The phrase “but not with silver” in Isaiah disrupts the meaning of the verse, and the Book of Mormon omits it.
This is great doctrine, this idea of being refined and chosen in the furnace of affliction. Just as gold is smelted in the fire to remove impurities, so God has tried his people with fire to remove impurities. The Lord is working hard to draw impurities out of us. Just as a diamond is carefully faceted and polished to reveal its inner beauty, so has Israel been shaped and polished. Trials are not punishment inflicted by a vengeful God but tests by a loving Father who wants us to be refined and polished. Our impurities (weaknesses, faults) get burned away if we can withstand the heat and pressure of our trials. Refineries heat up the metal to its melting point, at which time the impurities separate. In a similar way God “turns up the heat” until we reach the point where we become refined so we can be of use to him. The temperature necessary to refine each of us is different. Refinement is customized for each of us by a perfect and omniscient Father. And it helps to know that troubles and trials are purposeful; we endure them for good reasons.
We are here on earth to be refined, and this earth is one big furnace! All of these metaphorical expressions about the refiner’s fire give new meaning to the statement of the prophet Brigham Young: “Learn everything that the children of men know, and be prepared for the most refined society upon the face of the earth.” 54