I know that my
redeemer liveth
Khinckley1@yahoo.com
Things to know about
Job
Many
the
book is
…though these three
men,think
Noah,
Daniel,
fictionaldeliver
and Job, were in it, they should
but their
own souls
by their of Job”)
(Very
interesting
“Testament
righteousness,
saith
the Lord
God."of
Job
probably lived
during
the time
(Ezek.
14:14.)
Abraham,
Issac and Jacob
Job is never described as a prophet; instead
he is an “everyman”
Job is described as “perfect and upright, and
one that feared God, and eschewed evil”
Jewish Encyclopedia
The negative result reached by... the Book of Job may
be stated as follows: What hitherto has been called
divine justice is merely the display of the
omnipotence of God. His decisions are devoid of
all moral qualities, and are pronounced
indifferently, as blessings or as curses, upon all
men, upon the good and the bad alike.
In the same way men are prosperous or unhappy
according to the fortuitous events of their lives, quite
independently of their ethical qualities. The gifts of
fortune and the strokes of calamity are in no wise
connected either with God's justice or with man's
moral nature.
Job’s Three Main Trials
Trial #1- Loss of possessions
"Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his
head, and fell down upon the ground, and
worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my
mother's womb, and naked shall I return
thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken
away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all
this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."
(Job 1:20-22.)
Harold B. Lee
To be poor in spirit is to feel yourselves as the spiritually
needy, even dependent upon the Lord for your clothes, your
food, the air you breathe, your health, your life; realizing
that no day should pass without fervent prayer of
thanksgiving, for guidance and forgiveness and strength
sufficient for each day's need. …
It is indeed a sad thing for one, because of his wealth or
learning or worldly position, to think himself independent
of this spiritual need. It is the opposite of pride or
selfconceit. To the worldly rich it is that "he must possess
his wealth as if he possessed it not" and be willing to say
without regret, if he were suddenly to meet financial
disaster, as did Job, "the Lord gave, and the Lord hath
taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21.)
Job’s Three Main Trials
Trial #2- Loss of Health
My flesh is clothed with
worms and clods of dust; my
skin is broken, and become
loathsome." (Job 7:5.)
He then takes refuge with the lepers
Neal A. Maxwell
There is a higher order of suffering in which even the good pass
through tribulation and anguish, which we might characterize as
the "trial of the innocent." (Job 9:23.) This is what Peter
called "the trial of your faith," and also what he called "the fiery
trial." We read how the Prophet Joseph Smith, even though
righteous, was sorely tried and was told that what he was
passing through would be but "a small moment," and further,
that "all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for
thy good." (D&C 122:7.)
These are hard sayings but they are true, and they help us
understand the suffering of the righteous as distinguished from
the suffering we undergo because of our own stupidity and our
own sin.
Job’s Three Main Trials
Trial #3- The Trial of his friends
Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou
mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? . . . Know
therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine
iniquity deserveth." (Job 11:3, 6.)
Conversations (accusations) with Job’s “friends” constitute
29 of the 38 chapters of the Book of Job
Why would so much of the Book of Job be devoted to
these conversations?
Question
How are we to
support someone
in their
afflications?
Do We Listen To Our Words?
Bro. Clark V. Johnson, BYU Professor (diagnosed with cancer)
Arrangements were made, and our home teacher and bishop came to give me a special
blessing. At one point in the blessing the bishop said, "I bless you with peace. It is so
strong that I can feel it filling your whole being. At this moment I have peace too. I
bless you that your body will have power to mend itself." Later my wife and I
pondered the truly marvelous and significant blessing I had received.
This blessing had an interesting effect upon my close friends, who asked me about it. I
told them that I remembered the bishop saying, "Your body will have power to mend
itself."
One person said to me, "Of course you'll stay on the drugs?" I answered, "Well, I am not
sure if that is what the blessing meant." He responded, "What are you going to do
when you get to the spirit world and the Lord looks at you and says, 'What are you
doing here? You're forty years too early'?” [it didn’t mean what it said]
Another good friend said, "That's great. Your body will resurrect your spirit, and you'll be
exalted in the celestial kingdom." He had forgotten Alma's teachings that the spirit
resurrects the body. (See Alma 39, 41.) [False Doctrine]
The third person questioned, "Are you really a man of faith, or are you afraid of the
chemotherapy because it makes you sick?” [You are just being weak]
Even though these people meant well, their counsel undermined the purity of the blessing
I had received, until I became confused and lost the spirit of peace that had been with
me. I did not know what to do. My friends meant well. They would have done nothing
to harm me, but their lack of understanding brought confusion instead of peace.
Job’s Response?
I have heard many such things:
miserable comforters are ye
all." (Job 16:2)
Brother Johnson
Years ago, when it looked as though I was going to die
soon of cancer, I did not want my children to be bitter and
blame their Father in Heaven. At Christmastime we
returned home to Preston, Idaho, where we spent the Christmas season with our
parents. During that week I took my four oldest children to four different places that
were special to me while I was growing up and taught them concerning Heavenly
Father's love for them. I told them that it looked as though I would have to return to
be with him, so I would not have the opportunity of being with them as they grew
up. I promised them that if they would live the gospel and go to the temple to be
sealed, it did not matter if I lived or died-I would be with them when they went to
the temple. After carefully teaching them many things, I gave each one a father's
blessing.
While in the Missionary Training Center, our eldest son wrote to us about one of the
elders in his district who bore testimony concerning his father's death from cancer.
The elder described the bitterness that he had felt, and he told of the years of pain
the death of his father had caused him. Then Paul wrote:
"Dad, I remember the time you took me to my great-grandfather's old farm. We talked
about the Indian battle that had been fought there. We spoke of other things, and
you explained that you were dying of cancer and that it looked as though you would
not be here to help me as I grew up. You told me that if I would keep the
commandments and get married in the temple, you would be there to see me
married. You said that it didn't matter whether you were here on earth or with
Heavenly Father. Then I knelt in the snow and you blessed me. I love you, Dad, for
preparing a way so that I would not be bitter."