What Others Have Overcome

In La Terre des Hommes, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote of advice he received before his first long flight as a pilot carrying mail from France to Africa.  His friend and experienced pilot said this to him, “Les orages, la brume, la neige, quelquefois ça t'embêtera. Pense alors à tous ceux qui ont connu ça avant toi, et dis-toi simplement : ce que d'autres ont réussi, on peut toujours le réussir.” (Approximate English translation: “Storms, mist, snow, sometimes it will bother you. Think then of all those who have known this before you, and simply say: what others have overcome, one can always overcome.”)  I like that idea—as we face difficulties and struggles that seem hard to overcome, we can remember that there have been those who have gone before us who have faced similar challenges and overcome them.  This is something that Nephi did well.  When his brothers murmured about the difficulties of getting the plates from Laban, he said, “Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea. Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 4:2-3).  In other words, if the Lord could save the children of Israel in such a miraculous way, surely he could help these sons of Lehi obtain the plates of brass. 

                This idea reminds me of something President Hinckley once said, “At the close of one particularly difficult day, I looked up at a portrait of Brigham Young that hangs on my wall. I asked, ‘Brother Brigham, what should we do?’ I thought I saw him smile a little, and then he seemed to say: ‘In my day, I had problems enough of my own. Don’t ask me what to do. This is your watch. Ask the Lord, whose work this really is.’ And this, I assure you, is what we do and must always do.”  This highlights a couple of principles I think.  First, we can look to the great leaders of the past for inspiration just as President Hinckley looked to Brigham Young.  It’s really one of the reasons that we read the scriptures—to learn from the great prophets of old by studying their lives and seeing how they faced their problems and overcame them.  Though we may not face enemy armies like Captain Moroni or be travel the world as a missionary like Paul, we can still learn from their examples of faith, diligence, and trust in the Lord. 

                That said, there is of course One who has at least in some sense been through the exact troubles that we face.  The Savior who “descended below them all” and overcame all sin and struggle, all problems and pain, can surely help us in our specific circumstances (D&C 122:8).  Alma taught us that the Savior suffered “pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind” so that He would “succor his people according to their infirmities” (Alma 7:12).  So as we pass through “storms, mist, and snow” of life we can indeed say to ourselves that Christ has overcome these challenges, and—with His help—so can we.