They Received Many Wounds

In his most recent general address, Elder Anderson spoke of the wounds that come to us in life.  He stated this about the universality of the pains of this life: “Although the details will differ, the tragedies, the unanticipated tests and trials, both physical and spiritual, come to each of us because this is mortality…. Wounds of the soul are not unique to the rich or the poor, to one culture, one nation, or one generation. They come to all and are part of the learning we receive from this mortal experience…. Each one of us will be wounded in the battle of life, whether physically, spiritually, or both.”  He spoke of the 2060 stripling warriors and the incredible miracle that most Book of Mormon readers are familiar with; when they went to battle “there was not one soul of them who did perish.”  We usually stop there as we speak of the incredible fact that all of them fought face to face with the Lamanites and no one died, but Elder Anderson highlighted the next phrase too: “Yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds” (Alma 57:25).  This experience was symbolic of life for all those who, like the stripling warriors, are seeking to keep the commandments and follow the Lord: the Savior will save us spiritually just as He preserved their physical lives—for He promised “none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost”—but we will at the same time all receive many wounds as we face the tests and trials of mortality (Doctrine and Covenants 50:42).

                In mortality the Savior sought to help His apostles understand that they would indeed all be wounded even though they would be following Him.  He said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).  He did not simply suggest that they might have trials or that there may be difficulties that come upon them; rather, His promise was “ye shall have tribulation.”  This was spoken to the apostles who were seeking to follow Him, and surely we cannot expect it to be any different for us today.  He also told them, “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord” (John 15:20).  And so we can expect to suffer in token of His the greatest of all suffering: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief…. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:3, 5).  Paul taught the saints of his day that tribulation was a necessity for them: “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).  The way to the kingdom of God passes through “much tribulation” and there is no way around it. 

                The question, then, is not whether we shall have trials and troubles and receive wounds in this life; rather, it is whether we will overcome them all through our faith in the Savior as did the stripling warriors who did “put their trust in God continually” (Alma 57:27).  Christ has promised us, “Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8).  Elder Anderson also gave us these comforting words, “No injustice, no persecution, no trial, no sadness, no heartache, no suffering, no wound—however deep, however wide, however painful—will be excluded from the comfort, peace, and lasting hope of Him whose open arms and whose wounded hands will welcome us back into His presence. At that day, the Apostle John testifies, the righteous ‘which [come] out of great tribulation’ will stand ‘arrayed in white robes … before the throne of God.’ The Lamb will ‘dwell among [us] … and God shall wipe away all tears from [your] eyes.’ This day will come.”