"HE ALSO GAVE THEM STRENGTH, THAT THEY SHOULD SUFFER NO MANNER OF AFFLICTIONS, SAVE IT WERE SWALLOWED UP IN THE JOY OF CHRIST." ALMA 31:38
OH HOW TRUE THIS SCRIPTURE IS. MY SAVIOR HAS LITERALLY SWALLOWED UP MANY OF THE AFFLICTIONS OF MY SOUL. I LOVE MY SAVIOR WITH ALL MY HEART AND TRUST IN HIM. IT MAKES LIFE SO MUCH EASIER FOR THOSE WHO WILL ALLOW THE SAVIOR TO SWALLOW UP ALL OF OUR AFFLICTIONS.
I AM A CONVERT TO THE CHURCH. I HAVE THOUGHT OF WRITING THIS ARTICLE FOR MANY MONTHS, AND DID SO, FINALLY, SEVERAL YEARS AGO. I AM NOT PUBLISHING IT HERE. I HAVE THOUGHT ON IT AND WORKED IT OUR IN MY MIND. STILL, TALKING ABOUT HURT AND PAIN AND SORROW LEADS YOU TO DO SO. MAYBE THERE IS SOME-ONE ELSE WHO NEEDS TO HEAR WHAT I HAVE TO SAY. MAYBE THIS WILL HELP THEM TO HAVE THEIR PAIN AND SORROW "SWALLOWED UP IN THE JOY OF CHRIST."
THE FINAL PUSH CAM LAST NIGHT WHEN I WAS TALKING LONG DISTANCE TO MY MOTHER IN CALIFORNIA. I LOVE MY MOTHER DEARLY. SHE IS A GOOD MOTHER AND TRULY LOVES ME. MY MOTHER HAS BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH PAIN AND SORROW IN HER LIFE. SHE WAS DIVORCED WHEN I WAS TWO YEARS OLD AND REMARRIED WHEN I WAS FOUR, ON MY BIRTHDAY. MY STEP-FATHER WAS A DIFFICULT MAN. STILL, I DO LOVE HIM AND FORGIVE HIM FOR THE MANY THINGS THAT HAPPENED AS I WAS GROWING UP, AS I ALSO FORGIVE MY MOTHER.
LAST NIGHT MY MOTHER TOLD ME: "YOU WERE ABUSED AS A CHILD." I SAID: "i KNOW." SHE ASKED THAT I FORGIVE HER. I SAID THAT THIS WAS FORGIVEN LONG AGO. MOTHER TOLD ME THAT SHE PRAYS EVERY NIGHT TO BE FORGIVEN FOR THIS. DON'T GET ME WRONG HERE, THIS DID NOT INCLUDE SEXUAL ABUSE, BUT "MERE" CHILD ABUSE. (AND UNDERSTAND MY MOTHER HAS NOW BEEN WITH FATHER IN HEAVEN FOR MANY YEARS, SO THIS OCCURRED QUITE SOME TIME AGO.)
WHEN I WAS SIX OR SEVEN YEARS OLD I REMEMBER A VERY PAINFUL EXPERIENCE FOR WHICH THE DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY SERVICES WOULD PROBABLY REMOVE ME FROM THE HOME TODAY. I HAVE SEEN CHILDREN REMOVED FROM HONES OF PARENTS FOR FAR LESS. I WAS IN MY BEDROOM BUILDING A GENT. IN THIS TENT I TOOK THE ELECTRIC LIGHT FROM MY ROOM. I WAS HAVING SUCH FUN. SUCH FUN TURNED INTO SUCH PAIN. MY MOTHER CAME INTO THE ROOM AND STARTED YELLING AT ME. ACTUALLY, SHE WAS VERY SCARED THAT I MIGHT BURN DOWN THE HOUSE. SHE YANKED THE BLANKET I HAD USED FOR MY TENT OFF AND PICKED UP THE LAMP. I HAD NO SHIRT ON. SHE BURNED ME ON MY BARE CHEST AND STOMACH AND BACK IN SEVERAL PLACES. I HURT SO BAD. I CAN STILL FELL THIS PAIN. I WAS TAKEN TO THE DOCTOR AND SOME STORY WAS MADE UP ABOUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED. I HAD FIRST AND THIRD DEGREE BURNS OVER MY CHEST, STOMACH AND BACK. I HAD TO WEAR BANDAGES FOR A LONG TIME. THIS IS BUT ONE OF MANY INSTANCES.
