A Diamond in the Rough

What is the difference between a hunk of graphite and a brilliant diamond?  Graphite and Diamonds are allotropes of Carbon, meaning that they have the same elemental composition but are structured differently which gives them different properties.  A diamond starts out as a growth of carbon in a high-pressure, high-temperature environment about 100 miles beneath the Earth’s surface.

The extremes in pressure and temperature cause the carbon elements to form strong bonds and to create the crystal structure. Then deep volcanic eruptions of magma bring the diamonds close to the Earth’s surface where they can be mined as “rough diamonds.”  Rough diamonds are not brilliant and can have a greasy appearance, but they are still very valuable.

A “rough diamond” is then carefully considered and studied to determine the best way to cut and polish it in order to preserve the most weight.  The diamond is first sawed into individual pieces for further refining.  This is a long and tedious process because of how hard diamonds are (sometimes taking up to 20 hours just to cut).  The individual pieces are then “roughed out” where individual, preliminary facets are cut into the diamond.  After being roughed, the diamonds then go through a “bruting” process where the diamond is shaped into a round outline.  Finally, the diamond goes through a “girdling” process whereby the final facets are ground into the gem and then it is polished into a brilliant diamond.

This process brings out the most desirable properties in the diamond and makes it so valuable.  Diamonds are the hardest known, naturally-occurring substance, which means they don’t scratch or lose their luster easily.  They also have excellent optical properties and reflect light.  Additionally, diamonds are highly stable, which means that they don’t react with other elements.

Heavenly Father wants all of us to become diamonds in His kingdom.  He wants us to bring out our most desirable qualities.  He doesn’t want us to turn easily from the path of righteousness or to be distracted by other Earthly influences.  He wants us to reflect light, His light, and He wants us to be highly stable in doing what is right.  We are precious to Him and He wants us to become brilliant.

Joseph Smith has been quoted as saying:

“I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else, striking with accelerated force…Thus I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 304)

In other words, the prophet Joseph Smith recognized the trials and persecution that beset him as opportunities for refinement.  The truth of the matter is that trials are a part of life and everyone experiences them: “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” (Abraham 3:25).  However, the Lord has promised us that, “after much tribulation come the blessings” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:4) and that “all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” (D&C 122:7).  Our dear Father in Heaven has a way of turning all the things that we suffer, all the pain that we feel, all the things that challenge our faith, and all the things that try us into blessings.

This isn’t to say that all trials come from our Heavenly Father.  The scriptures say we have been created, “to act for [our]selves and not to be acted upon.” (see 2 Nephi 2:26).  In other words, we have been given our agency, or the freedom to choose.  With that freedom comes the ability to make bad decisions, which cause us to suffer.  It also enables us to make bad choices which cause others to suffer.  Somehow, in God’s economy, all these experiences can turn out for our good if we continue with faith in our Savior.

So the next time you feel the pressure and the heat; when you feel like life is carrying you away as if in a violent eruption of magma; when you feel the cutting, the roughing, the bruting, the girdling, or the polishing; think of our Savior and what He has done for us and that these experiences are only bringing out the best in you.  Have a superb week!

Sources:

• http://www.expressdiamonds.com.au/uncut-diamonds
• http://www.diamondschool.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond
• http://youtu.be/vHPOp69SO9E

That Dreaded “G” Word

Now that winter has finally arrived, I am sure most of you have experienced (or at least seen someone else experience) the joy of getting stuck in the snow.  It is funny because everyone does pretty much the same thing–they realize they are stuck (or are about to) and then try to gun it in the hopes that they don’t get stuck (sometimes it works).  When a vehicle is stuck in the snow the wheels turn frantically, the engine is churning, and gas is flowing but the vehicle just doesn’t go anywhere.  That is how I would view my life if I didn’t have goals: you spend a lot of energy but you don’t go anywhere because you have no clear direction on where you are headed.  I once read a quote (anyone know who it is from?) that said, “goals define the finish line” which makes a lot of sense–but they also define the way points as well.

I know that you have probably thought about making goals in the last two or three weeks.  There is something about starting a new year that gets people thinking about self-improvement.  I am also pretty sure that most of you thought about making goals and did nothing more, some of you even made goals but have probably abandoned some of them already.  A few of you actually made some goals, wrote them down, and are making progress on them.

When it comes to goals, it seems like everyone has their two-cents.  Just do a search on YouTube about making goals and you’ll find lots of instructional videos (many of them are very dry, trust me).  As far as that goes, I think you just have to find what works for you.  I personally like this video on Goal Setting because it is how I set my goals and I feel like I accomplish them better using this method.  The point that I am trying to make is that goals are important because they help us to do more and to become better.

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, when He was on the Earth gave us a goal: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48).  Fortunately for us He doesn’t expect us to completely achieve this goal in our lifetimes–but He does expect us to make steady progress towards becoming perfect throughout our life.

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has this to say:

“First, think about your life and set your priorities. Find some quiet time regularly to think deeply about where you are going and what you will need to do to get there. Jesus, our exemplar, often ‘withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed’ ( Luke 5:16 ). We need to do the same thing occasionally to rejuvenate ourselves spiritually as the Savior did. Write down the tasks you would like to accomplish each day. Keep foremost in mind the sacred covenants you have made with the Lord as you write down your daily schedules.

