor allowed for us to become like Him.

Even now, I'm sure each of us can think of something in our lives that is a "hard" thing. Yet, I believe the key to opposition is to come to see it not as opposition, but as opportunity. When I think of the great examples in my own life or the people we hear stories of  through Hollywood films, more often than not, these people are considered great not because they got passed opposition but because of who they grew to become through it.

As we face challenges, I would hope that we could see them as opportunities for us to grow. Much like my experience in Cincinnati, life has its goods and its bads. The secret though, is to see them as all good. I know that as I have tried to adopt this perspective that I have felt the Lord helping me grow through hard times. He loves us and knows both what He wants us to become as well as what it will take to help us achieve that vision. While it is not always a joyful experience (growing that is), we are destined to grow into the most joyful beings we can be as we trust the Lord knows what He is doing with us! One last thought along these lines, I think the truth for me is that as long as opposition exists in my life, I know that God has not given up on helping me become something more.