You can (and must) do hard things.

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” —G. Michael Hofp

I recently came across the prophetic words from a woman named Terri. She heard the voice of the Lord express to her that the people of this earth need to prepare for what is coming. And that many of them are closing their eyes, hoping that it will all simply go away. But by doing so they are adding to the shock that will happen as their world is set upon a precipice, even the very tribulations prophesied in the scriptures. If we choose not to come to terms with the difficulties that are arising, we will be unprepared for the truly difficult challenges ahead. (I highly encourage you to read her full prophecy included at the end of the essay).

If we are to survive what is coming, we must prepare ourselves mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. We must be willing to do hard things, and by doing hard things repeatedly, we become stronger. And please know that you are not left alone. Help is available. Some of you may have friends or family that you can turn to, and some of you don’t. But you can always look heavenward for guidance and inspiration. In fact, that is the one source of truth and love that we must look to in order to survive and thrive in the world today. Let’s begin with a story about oxen.

The oxen

“I have a number of cattle. One of the worst things for them in the winter is for them to have a warm place to get away from the cold. You see cattle, oxen, and bison, all have phases in their bodies that adjust to the season. In the summer and spring they have access to ample food and comfort, in the winter they have less food, water, and less comfort all around. Their bodies go into overdrive building up a winter coat and changing their metabolism to keep them warm. If given a warm place with ample food that they can always retreat to, their bodies will become lazy. If they lose access to this place they will have an extremely difficult time and it could even kill them. It is absolutely true that the Ephraimites are likable to oxen. The Ephraimites of the latter days have become dependent on a warm barn spiritually, no longer do they even remember what the cold snow feels like. How long until they once again are pulling wagons through the snow? When they are called to do what is necessary, I fear exceedingly they will be looking for their warm barn and be unable to find it.

That said, one of the most helpful things for these creatures is to have a large herd to stay close to. Companions, and family, they gain strength, comfort, and protection from their numbers. In the harshest storm you will find them huddled together generating enough heat to melt the snow at their feet.” —White, LDSFF

How many of us have led a life so comfortable that our skin has grown soft and our hearts have become cold? We live in a world with all the creature comforts of life. And the plandemic has driven us further into this apathetic lifestyle. Governments have told us to stay home and social distance. They’ve convinced us that everyone is a boogeyman because of the false notion of asymptomatic spread. We’ve become “domesticated humans!” :)

Hard times

G. Michael Hofp once said, “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” The Book of Mormon shows us this pattern over and over again in what is referred to as the “pride cycle.” Check out this video from John Lovell on this topic, his “wheel of history” concept is nearly identical to the repeated rise and fall of the pride cycle in the scriptures.

Hot and Cold

Several years ago I was introduced to the idea of cold showers, or at least ending a hot shower with a minute or two of brain-numbing cold water. It may seem odd to many of you, but there are many amazing health benefits related to this strange practice. I won’t get into the science of it, but what I do find fascinating is what this does to our mental psyche. When we intentionally place ourselves in an uncomfortable position, we rewire the brain to think and feel differently. It trains our minds to face other challenging aspects of our lives with confidence. It teaches us to do hard things. It reminds me of the quote from The Chosen series where Peter is complaining about Jesus calling Matthew to the ministry and he says, “Get use to different.” In the following video, Johnny Harris walks through the many health benefits of hot and cold water.

“If you don’t go to the cold, then the cold comes to you.” ­–Wim Hof

50/20

While living in Utah, I did something that was one of the most physically demanding feats that I’ve ever done. The local Boy Scouts groups held what’s called a “50/20”, which means you walk or run 50 miles in under 20 hours. There was a group of us that started off on a Friday evening around 6 pm. The first 10-15 miles were ok. Around mile 20 I could feel soreness in my joints, and at the halfway point I was developing a few blisters and my body was achy. This was around 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning. Several in our group had dropped out at this point. Me and a friend continued to mile 35 where he reluctantly threw in the towel and called for a ride home. Between miles 40-45 everything started hurting and the last 5 miles were simply painful. Every muscle, every joint, hurt. Two miles before the finished I decided to sit down on a park bench to change out my socks with a fresh pair, and I was honestly a little worried about cramping so badly from simply bending over that I wouldn’t be able to stand back up. At about 10 o’clock Saturday morning I crossed the finish line.

So what did I learn? I learned where my physical and mental limits were. I learned that I could push myself much further, but also realized how naive I was in thinking that it wouldn’t be that difficult. I learned that pain progressively gets worse on an increasing, almost exponential, scale. I learned that pain pushes out distractions and focuses your attention.

Fasting and Prayer

So far I’ve given examples of oxen, cold water, and hiking. All interesting examples of how stressing the physical body can strengthen us. But there is a far more important aspect to this that we must introduce into our lives, and that is our spiritual reliance upon the Lord. We must have faith that God is willing to give us the strength to endure the trials of life. Through the act of fasting and prayer, we connect our souls with the power of heaven. We align ourselves with the mind and will of God. Christ himself showed us this path of purification through his own fasting and prayer.

The sons of Mosiah are wonderful examples of how making a physical sacrifice of cleansing the body (fasting) and turning our hearts to God (prayer), gives us strength, power, and revelation. (Alma 17)

3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.

