"All men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness." -Alma 41:11
The great promise of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that if we believe and obey then we'll be happy. Maybe its hard to believe in that promise during a trial. Job passed through the hardships and were blessed. Job is usually the key example of having trials but all the righteous have to go through hardships. But, just like anything I've been asked to do in the Church, I don't regret it and I'm sure Job doesn't regret going through the trials. Its part of coming to a happier state that we grow and are able to overcome the trials.
"And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God." -Zech. 13:9
"Never be discouraged. If I were sunk in the lowest pits of Nova Scotia, with the Rocky Mountains piled on me, I would hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage, and I would come out on top." -Joseph Smith, Jr.
The key to living the gospel and being able to withstand the trials is faith. Without faith we can do nothing that pleases the Lord. Faith without works is dead, but also works without faith are dead. We can't keep the commandments unless we have faith in God and not in ourselves.
Baptists love to quote this scripture in defiance to the emphasis Latter Day Saints put on keeping the commandments- "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). But, there is no conflict of doctrine between the Latter Day Saints and this scripture. Faith must be in God and not of ourselves. We are to have faith in God be the motivation for keeping the commandments. Most of the Christians I've talked to seem to think this scripture lets you off the hook from having to repent or strive for perfection. It doesn't. This scripture proves that faith in God is necessary in our salvation and countless scriptures admonish us to keep the commandments, always seeking to repent of our "carnal" behaviors.
Sometimes we might notice that our faith is in ourselves and not in God when we are keeping the commandments but not happy. I suspect we think we can go through the motions of righteousness and expect a marvelous manifestation that validates our straining for keeping the commandments. Paul said that if we do things without faith then it is counted as evil unto us. We can't offer obedience without faith in Jesus Christ. That was the great mistake in Cain's offering to God. He didn't have faith in Jesus Christ and didn't make his offering in Christ's name and thus his hard work was rejected by God and Cain didn't receive a blessing. What a great lesson for us today! We have to keep the commandments with a pure heart, real intent, and with a faith in Jesus Christ that He will make up for what we lack. We must acknowledge our unworthiness and seek to serve with our whole might, mind, heart and strength. Then we will know when our offerings are acceptable unto the Lord by the Holy Ghost. We will feel happiness. We will have a contrite spirit and broken heart.
Going through the motions is a common problem. Its hard to make church an event if you go every week. Its hard to be impressed by a talk that you've heard a million times. Its hard to care after a while. I'm reminded of Brigham Young's counsel to those that don't feel like praying. He said to just keep trying and stay on your knees praying till you are filled with the Holy Ghost. Why is it hard? Because faith is something we must always seek after. We may have it but if we don't always seek it then it will slowly leave like a spirit leaving a body. The works then will be dead. We must strive to maintain the faith or we'll be without God in the world and we'll be unhappy.
