Loneliness

One of the challenges that nearly everyone faces at some point in their life is loneliness.  Whether it is physically being alone, feeling alone in one’s beliefs, or feeling spiritually separated from God, I think it is a challenge we all have to face to some degree or another.  It was important enough that the Father had to leave the Son in the most agonizing experience of eternity as the Savior performed the atonement.  The shock of loneliness was so painful to Him that He cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46)  It appears to have been the very last challenge that He had to overcome before He could say that the work was indeed done and His mission was accomplished.  If the Father would require this kind of faithfulness even in complete loneliness then perhaps we too must show the Father that we can pass through times of loneliness and stay true.  This is what 2 Chronicles 32:31 seems to suggest.  Speaking of a particular experience of Hezekiah, the historian wrote, “God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.”  God will, this seems to suggest, sometimes allow us to have the feeling that He has left us so we can show that, even then, our heart will stay faithful to Him. 

                As I think about the prophets of the scriptures, there are many that had severe trials of loneliness.  One of the most poignant was Elijah who ran into the wilderness after the encounter with the priests of Baal.  He “sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now Lord, take away my life.”  When the Lord asked what he was doing there he said, “I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:10).  He felt utterly alone given the total wickedness of the people around him, and the feeling was so great that he simply wanted to die.  Another prophet in the Old Testament who was terribly alone was Job.  After losing children, animals, property, and his own health, even his wife turned against him to some extent:“Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die” (Job 2:9).  In addition to that his three friends came and likewise turned against him by accusing him of wickedness.  Surely he felt great loneliness in his trials.  In the New Testament John the Beloved was one who certainly must have felt alone.  He was for a time on the “isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” where he certainly must have felt very isolated from the rest of the Church (Revelation 1:9).  Then he watched the Church fall into apostasy and observed his brethren of the Twelve die off until he was the only one left and watched the adversary “drive the church into the wilderness” (D&C 86:3).  In the Book of Mormon, Ether was certainly one who must have felt very much alone and isolated as he watched from “the cavity of a rock” the destruction of millions of his people (Ether 13:14).  Similarly Moroni watched his people be destroyed and wandered thereafter for over 30 years alone.  He told us, “And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people” (Mormon 8:3).  How difficult that must have been to spend so many years completely alone.

                I’m sure we could name many others in the scriptures including Noah, Joseph Smith, Paul, and Nephi (the son of Helaman) who faced the challenge of loneliness and overcame it through great faith and trust in the Lord.  Like them we must persevere in what we know is right when we experience times of loneliness.  We must remember that after Elijah’s loneliness Elijah heard the “still small voice” of the Lord speaking to him and encouraging him.  We too must seek to feel and hear that still small voice from our Father when our own lowliness sets in.