Week 2

This week has been a busy one, classes are getting more challenging and sometimes it is hard for me to keep up with the work that I have to do. However, I got up early on Thursday morning to go to the temple, and that time that I had while there to ponder and recharge was time well spent and much needed. It was while I was in the temple that I read one of my favorite scriptures, 2 Nephi 2:11-13, specifically verse 13 which says, "And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away."

This made me realize that although life is going to be hard, there will be sadness and hard times. However, it is because of these hard times that the happiness and blessings of the Lord will appear so much more strongly. While reading further, I noticed a correlation to these verses in verse 25 that I hadn't before. Verse 25 says, "Adam fell that men might be, and men are, that they might have joy." Adam's fall itself was a thing that had to happen, and even though it was painful for Adam, because of it his life as well as the lives of everyone who came after him was greatly enriched. 

This led me to think about the principle of gratitude, and how I thought a this means we should not just be grateful for the blessings in our lives, but for the trials and hard things as well. It is because of those things that we are able to better appreciate and love the happy and beautiful moments in our lives. While no one necessarily likes being sad and tested, it is ultimately for our benefit; the Lord would not purposefully make us miserable if it did not mean a more glorious future coming ahead.