Below are the quotes that were used in the video.
I love the book of Job is an excellent example of facing trials with faith. President Eyring said, “when you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble, and you will be right more than half the time.” As we study the book of Job we will look for counsel that may help those having serious challenges in their lives.
President Henry B. Eyring (2004): “When I was a young man, I served as counselor to a wise district president in the Church. He tried to teach me. One of the things I remember wondering about was this advice he gave: “When you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble, and you will be right more than half the time.”
“I thought then that he was pessimistic. Now, more than 40 years later, I can see how well he understood the world and life. As time passes, the world grows more challenging, and our physical capacities slowly diminish with age. It is clear that we will need more than human strength. The Psalmist was right: “But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2004/04/in-the-strength-of-the-lord?lang=eng)
President Henry B. Eyring (2018): “…when you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble, and you will be right more than half the time.” Not only was he right, but I have learned over the years that he was too low in his estimate. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/try-try-try?lang=eng)
Note: This is also quoted in Condie, “Russell M. Nelson – Father, Surgeon, Apostle,” P. 124.
Background on Job
Reality of Job
Outline of Job
As long as we are faithful to the Lord, He will never allow Satan to tempt or try us more than we are able to overcome (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).
President James E. Faust: “The power to resist Satan may be stronger than we realize. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: ‘All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. The devil has no power over us only as we permit him. The moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power.’ “He also stated, ‘Wicked spirits have their bounds, limits, and laws by which they are governed.’ So Satan and his angels are not all-powerful” (“The Forces That Will Save Us,” Ensign, Jan. 2007, 8).
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “We don’t talk about the adversary any more than we have to, and I don’t like talking about him at all, but the experience of young Joseph reminds us of what every man, including every young man, in this audience needs to remember.
“Number one, Satan, or Lucifer, or the father of lies … is real, the very personification of evil. His motives are in every case malicious, and he convulses at the appearance of redeeming light, at the very thought of truth. Number two, he is eternally opposed to the love of God, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and the work of peace and salvation. He will fight against these whenever and wherever he can. He knows he will be defeated and cast out in the end, but he is determined to take down with him as many others as he possibly can.
“So what are some of the devil’s tactics in this contest when eternal life is at stake? Here again the experience in the Sacred Grove is instructive. Joseph recorded that in an effort to oppose all that lay ahead, Lucifer exerted “such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak.”
“As President Boyd K. Packer taught this morning, Satan cannot directly take a life. That is one of many things he cannot do. But apparently his effort to stop the work will be reasonably well served if he can just bind the tongue of the faithful.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2011/10/we-are-all-enlisted?lang=eng)
Elder Quentin L. Cook: “Many people face significant problems or even tragedy during this mortal journey. All over the world we see examples of trials and tribulations. We are moved in our souls by television images of death, acute suffering, and despair… Something stirs us when we become aware of such tragedy, especially when suffered by innocent people.
“Sometimes tragedies are very personal. A son or daughter dies early in life or falls victim to a devastating disease. A loving parent’s life is taken because of a thoughtless act or accident. Whenever tragedy occurs, we mourn and strive to bear one another’s burdens. We lament the things that will not be accomplished and the songs that will not be sung.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2011/10/the-songs-they-could-not-sing?lang=eng)
Some of Job’s questions:
Elder Richard G Scott: “When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this, now? What have I done to cause this? will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God.
“Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help? How can I remember my many blessings in times of trial?
“…This life is an experience in profound trust—trust in Jesus Christ, trust in His teachings, trust in our capacity as led by the Holy Spirit to obey those teachings for happiness now and for a purposeful, supremely happy eternal existence. To trust means to obey willingly without knowing the end from the beginning (see Prov. 3:5–7).
“To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it… When you pass through trials for His purposes, as you trust Him, exercise faith in Him, He will help you. That support will generally come step by step, a portion at a time … If all matters were immediately resolved at your first petition, you could not grow.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1995/10/trust-in-the-lord?lang=eng)
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: “It’s natural to have questions—the acorn of honest inquiry has often sprouted and matured into a great oak of understanding. There are few members of the Church who, at one time or another, have not wrestled with serious or sensitive questions. One of the purposes of the Church is to nurture and cultivate the seed of faith—even in the sometimes sandy soil of doubt and uncertainty. Faith is to hope for things which are not seen but which are true.
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters—my dear friends—please, first doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. We must never allow doubt to hold us prisoner and keep us from the divine love, peace, and gifts that come through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Come, Join with Us,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 23.)
C. S. Lewis: “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently, He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense.
What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on a extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. (Mere Christianity, p 174)
Teaching Thoughts:
President Henry B. Eyring (2004): “When I was a young man, I served as counselor to a wise district president in the Church. He tried to teach me. One of the things I remember wondering about was this advice he gave: “When you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble, and you will be right more than half the time.”
“I thought then that he was pessimistic. Now, more than 40 years later, I can see how well he understood the world and life. As time passes, the world grows more challenging, and our physical capacities slowly diminish with age. It is clear that we will need more than human strength. The Psalmist was right: “But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2004/04/in-the-strength-of-the-lord?lang=eng)
President Henry B. Eyring (2018): “…when you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble, and you will be right more than half the time.” Not only was he right, but I have learned over the years that he was too low in his estimate. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/try-try-try?lang=eng)
Note: This is also quoted in Condie, “Russell M. Nelson – Father, Surgeon, Apostle,” P. 124.