THIS WAS A CONTINUATION OF ABUSE IN THE FAMILY. MY MOTHER'S FATHER HAD ABUSED MY MOTHER. MY FATHER HAD ABUSED MY MOTHER. MY STEP-FATHER BEAT MY MOTHER SEVERAL TIMES. I REMEMBER ONE TIME WHEN SHE HAD BEEN OPERATED ON FOR A HERNIA AND TERRIBLE VERICOSE VEINS IN HER LEGS. MY MOTHER CAME HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL. A FIGHT BROKE OUT BETWEEN MY STEP-FATHER AND MY MOTHER. IT ENDED WITH HIS BEATING MY MOTHER ON THE BUTTOCKS WITH A BOOK UNTIL THE HERNIA CAME OUT AGAIN. I SAW MUCH OF THIS WHILE I WAS GROWING UP. I WAS THE OLDEST CHILD IN THE HOME, BEING FROM MY MOTHER'S FIRST MARRIAGE. I DID THE CLEANING, THE LAUNDRY, THE DISHES, MUCH OF THE COOKING, THE YARD WORK, ETC. FOR MY PARENTS, FOUR BROTHERS AND MY GRANDMOTHER, WHO WAS LIVING WITH US FOR SEVERAL YEARS. ONE NIGHT I BROKE DOWN CRYING BECAUSE I COULD NEVER DO ANYTHING THE OTHER KIDS DID. I COULD NOT GO OUT WITH MY FRIENDS OR ANYTHING. I HAD TO WORK. I WAS ORDERED TO CLEAN THE KITCHEN. THIS DID NOT ENTHUSE ME. I SAT AT THE TABLE AND CRIED. MY STEP-FATHER CAME IN AND YELLED AND HIT ME. HE HURT. I WAS ONLY ABOUT FIFTEEN OR SIXTEEN. THERE WAS A KNIFE ON THE TABLE. I PICKED IT UP AND POINTED IT AT HIM AND TOLD HIM TO QUIT HITTING ME. HE BECAME ENRAGED AND PICKED UP AND OLD IRON PAN AND BEGAN HITTING MY HAND WITH IT. AFTER SEVERAL HITS AND NOT DROPPING IT, THE KNIFE WENT INTO HIS WRIST. HE TOLD ME HE WOULD KILL ME. I WAS SO SCARED.
I CALLED MY LUTHERAN PASTOR AND HE CAME AND TALKED TO ME AND THEN WENT TO THE HOSPITAL TO TALK TO MY PARENTS. WHEN HE CAME HOME HE WAS CALMER. STILL, THINGS NEVER WERE ANY BETTER.
