I See... The Truth About Having a Rough Day

We all have our share of rough days. I believe I’ve had more than my share of “running-out-of-gas-on-a-freeway-on-the-coldest-day-of-the-year” days.

Furthermore, for many us, life can inevitably stretch out to having a rough week, month or year. Do you recognize any of these?

- kids throwing flour throughout the house;
- kids drawing all over freshly painted walls;
- flames dancing from underneath the hood of your own car on the freeway;
- house burns down;
- missing the bus/train/carpool to work;
- the untimely illness or death of a close family member;
- your employer goes bankrupt;
- you can’t see your toes (and not because you’re pregnant);
- your boyfriend/girlfriend dumps you;
- major household appliances stop working while the money tree isn’t blooming.

I could add more, but, believe it or not, the purpose of this post is not to depress you - at least it won’t if you read to the end.

But, what if, instead of a rough day, week, month, or year, you had a hard... LIFE?!? How unfair would that be?

We know about Job, the recipient of non-stop tragedies that God permitted the adversary to throw his way, but those hardships occupied only a sliver of his life on earth. Joseph Smith endured rounds of unfair imprisonments and tar-and-featherings, but even those were daunting, yet temporary speed bumps in a life full of inspirational visions and revelations.

The winner of the most wholly and extended depressing life ever has to be the only man who had an entire book of scripture named after him- Mormon.

Most of us forget about how truly disturbing his entire world was when he was living here, which only adds a layer to his troubles. According to his own account, Mormon describes it as a “continual scene of wickedness and abominations has been before mine eyes ever since I have been sufficient to behold the ways of man;” and “my heart has been filled with sorrow because of their wickedness, all my days.” Can we even imagine living in such terrible times that our entire lives, from the point where we were “sufficient to behold the ways of man,” ( I’m thinking maybe nursery age) are subjected to “continual scenes of wickedness and abominations?”


IF the Book of Mormon was merely a volume of clever, engaging fiction, then accounts of Mormon’s trials and his dedication to God in the face of them would be interesting, but not inspirational and faith building.

BUT it isn’t, so they are. The truth about Mormon’s rough life is that it really happened, and that the book of scripture he spent a lifetime editing and compiling is true. This means if Mormon can endure a whole life surrounded by wickedness, but still be “visited of the Lord, and “taste and know of the goodness of Jesus,” then surely I can make it through a rough day, week, month, or even year.

ONLY if the Book of Mormon is true...