Promised Persecution

One of the gospel ironies is that as we follow the Savior we know that trials and persecutions will come.  Despite the fact that we know the Lord will bless us for keeping His commandments and following His word, we also are warned that in mortality tribulations will arise because of our faith.  The Lord was very open about this in the Sermon on the Mount.  He said, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12).  Later to His apostles the promise of persecution was even more explicit:“Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).  When the Savior gave the parable of the sower he explained the meaning of those who “received the seed in stony places” this way: “Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended” (Matt. 13:20-21).  The word “when” in that description seems to suggest that there is no question that tribulation or persecution will come—He didn’t say “if” but “when”.  Paul likewise told Timothy about the certainty of persecution for the believers: “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).  We can simply expect difficulties will come because we are believers. 

                In the October 2013 general conference Elder Hales gave this sobering prophecy: “In recent decades the Church has largely been spared the terrible misunderstandings and persecutions experienced by the early Saints. It will not always be so. The world is moving away from the Lord faster and farther than ever before” (see here).  It’s not hard to imagine the kind of issues that in the coming years will intense pressure and ultimately persecutions against the Church.  If that does happen then I think that remembering the lesson of Alma 1 will become increasingly important.  We read that in this time “whosoever did not belong to the church of God began to persecute those that did belong to the church of God.”  Unfortunately the Saints did not all respond as they should have: “Nevertheless, there were many among them who began to be proud, and began to contend warmly with their adversaries, even unto blows; yea, they would smite one another with their fists.”  Because of this, some of these Saints hearts’ were hardened “and their names were blotted out, that they were remembered no more among the people of God” (Alma 1:19, 22, 24).  The way that they had responded to persecution ultimately led to their own departure from the Church.  We have to be careful that our own responses aren’t the kind that will likewise lead to a hardening of our hearts or the persecution will have exactly the intended effect.