THE NEXT YEAR, MY SENIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL, I MOVED TO FLORIDA TO LIVE WITH MY GRANDMOTHER AND MY UNCLE. GRANDMA HAD HAD ENOUGH AND LEFT EARLIER. I TOOK THE BUS FROM CALIFORNIA TO FLORIDA. THERE WERE MAY STRANGE EXPERIENCES ON THIS TRIP. WHEN I GOT TO MIAMI, I HAD TO CHANGE BUSES TO HALLANDALE. I SAT AT THE LUNCH COUNTER AND ATE SOMETHING. THERE WAS A YOUNG MAN NEXT TO ME WHO STRUCK UP A CONVERSATION. HE WAS VERY NICE AND FRIENDLY. BEWARE OF THOSE WHO ARE SO NICE AND FRIENDLY. HE OFFERED TO TAKE ME FOR A RIDE AND SHOW ME SOME OF MIAMI BEFORE MY BUS CAME. I WAS VERY NAIVE. I WENT. HE HAD A NICE LITTLE MUSTANG. I THOUGHT IT WAS GREAT IN MIAMI WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. THEN HE REACHED OVER AND BEGAN RUBBING MY LEG. I WAS SCARED TO DEATH. I DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO. THEN HE BEGAN FONDLING ME. HE TRIED TO TAKE MY HAND AND HAVE ME DO THE SAME. I REFUSED. HE ASKED ME IF I WOULD GO WITH HIM TO HIS APARTMENT. I TOLD HIM I REALLY DID NOT WANT TO. HE ASKED MEIF I WANTED TO GO TO THE AIRPORT. I SAID THAT I HAD ALL MY THINGS AT THE BUS STATION AND THAT THEY MIGHT GET LOST. HE TOLD ME HE WOULD TAKE ME BACK TO GET THEM. WE WENT AND I WENT UP TO A POLICEMAN AND TOLD HIM WHAT HAD HAPPENED. HE LAUGHED AT ME. HE WOULD DO NOTHING. I GRABBED MY THINGS AND RAN FOR THE BUS. I BARELY MADE IT. HE WAS FOLLOWING ME AND FOLLOWED THE BUS FOR A WAYS. I TOLD EVERYONE ON THE BUS, BUT NO ONE WOULD HELP ME. NO ONE WAS THERE TO GREET ME WHEN I ARRIVED. I HAD TO FINALLY FIND A TAXI AND FIND WHERE I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO. I HAD THOUGHT THIS MAN WAS GOING TO KILL ME. I WAS SO SCARED. THIS IS AN EXPERIENCE I WILL NEVER FORGET. THE LORD GUIDED ME TO SAFETY IN THIS. I KNOW HE DID.
LATER, I WAS ABLE TO FIND THE GOSPEL AND JOIN THE LORD'S CHURCH. THIS HAS BEEN MY SAVIOR. I TRY TO BE HAPPY AND FOLLOW THE SCRIPTURES. I TRY TO RAISE MY SON IN RIGHTEOUSNESS. I PRAY WITH HIM AND TEACH HIM TRUTH. (HE IS NOW GROWN, A FIGHTER PILOT IN THE AIR FORCE, MARRIED, WITH THREE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN.) "ADAM FELL THAT ME MIGHT BE; AND MEN ARE, THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE JOY." (2 NEPHI 2:25.) HOW BEAUTIFUL THIS IS. IT HAS CHANGED MY WHOLE LIFE. THE BOOK OF MORMON HAS BROUGHT ME PEACE, JOY, AND HAPPINESS. IT HELPS ME TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE AND WHAT THE SAVIOR TAUGHT THEREIN. ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE SCRIPTURES IS FROM THE BIBLE: 1 JOHN 5:14-15: "AND THIS IS THE CONFIDENCE WE HAVE IN HIM, THAT, IF WE ASK ANYTHING ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, HE HEARETH US: AND IF WE ASK, WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE PETITIONS THAT WE DESIRED OF HIM."
I HAVE GONE TO CHURCH ALMOST EVERY SUNDAY OF MY LIFE. I WAS RAISED A LUTHERAN. FROM THERE I WENT TO SEVERAL DIFFERENT BAPTIST CHURCHES, THE METHODIST CHURCH, THE CATHOLIC, THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, THE COMMUNITY CHURCH, THE CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS, I STUDIED BUDDHISM AND BAHAI, SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST, ETC. I LIKED MUCH IN ALL OF THESE CHURCHES AND THE LORD LED ME TO THE TRUTHS I NEEDED FROM THEM. THANK GOD I FOUND THE TRUE GOSPEL.
