A
proving ground is the name for a U.S. military installation where weapons and other military technology are experimented with or tested. The Army’s oldest, active proving ground is the Aberdeen Proving Ground located in Aberdeen Maryland, only 60 miles from Philadelphia. It was established in 1917, six months after the United States entered World War I. The Aberdeen Proving Ground has more than 16,000 employees. It covers over 72,000 acres and has 2,000 buildings. It is a huge operation – this proving ground.
It is necessary for our military to have proving grounds so that in times of war we can have confidence that our weapons and technologies will work as designed. We must be able to defend our freedom against enemies, both large and small.
As important as such proving grounds are to our safety and security, I would like to discuss an even more important proving ground with personal and eternal consequences. The word “earth” is the name given to
God’s proving ground for all of mankind – all kindreds, tongues and people.
You and I are living and actively participating on this proving ground right now. One of the great blessings of the restored gospel is that of enjoying restored knowledge and truth. Such knowledge is essential for true success on this earthly proving ground.
In the Grand Council in Heaven, the decision was made to “make an earth whereon these may dwell” (Abr. 3:24). This earth is the place to prove ourselves worthy and to prepare to return to the presence of the Lord. He explained, “And we will
prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abr. 3:25).
The Lord explained the purpose for which we must be tested during this earthly experience: “My people must be tried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them” (D&C 136:31).
In 1909 the First Presidency wrote: "Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into a God" (Improvement Era, Nov. 1909, 81; see also Acts 17:27-28; Hebrews 12:9; Marion G. Romney, Learning for the Eternities, George J. Romney, comp. [1977], 31-32).
Imagine that! We each have the potential of evolving into a God. Getting from here to there is possible, but it requires a lot of “proving” in the proving ground. This proving comes in the form of daily life – the trials, afflictions, tests and challenges that come our way. To get through life successfully and to earn our heavenly reward, we are each required to (1) Come Unto Christ and (2) Stay with Christ.
Coming Unto Christ is at the bulls-eye of the proving ground. This has been an unchanging message from prophets, seers and revelators throughout the ages.
President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency stated this clearly when he said, “The words ‘come unto Christ’ are an invitation. It is the most important invitation you could ever offer to another person. It is the most important invitation anyone could accept.” (http://jesuschrist.lds.org/SonOfGod/eng/faith-in-jesus-christ/articles/come-unto-christ)
Inviting others to come unto Christ is the central purpose of all missionary work. But what does it mean to Come Unto Christ?
It is the Book of Mormon, and not the Bible, that excels in teaching us what this means. For instance consider these words in the Book of Omni:
“
And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved,” (Omni 1:26).
To Come Unto Christ is to “offer your whole souls as an offering unto him”. This requires letting go of the old you and allowing a new you to develop. This is not light weight lifting!
And then in the very last chapter of the Book of Mormon, on the very last page, the prophet Moroni’s final words say, “
And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing. Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God,” (Moroni 10:30, 32).
To come unto Christ is to deny yourself of all ungodliness and to love God with all your might, mind and strength (not when you feel like it, but all the time). Coming Unto Christ is the method by which man proves himself to God while on earth. And once he has come unto Christ, he must stay with Christ during the good times and the bad. The Apostle Paul says it this way: “
put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). I like this term because it is visual. It’s like putting on a new outfit or new suit of clothes. It means that Christ doesn’t remain in your scriptures, but that He comes alive in your life. Your life becomes living proof, to anyone who examines you, that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Redeemer. You practice what you preach. Your actions always speak louder than your words.
But life is not always easy to live. Many people suffer in personal struggles, while others will suffer as they watch their loved ones in pain. Many of us have suffered, are suffering or will suffer greatly from the slings and arrows of life. We will not go untested.
Here is the central question: How will we respond when we are being tested and when the trials and struggles are so very difficult?
When a loved one disappoints us, criticizes us, hurts us or even betrays us, how will we respond?
When a friend or stranger attacks with anger, sarcasm or insults, what will we do?
When unemployment, disease, poverty, addictions, divorce and conflict enter our lives, then what?
Indeed this is a difficult testing, or proving, ground – for we find ourselves easily discouraged and often defeated by the battles.
But this battle isn’t new – its been fought for centuries. We can gain insights and hope from those who have lived in prior times. An instructive example is that of how Alma and his people dealt with severe trials when they were under the control of a corrupt ruler named Amulon.
Amulon imposed heavy burdens upon Alma and his people. He threatened to kill anyone caught praying. Their situation was as difficult as anything most of us have ever experienced. In private they cried to the Lord for help. Here is their story, from the Book of Mormon (Mosiah 24):
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.
What happened to Alma and his people?
1. Life had become unbearable.
2. They were enslaved and required to shoulder burdens that seemed insurmountable.
3. They turned to the Lord, with great faith, and cried for help.
4. The Lord did not remove the burdens. But because of their faith, the burdens were made light.
This is a very important lesson to learn about how the Lord works when we are pure in heart. The Lord himself said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” (Matthew 11:28). In this proving ground of earth life, we are required to “endure to the end”. Isn’t it great to know that we can ask God, through His son Jesus Christ, to make our burdens light? And if we have denied ourselves of all ungodliness and have offered our whole souls as an offering to Him, we can faithfully expect our burdens to become light.
I believe the way our burdens are made light is that God makes us stronger – emotionally, mentally, physically, and especially spiritually.
