Monday, July 11, 2011

The Refiner's Fire


“Here then is a great truth. In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. In this way the divine image can be mirrored from the soul. It is part of the purging toll exacted of some to become acquainted with God. In the agonies of life, we seem to listen better to the faint, godly whisperings of the Divine Shepherd.
“Into every life there come the painful, despairing days of adversity and buffeting. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and often heartbreak for everyone, including those who earnestly seek to do right and be faithful. … In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master.”                     
 —James E. Faust
The process of refining silver has always been done by a master silversmith because of the importance of doing it right. As the silver is heated the dross or the impurities float to the top and the master silver smith scrapes them off. He then turns up to heat to bring more impurities to the top. He continues this process until all the impurites have risen and been scraped away. During this time he must watch the silver always, for if it is heated too much it will be destroyed. The final product is finished when he can see his reflection in the silver.

“Being human, we would expel from our lives sorrow, distress, physical pain, and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort. But if we closed the doors upon such, we might be evicting our greatest friends and benefactors. Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery. The sufferings of our Savior were part of his education.   —Spencer W. Kimball
 So much of our lives are like the process of refining silver. That is what life is, a process. We as human beings are unpure and sinful. King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon teaches us about the natural man that we are, and must overcome.

 19For the anatural bman is an cenemy to God, and has been from the dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he eyields to the enticings of the Holy fSpirit, and gputteth off the hnatural man and becometh a isaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a jchild, ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father (Mosiah 3:19).

“Our needed conversions are often achieved more readily by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquillity. … Father Lehi promised his son Jacob that God would ‘consecrate [his] afflictions for [his] gain’ (2 Nephi 2:2). The Prophet Joseph was promised that ‘thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high’ (D&C 121:7–8).
“Most of us experience some measure of what the scriptures call ‘the furnace of affliction’ (Isaiah 48:10; 1 Nephi 20:10). Some are submerged in service to a disadvantaged family member. Others suffer the death of a loved one or the loss or postponement of a righteous goal like marriage or childbearing. Still others struggle with personal impairments or with feelings of rejection, inadequacy, or depression. Through the justice and mercy of a loving Father in Heaven, the refinement and sanctification possible through such experiences can help us achieve what God desires us to become.”
—Dallin H. Oaks


     This life is all about overcoming our natural tendencies to do wrong. In this process we can't do it alone. As we accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and his atonement we become like the silver. Over time the heat is turned up and we have trials that we must face. These trials are what help us to learn and overcome impurities. Then when one trial is over the heat is once again turned up and there are many more trials waiting for us. During these times of trial and agony in our lives we are not alone. Christ is the Master Silversmith. He will watch us always so that we are not in the fire too long and are destroyed. We will not be "tempted above that which we are able to bear"(1).

Orson F. Whitney said:
“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God … and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven.”








2 comments:

  1. I popped by - in particular - to be reminded about the refining of silver & was helped with a snippet I can use in my lesson. Thank you!

    Warmly, Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  2. How do I refine Silver from AgCl percipitation?
    where to find platinum

    ReplyDelete