THE REASON I AM WRITING THIS IS TO MAKE A POINT ON FAMILY UNITY. THANK GOD THE STATE COULD NOT COME IN AND TAKE ME FROM MY PARENTS. I HAVE LEARNED TO LOVE THEM AND TO HELP THEM. IF WE HAD BEEN SEPARATED AND ONLY THE "BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD" TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION, OUR FAMILY WOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. IN SOME WAYS, I MAY HAD HAD AN EASIER LIFE, BUT I AM GLAD FOR THE EXPERIENCES I HAVE HAD. I LOVE MY FAMILY AND ALL THEIR INTERESTS WERE PRESERVED BECAUSE WE WERE NOT SEPARATED BY THE STATE. A TOTAL OF FIVE SONS AND ONE DAUGHTER WERE NOT DIVIDED. THE YEARS HAVE BEEN TOUGH, BUT THE REWARDS HAVE BEEN INNUMERABLE. THANK GOD THE "BEST INTERESTS OF THE FAMILY" PREVAILED IN OUR SITUATION, AS THE FAMILY IS ORDAINED OF GOD.
TODAY, IN MY LEGAL WORK, I TRY TO BE A COUNSELOR TO HELP TO UNITE FAMILIES. MUCH CAN BE DONE. WHY DESTROY THE PARENT AND THE REST OF THE FAMILY? IF A FAMILY WILL WORK TOGETHER AND RELY ON THE LORD, IT IS NOT NECESSARY. WE WERE SAVED. OUR FAMILY IS A UNIT. WE LOVE EACH OTHER AND TRUST IN THE LORD. MY MOTHER HAS ACCEPTED THE GOSPEL. I HAVE FOUND THE TRUTH. IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL TO BE ABLE TO LEAD MY MOTHER INTO THE WATERS OF BAPTISM AND THEN CONFIRM HER A MEMBER OF THE LORD'S CHURCH ON EARTH. IT WAS GREAT THIS PAST YEAR WHEN MY SON TURNED TWELVE. WE GOT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE AND I BAPTIZED HIM FOR MY FATHER. IT WAS A WARM AND BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE, ONE WHICH DID NOT COME ABOUT BY THE SEPARATION AND DISINTEGRATION OF THE FAMILY.
"AND, HE SHALL TURN THE HEARTS OF THE . . . CHILDREN TO THEIR FATHERS, LEST I COME AND SMITE THE EARTH WITH A CURSE." MALACHI 4:6. THIS HAS CERTAINLY BEEN DONE IN THE UNIFICATION OF MY FAMILY.
"AND I WILL GIVE THE CHILDREN UNTO THEM TO BE THEIR PRINCES, AND BABES SHALL RULE OVER THEM." THIS HAS ACTUALLY COME TO PASS IN THAT I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BRING SOME OF MY FAMILY TO ACCEPT THE TRUE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. IF WE HAD BEEN SEPARATED, AS THEY ALMOST ALWAYS DO TODAY, THIS PROBABLY WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED. A FAMILY WOULD HAVE BEEN TOTALLY DESTROYED. IT SIMPLY IS NOT WORTH IT.
BECAUSE OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST ONE FAMILY HAS BEEN ABLE TO UNITE ITSELF. MUCH PAIN, SORROW AND HURT HAS BEEN ALLEVIATED. SOMETIMES THERE IS STILL PAIN. I MUST ADMIT THAT. BUT, THERE IS NO WHERE NEAR THE PAIN THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN FAMILY SEPARATION.
EVERYTIME I TALK TO MY MOTHER I THANK THE LORD FOR HER. SHE IS A GOOD PERSON, AS THE REST OF MY FAMILY. WE CAN TALK ABOUT PAST PROBLEMS NOW. HUMILITY EXISTS. LOVE ABOUNDS. JOY FROM MY SAVIOR HAS EASED THE PAIN AND HURT OF ABUSE. THANK YOU MY JESUS. "I GLORY IN PLAINNESS; I GLORY IN TRUTH; I GLORY IN MY JESUS, FOR HE HATH REDEEMED MY SOUL FROM HELL." 2 NEPHI 33:6.
THE PROPHET JACOB IS POWERFUL AND SUMS ALL THIS UP IS EIGHT FAITH PROMOTING WORDS. "O BE WISE; WHAT CAN I SAY MORE?" JACOB 6:12. HOPEFULLY, THIS CAN BRING OTHER FAMILIES TOGETHER AS IT HAS BROUGHT MY FAMILY TOGETHER. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
WRITTEN PRIOR TO 2000.