“Second, set short-term goals that you can reach. Set goals that are well balanced, not too many nor too few, and not too high nor too low. Write down your attainable goals and work on them according to their importance. Pray for divine guidance in your goal setting” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1987, 15–16; or Ensign, May 1987, 14 )

I like that he suggests that we take time to regularly evaluate our lives and then make goals, in the spirit of prayer, that will help us to achieve our priorities.  I am thankful that I have learned to utilize goals to help me do and become better.  I know that as we prayerfully and carefully approach the tasks that lie ahead of us that we can achieve the goals we set out to do.  With properly set goals, we can definitely avoid spinning our wheels!  🙂

If you enjoyed this topic, you might also consider reading:

•  Chapter three of the Institute manual “The Gospel and the Productive Live” which also addresses the topic of setting goals and managing time.
• Ian S. Ardern, “A Time To Prepare,” from the October 2011 General Conference
• Dallin H. Oaks, “Focus and Priorities,” Liahona, July 2001, 99–102; Ensign, May 2001, 82–84
• M. Russell Ballard, “Keeping Life’s Demands in Balance,” Ensign, May 1987, 14

Alma, the Younger, and Faith

I have been reading a great book by H. Wallace Goddard called Drawing Heaven Into Your Marriage which has really got me thinking about how I need to improve myself in order to make my marriage better.  The premise of the book is that there are basic principles of the gospel (such as repentance, obedience, and humility) which, if lived more completely, improve your marriage.  I like how the author focuses on what I can do and who I can become rather than on how I need to fix my wife.  Most of the self-help books on marriage that I am familiar with focus more on skills that you need in order to make a successful marriage but Dr. Goddard focuses on who we are becoming and our character.

In any case, I really enjoyed the insight that the author shared about faith and Alma, the Younger, and I wanted to share these thoughts with you.  alma, the Younger, is a character in The Book of Mormon who is the son of the prophet yet he goes about persecuting the church with his friends, the sons of Mosiah (Mosiah was the king):

“Now the sons of Mosiah were numbered among the unbelievers; and also one of the sons of Alma was numbered among them, he being called Alma, after his father; nevertheless, he became a very wicked and an idolatrous man. And he was a man of many words, and did speak much flattery to the people; therefore he led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities.

And he became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; stealing away the hearts of the people; causing much dissension among the people; giving a chance for the enemy of God to exercise his power over them.” (Mosiah 27:8-9)

As you can tell, Alma wasn’t a  very good guy.  His purpose was to actually destroy the church (see Mosiah 27:10)!  In fact, The Book of Mormon calls Alma and the sons of Mosiah “the very vilest of sinners” (Mosiah 28:4).  How familiar, do you suppose, was Alma was with our Savior, Jesus Christ?  In my opinion, he wasn’t very familiar at all. 

As Alma and his gang went about to destroy the church they had a very life-altering experience.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them and, as a result of this encounter, Alma felt the very anguish of soul that came as he recognized the extent of his sins (see Mosiah 27:11-17 ).  Alma recognized he was on a self-destroying path–in fact, when he later recounted this experience to his son, he described the feeling as being “racked with eternal torment” and that his soul “was harrowed up to the greatest degree” (see Alma 36:8-16).

 So what changed?  How did Alma go from one of the vilest of sinners to a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, a remarkable missionary, and a strong leader of the church?  The simple answer is that he exercised faith in Jesus Christ.  as we have already discussed, Alma wasn’t very familiar with our Savior.  He was racked with torment and was unable to escape on his own accord.  In that moment he remembered hearing his father teach about this Jesus,

“And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.” (Alma 36:17-18)

Alma, not knowing who Jesus Christ was, only having heard his father teach about him, but being racked with a torment that he was unable to change himself, called out and put his whole trust in our Savior.  This is a point that, I believe, we all have to reach in our lives: where we have done all that we are able and must rely upon our Savior and the Atonement for deliverance and assistance.  Alma literally was delivered only after he completely trusted in Jesus Christ to help him.  We can also receive the help of our Savior after we do all that we can (see 2 Nephi 25:23), when the burden is heavy or the hour is late.  When we turn wholly and completely to our Redeemer for assistance, He is mighty to help us!

Then what happened to Alma after he exercised his faith in Jesus Christ?  He experienced inexpressible joy:

“And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.” (Alma 36:20-21)

Alma had experienced the depths of sorrow when he recognized his destruction and also the heights of joy when he turned to our Savior, in faith.  Have you felt this type of joy?  If not, I know that you can!  This is the change of heart that Alma later referred to when he preached among the Nephites (see Alma 5:14).  How do we come to feel this inexpressible joy?  Through our exercise of faith in Jesus Christ!  This isn’t the logical sort of faith where reason and logic lead you to believe that Jesus Christ is able to redeem us in some sort of theoretical way.  This is actually believing that Christ works on behalf of you, not only to help you with your sins but to help you with your pains, sicknesses, and sorrows (see Alma 7:11-12) and to help you overcome your weaknesses (see Ether 12:27).

I know that we can enjoy the blessings of the Atonement more fully in our lives and I am grateful for the gift of our Savior.  I know that He is powerful to save and that He helps me to do and become better!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy my post on Faith, Hope, and Charity or my post on Faith