(Posts with a preamble asterisk * are for a more general audience, and not specific to teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
“Those who hope for no other life are dead even for this.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
“No cogent (convincing, forcible) reason remains for supposing the soul dies with the body…. We (scientists) find strong reasons for believing that man is of extraordinary importance in the cosmic scheme…. It takes a lifetime to build the character of a noble man. The exercise and discipline of youth, the struggles and failures of maturity, the loneliness and tranquility of age— these make the fire through which he must pass to bring out the pure gold of his soul. Having been thus perfected, what shall nature do with him, annihilate him? What infinite waste! As long as there is in heaven a God of love there must be for God’s children, everlasting life!” ~ Dr. Arthur H. Compton (1892-1962… 1928 Nobel Prize winner in Physics)
The Refiner’s Fire
He sat by a furnace of seven-fold heat,
As He watched by the precious ore.
And closer He bent with a searching gaze,
As He heated it more and more.
He knew He had ore that could stand the test
And He wanted the finest gold,
To mold as a crown, for the king to wear,
Set with gems of price untold.
So He laid our gold in the burning fire,
Tho’ we fain would say Him “nay.”
And watched the dross that we had not seen
As it melted and passed away.
And the gold grew brighter and got more bright,
But our eyes were dim with tears,
We saw but the fire, not the Master’s hand,
And questioned with anxious fears.
Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow
As it mirrored a form above,
That bent o’er the fire, though unseen by us
With a look of ineffable love.
Can we think it pleases His loving heart
To cause us moments of pain?
Ah, no! But He sees through the present cross
The bliss of eternal gain.
So He waited there with a watchful eye,
With a love that is strong and sure.
And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat
Than was needed to make it pure.
A.F. Ingler
The older I get the more I seem to appreciate that life is all about ‘learning to overcome’, best done with God and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ… close. To ‘go it alone’ without them may work well for a time. Then at some point loneliness and isolation, even crises can result in pessimism. Resigned to such drains the soul and darkens the countenance. The wise recognize fire through which they must pass to bring out the pure gold and are in steady preparation for it… best place to start, a deeper personal relationship with heavenly Father. k (reposted from Sept 2017)
