Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The furnace of affliction

First Nephi 20:10
This verse from Isaiah stands alone as a sermon


The vivid imagery is of precious metals in a furnace, waiting to be chosen and taken out. The intense heat required for refining in this furnace, adds a new meaning to the word affliction.  So we pass through this furnace, knowing that it will refine and purify us, knowing that we can no longer let the impurities stick to us, also knowing that these necessary afflictions are temporary: when we have spent sufficient time in the fire, we will be taken out.  Let us not try to withstand the heat, but rather let it penetrate us.  Let us not anger at the Refiner, whose purposes are for our good, and let us not get burned by clinging to our impurities.

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