9 And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.

Alma and his people are another great example of how enduring hardships and seeking the Lord blessed their lives. Having been driven out by the army of King Noah, they had fled to the land of Helam, but were then put in bondage by Amulon and the Lamanite army. If they prayed openly, they would be put to death. (Mosiah 24)

12 And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.

13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

The Lord knew their intention and humility as they poured out their hearts to him. Instead of removing the burdens that were heaped upon them, the Lord gave them the strength to endure their trials with ease. We then read of the miraculous event of a deep sleep overcoming the Lamanite army and the people of Alma finding a new land and praising the Lord for his mercy and deliverance.

The Law of Sacrifice

One of the best examples of doing hard things comes from my friend, the Peacemaker, even Jesus Christ. He showed us the perfect example of how intentional sacrifice brings about greater purpose and increased strength. We clearly see in the scriptures that he gave of himself to bless and heal others. As part of his mortal ministry, he gave up the glory and fame that he clearly would have had with the gifts he possessed, to bring about the work of his Heavenly Father. In the book of Moses, we get an overview of what that work entails: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39) Intentional sacrifice brings about the eternal purposes of the plan of Elohim.

Something else that we rarely contemplate is the condescension process of the Savior and what that meant for him. When Nephi inquired about the meaning of the vision of the Tree of Life, an angel asked him a very interesting question: “Knowest thou the condescension of God?” The angel then showed Nephi the future birth of the Son of God. The “God” the angel is referring to, who condescended, was Jesus Christ. He had obtained a certain dimension of Godhood and was willing to enter mortality, to endure suffering, in order to bring about greater hope and peace in the universe, to counteract the effects of evil. He chose to do hard things.

The Universal Law of Restoration

Tied in closely with the law of sacrifice is the idea that anything we do produces some form of energy or vibration that eventually comes back to us. Eastern philosophy calls this karma. When we sacrifice of ourselves for the benefit and blessing of others, we create love and harmony resonance which doesn’t go out into the universe in an eternal linear fashion but comes back to us. All things are one eternal round. The same concept applies to any thought or action produced with evil intentions. The Universal Law of Restoration is stated as such:

“What one sets loose upon the cosmos, be it even the smallest thing, for good or for ill, traverses the Universe and is amplified by it so that it returns to its origin magnified for good or evil. This is a Universal Law.”

When we do hard things, we reap the reward. And the highest form of sacrifice is loving the Lord our God, loving others, and loving ourselves as children of Elohim. Therefore, it is so imperative to learn the mind and will of God. How can we truly come to love the Lord if we spend no time learning of him and from him? Elohim uses eternal laws that govern the universe to bring about higher purposes, even exaltation, and eternal life.

Weakness to Strength

We can learn a great deal about turning our weaknesses into strengths through the words of the Savior. In the 12th chapter of Ether, we are taught that human weakness is part of our creation. Elohim has deemed it necessary that we are created with inherent weakness because that is the best way for us to ascend, so that we may become like them.

“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” (Ether 12:27)

First, we must come to know the Savior. Not only know about him, but we must experience him and his teachings. Faith is proving the teachings of Christ and watching them bear fruit. Fasting, prayer, study, and meditation all help us become aligned with him and our higher self. This allows us to enter a space where there is no judgment but can only be done if we humble ourselves and become vulnerable. In this discovery process, we find our inherent weaknesses. We see the limitations and tendencies of the “arm of flesh.” It is then through his sacrifice, also known as grace, that we are capable of overcoming our weakness and becoming strong. We can take a weakness, such as fear, and develop courage. We can change hate for charity, pride for meekness, or ignorance for wisdom. (This concept aligns closely with the Law of Polarity btw.) We can hold up the light of Christ and pray for our enemies and those who would persecute us for doing so.

Opposition in all things

The prophet Lehi helps us understand the need to do hard things through his sermon on opposition. It is through the process of recognizing weakness and sin that we can rise above and become stronger. Just as a muscle becomes stronger through opposing forces, we become more refined and purified, by acknowledging and using this opposition for our benefit. (2 Nephi 2:11, 15-16)

11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

15 And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter.

16 Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.

As we move into the days ahead, I encourage you to think deeply about how you are preparing yourself mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Now is the time to know Jesus.  As we become stronger by relying upon his mercy and grace, by converting weaknesses to strengths, we will be better able to care for those around us. Perfect love casts aside all fear. God will be with us and death is not the end.

Shalom

Disclaimer: Only a small portion of my thoughts and feelings are contained within this essay. It is nearly impossible to condense a lifetime of study, thoughts, and impressions, into a few paragraphs. I value and encourage the need for altering perspective as new light and knowledge is acquired. One of the best ways to know a person’s heart is to sit down and talk face-to-face, perhaps while consuming a mild barley drink.

If you’d like to explore this topic further please see the linked resources below.

Disclaimer #2: I may agree with all, some, or maybe just a few words of the content listed below. I may also strongly disagree with elements that are shared. Take the Spirit as your guide as you study all things.

Altered State - The Iceman - Wim Hof

Latter-day Lamanite: Meekness

Jennifer Nettles - I Can Do Hard Things (music video)

The Yakutian Morning Routine, Ice Bath