Background on Job
- Some scholars say that its author “ranks with the greatest writers of mankind.” Tennyson has been quoted as stating that the book of Job is “the greatest poem of ancient or modern times.” Carlisle referred to it as “one of the greatest things ever written with the pen.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1982/03/job-the-man-and-his-message?lang=eng)
- Almost the entire book is poetry.
- We do not know who authored the book.
- This book asks 2 difficult questions:
- Why do righteous people choose righteousness?
- Why do the Righteous suffer?
Reality of Job
- James 5:11 – “Ye have heard of the patience of Job.”
- Doc. and Cov. 121:10: “Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job.”
- Ezek 14: 12-20: “Though Noah, Daniel, and Job…”
Outline of Job
- Job 1-2 - Job’s travails or the prologue.
- Job 3–31 - False comfort by Job’s three friends.
- Job 32–37 - Elihu’s speeches.
- Job 38–42:6 - Speeches from the Lord.
- Job 42:7–17 - The epilogue consists of a divine rebuke of Job’s three friends, and Job’s restoration and final reward. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1982/03/job-the-man-and-his-message?lang=eng)
As long as we are faithful to the Lord, He will never allow Satan to tempt or try us more than we are able to overcome (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).
President James E. Faust: “The power to resist Satan may be stronger than we realize. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: ‘All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. The devil has no power over us only as we permit him. The moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power.’ “He also stated, ‘Wicked spirits have their bounds, limits, and laws by which they are governed.’ So Satan and his angels are not all-powerful” (“The Forces That Will Save Us,” Ensign, Jan. 2007, 8).
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “We don’t talk about the adversary any more than we have to, and I don’t like talking about him at all, but the experience of young Joseph reminds us of what every man, including every young man, in this audience needs to remember.
“Number one, Satan, or Lucifer, or the father of lies … is real, the very personification of evil. His motives are in every case malicious, and he convulses at the appearance of redeeming light, at the very thought of truth. Number two, he is eternally opposed to the love of God, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and the work of peace and salvation. He will fight against these whenever and wherever he can. He knows he will be defeated and cast out in the end, but he is determined to take down with him as many others as he possibly can.
“So what are some of the devil’s tactics in this contest when eternal life is at stake? Here again the experience in the Sacred Grove is instructive. Joseph recorded that in an effort to oppose all that lay ahead, Lucifer exerted “such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak.”
“As President Boyd K. Packer taught this morning, Satan cannot directly take a life. That is one of many things he cannot do. But apparently his effort to stop the work will be reasonably well served if he can just bind the tongue of the faithful.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2011/10/we-are-all-enlisted?lang=eng)
Elder Quentin L. Cook: “Many people face significant problems or even tragedy during this mortal journey. All over the world we see examples of trials and tribulations. We are moved in our souls by television images of death, acute suffering, and despair… Something stirs us when we become aware of such tragedy, especially when suffered by innocent people.
“Sometimes tragedies are very personal. A son or daughter dies early in life or falls victim to a devastating disease. A loving parent’s life is taken because of a thoughtless act or accident. Whenever tragedy occurs, we mourn and strive to bear one another’s burdens. We lament the things that will not be accomplished and the songs that will not be sung.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2011/10/the-songs-they-could-not-sing?lang=eng)
Some of Job’s questions:
- “Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?” (Job 2:11)
- “Why did the knees prevent me? Or why the breasts that I should suck?” (Job 2:12) [i.e. “Why was I nursed with care instead of being allowed to fall to the ground and be killed?”]
- “When they can find the grave?” (Job 2:22)
- “Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?” (Job 2:23)
Elder Richard G Scott: “When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this, now? What have I done to cause this? will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God.
“Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help? How can I remember my many blessings in times of trial?
“…This life is an experience in profound trust—trust in Jesus Christ, trust in His teachings, trust in our capacity as led by the Holy Spirit to obey those teachings for happiness now and for a purposeful, supremely happy eternal existence. To trust means to obey willingly without knowing the end from the beginning (see Prov. 3:5–7).
“To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it… When you pass through trials for His purposes, as you trust Him, exercise faith in Him, He will help you. That support will generally come step by step, a portion at a time … If all matters were immediately resolved at your first petition, you could not grow.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1995/10/trust-in-the-lord?lang=eng)
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: “It’s natural to have questions—the acorn of honest inquiry has often sprouted and matured into a great oak of understanding. There are few members of the Church who, at one time or another, have not wrestled with serious or sensitive questions. One of the purposes of the Church is to nurture and cultivate the seed of faith—even in the sometimes sandy soil of doubt and uncertainty. Faith is to hope for things which are not seen but which are true.
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters—my dear friends—please, first doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. We must never allow doubt to hold us prisoner and keep us from the divine love, peace, and gifts that come through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Come, Join with Us,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 23.)
C. S. Lewis: “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently, He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense.
What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on a extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. (Mere Christianity, p 174)
Teaching Thoughts:
- What can I do to face my trials with faith?
- “When you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble, and you will be right more than half the time.”
- How can a study of Job help those who are discouraged and feel God is silent for them?
- How have your trials made you more like ‘a diamond?’ (see Doc and Cov. 101:3)