First off I want to define valiant in the cause of Christ. I personally believe that what being valiant in the cause of Christ means is in using the definition of valiant from dictionary.com to be worthy in the gospel or to be resolute (stout-hearted) in the gospel. One of my favorite examples of valiant in the cause of Christ is Abinadi (Mosiah 11:20 - 17:20). Of course I don't think most of us would be asked to give our lives for the cause but We too can be valiant in the cause. Something so simple as standing up for what we believe or sharing the gospel with a friend or just doing our home teaching is what I consider being valiant. I believe by being resolute in fulfilling our church duties we are being valiant in the cause of Christ.
In class we discussed the question "how can we be happy despite trials we face?" This is a subject I love which is probably evident because in every testimony I bear and in almost every conversation I have about the gospel it comes up but this time I had a little different perspective. I was just thinking about my typical scriptures dealing with trials (2 Corinthians 4:17-18; 5:7) but because we were discussing being valiant in the cause I started tying the two together and realized that by constantly fulfilling your calling which always involves service your trials are so much lighter. By making service to others through love your priority, you don't have time to selfishly dwell on your own problems. That in turn makes your problems seem so insignificant. I know that when I am helping or serving others, my problems go to the back of my thoughts and generally disappear. And we all know that some of the happiest times we have are when we are serving others. So what a better way to find happiness in your trials than to serve someone else?
In the talk titled, The Power of Covenants by Elder D. Todd Christofferson, he talks about God taking care of us if we are faithful to our covenants. He explains the by following God we receive blessings and gifts. He goes on to say "All this is not to say that life in the covenant is free of challenge or that the obedient soul should be surprised if disappointments or even disasters interrupt his peace. If you feel that personal righteousness should preclude all loss and suffering, you might want to have a chat with Job...come what may, we can face life with hope and equanimity, knowing that we will succeed in the end because we have God's promise to us individually, by name, and we know He cannot lie."
This is just another testimony to me that God does know what is best for us and in the end, we will obtain all the promises and blessings God has promised that we deserve. He knows each of us and loves us individually despite our weaknesses. How lucky am I to have a Father in Heaven that still loves me despite me. One that will give me so many blessings that there will not be room enough to receive them if I am faithful.
In the talk titled, The Power of Covenants by Elder D. Todd Christofferson, he talks about God taking care of us if we are faithful to our covenants. He explains the by following God we receive blessings and gifts. He goes on to say "All this is not to say that life in the covenant is free of challenge or that the obedient soul should be surprised if disappointments or even disasters interrupt his peace. If you feel that personal righteousness should preclude all loss and suffering, you might want to have a chat with Job...come what may, we can face life with hope and equanimity, knowing that we will succeed in the end because we have God's promise to us individually, by name, and we know He cannot lie."
This is just another testimony to me that God does know what is best for us and in the end, we will obtain all the promises and blessings God has promised that we deserve. He knows each of us and loves us individually despite our weaknesses. How lucky am I to have a Father in Heaven that still loves me despite me. One that will give me so many blessings that there will not be room enough to receive them if I am faithful.
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