Lessons on the Book of Mormon
Lesson No. Five
The Furnace of Affliction - 1 Nephi 20:10
Prayers are answered as we liken the scriptures unto ourselves – We speak to our Father in Heaven through prayer, and He often answers back by giving us guidance and inspiration through the Holy Spirit as we study the scriptures and apply their teachings. Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught this with power:
“However talented men may be in administrative matters; however eloquent they may be in expressing their views; however learned they may be in worldly things – they will be denied the sweet whisperings of the Spirit that might have been theirs unless they pay the price of studying, pondering, and praying about the scriptures” (Holy Writ: Published Anew, Regional Representative Seminar, 1982).
After we have studied, pondered, and prayed about the scriptures, the answers and guidance we desire most often comes when we seek to apply the lessons from the scriptures to our own lives.
This principle specifically applies to the teachings of Isaiah (See 1 Nephi 19:23; 2 Nephi 11:2,8, see also Jacob in 2 Nephi 6:5) – In introducing 1 Nephi 20-21 (Isaiah 48-49 as found on the brass plates) Nephi wrote to the house of Israel which includes latter day Israel: “But that I might more fully persuade [my people] to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.
“Hear ye the words of the prophet, ye who are a remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who have been broken off; hear ye the words of that prophet, which were written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been broken off” (1 Nephi 19:23-24, emphasis added). We are to liken the teachings of Isaiah to ourselves that we may have hope. The following examples from the teachings of Isaiah gives me hope:
The furnace of affliction – “For, Behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (1 Nephi 20:10). This scripture teaches an important truth that spiritual strength is forged in adversity. It is when we have been tempered by adversity that we are able to go forth from Babylon, which means to overcome the world or worldly influences. (See 1 Nephi 20:20)
The symbolism of a furnace of affliction, a trial furnace, is well taken. Many years ago I had an ownership interest in an aerospace manufacturing company. This company had a heat treat oven, large enough to hold a passenger car. The following process was used to strengthen and harden aluminum:
1. Heat the aluminum in the oven to 930 degrees for 20 minutes. This heat rearranges/realigns the molecular structure of the aluminum and creates a sort of grain in the metal.
2. From 930 degrees the aluminum must be quenched in water and the temperature dropped to room temperature within 7 seconds. This is known as the AQ (as quenched) condition. If the aluminum is not properly quenched it will return to its original condition and strength.
3. The aluminum is then age hardened in another furnace at between 300 – 400 degrees for 24 to 48 hours depending on its final use.
4. Based on a strength to weight ratio this process made aluminum stronger than steel.
Everyone gets a turn in the trial furnace of mortality – The following are lessons I have learned by observation and also in my personal trial furnace:
5. “The Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith” (Mosiah 23:21). The trials the people of Alma had to endure were customized, and so it is with us. The Lord usually does not immediately remove the burden, but He eases them by making us stronger. “And this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions” (Mosiah 24:14). The Lord delivered the people of Alma, and He will also deliver us.
6. Intensify prayers and do everything that we can do – “It is by grace we are saved after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). This doctrine applies to adversity. We are expected to work hard and do all that we can, and then rely on the Lord to do the rest.
7. Family and friends will bear us up – They love us, and they are often able to see more clearly.
8. Be prepared, especially for events that we have no control over – Life is full of risks, so we must wisely prepare for contingencies, especially for those we have no control over.
9. Spiritual preparation is the key to the uncertainties of life – Under girding and overarching our temporal preparation is our spiritual preparedness. Spiritual preparedness enables us to deal with all temporal uncertainties. After all the only uncertainties in life are of a temporal nature. Spiritual things are eternal and certain. The fundamental principle of spiritual preparedness is obedience to the commandments the Lord.
Lesson for life – In the heat treat oven molecules are realigned and aluminum is made very strong. The trial furnace of mortality gives us a chance to realign our priorities and develop Christ-like virtues such as obedience, patience, humility, and diligence. (See D&C 4:6) Then we will be made strong and able “to bear up our burdens with ease, as we submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (Mosiah 24:15).