Several years ago it was my privilege to serve in a branch presidency at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. On one occasion, Elder Richard G. Scott was scheduled to speak at the general devotional services. He approached his assignment in an unusual way by inviting questions from the audience of several thousand new missionaries. One young elder asked the Apostle what to do when one came upon walls in life that seemed to act as barriers to progress. Elder Scott’s thoughtful response was, in effect, that walls, when viewed from the right perspective, are not walls at all, but the vertical part of a step upward. Thus our attitude toward opposition in life can influence how we respond to adversity, and what might at first glance seem to be a barrier can turn out to be a step toward advancement. What positive and inspiring counsel!
As we rise above adversity through the help of the Lord, we advance another step upward. It is all in how you look at it and how you respond. “Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” is how the Lord answered the pleas of the suffering Joseph Smith (see D&C 122:7). And furthermore: “For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand” (D&C 58:4). A staircase of tribulation, when seen this way, is one that we would all be well advised to climb—in full faith and devotion. (Richard J. Allen)