As a result of tests, trials and struggles, our souls are stretched and our spirits are strengthened. We change. Our character and personality becomes more Christ-like. We are made strong.
A specialized proving ground for young adults is that of the mission field. There are currently about 50,000 young adults serving in 340 “mission proving grounds”. The missionary program is an inspired heaven-sent proving ground.
Because of the very nature of missionary work, each of our wonderful missionaries comes face-to-face with challenges, pain, heartache, confusion, disappointment, discouragement, and discomfort; and often additional issues related to pride, shyness, and selfishness. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it!
Bad habits created and mastered during teenage years must be destroyed. These are replaced by new habits of daily prayer (real prayer); daily scripture study (real study); daily sacrifice and service (real sacrifice and service) and frequent repentance (real repentance). Our missionaries all strive to come unto Christ. They are fueled by their love of God and their desire to show this love through obedience.
One of our missionaries experienced a number of complicated health issues. The situation got progressively worse instead of better. After consulting with doctors, a decision was made to send this missionary home early – before his two years was completed. This greatly disappointed the missionary. He didn’t understand why he was being afflicted by so many medical problems – after all, he was being obedient and willing to serve.
On the way to the airport – where he would board a plane to fly home – he asked me, “President, why me?”
I took this as an opportunity to teach an important lesson. I said, “Elder, I’m not sure you’ve asked the right question.”
I let think sink in for a few moments.
And then I suggested, “Perhaps a better question is, “Why not me?”
Why not accept the tests and trials in your own personal proving ground. Some may face poverty. Others debilitating injuries or disease. Others the collapse of marriages and families. Others sexual abuse, slavery, false imprisonment or war.
The pathway to heaven is all uphill. Thus God’s proving ground is not a walk in the park. It is not a vacation on a beach in Hawaii. It is not winning the lottery and living on Easy Street nor is it coasting downhill with no need to pedal.
God’s proving ground is a refiner’s fire. Fire, by definition, burns. The refiner’s fire is designed to destroy all impurities. From the flames of the refiner’s fire comes a new creature. This creature is a stronger and better version of the current you. Emotionally stronger. Mentally stronger. Physically stronger. And especially spiritually stronger.
As such, you find yourself able to handle the challenges and trials of life much better. I know this to be true.
Some of us who have been at this a bit longer than others, have the additional responsibility of reaching down and lifting up those who are struggling to find their way. This can include investigators, recent converts and those who may be less active in their church involvement. It can also include a lonely teenager, a single mother, a widower and those going through particularly difficult times.
Alma the Younger used this phrase of “new creature” to explain the transformational power that results when one comes unto Christ through complete faith and humility:
25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;
26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. (Mosiah 27:25-26).
And the Apostle Paul taught the same doctrine when he said,
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
“All things become new” – this means that our outlook on life changes. It’s not that life changes. There will continue to be disappointments, trials and challenges. But our ability to deal with life improves dramatically! And our outlook on life changes. We gain additional light! This is one of the great blessings that is guaranteed to each of us if and when we come unto Christ.
President Heber J. Grant often quoted the saying, “That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do; not that the nature of the thing is changed, but our power to do is increased” (Bryant S. Hinckley, Heber J. Grant: Highlights in the Life of a Great Leader [1951], 49).
If we persist in living a Christ-centered life, then dealing with life becomes easier!
Putting on Christ provides a shield or protection for us. The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi teaches this very clearly with these words: “And I said unto them that … whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction. (1 Nephi 15:24).
As the field general in the local missionary proving ground, let me give you a first hand report on how its going – that is, the proving of our young missionaries in the Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission. Here are two reports from recent emails. The first is from a missionary who is still serving his mission and second from a missionary who has recently gone home. Listen for their efforts in coming to Christ and staying with Christ.
#1 “Dear President, I want to share with you my list of things I am going to change. I divided my list into two smaller lists, the things I am going to stop doing, and the things I'm going to start doing.
I am going to stop:
• Fault-finding
• searching for contention
• being negative
• tearing myself down
• assuming the worst
• taking offence
• doing things that offend others
• tearing my companion down
• dwelling on the negative
• worrying about things I can't control
• blaming others
• blaming past occurrences for current circumstances
• focusing on things that are unimportant
• doing anything to drive away the spirit
I am going to start:
• looking for the good in everyone
• being positive
• giving credit to others
• being grateful
• loving those around me no matter what
• thinking the best of others
• dwelling on the positive
• focusing on things I can control and making them better
• taking responsibility
• focusing on the important things
• doing everything I can to always have the spirit with me
Thank you for encouraging me to change.”
And from the missionary who recently completed a successful mission and returned home:
#2 "Dear President, I've learned something since being home that has caused me some pain. I didn't quite understand the things that I would have to sacrifice after my mission. I think a lot of times we are focused on the mission rules and strict lifestyle we are living as missionaries that I didn't realize it would still be all about sacrifice when I returned home.
All those habits and behaviors that I developed as a missionary still carry on to my new life and I realized my life is not compatible at all with old friends. I realized yesterday as I was with them that it's time to move forward in life. Some people have to be left behind because they drag me down. I was very sad when i realized this. Some people are ready to come closer to God and some are not. My feelings of love for these people have not changed but surrounding myself by them all the time is not the best for my spiritual well being.”
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I thank God for the missionary proving ground!
I am full of gratitude for the knowledge that we have great eternal potential and that we are all known and loved by God at this very moment. I am grateful to know that the challenges and trials of life, though painful and never-ending, are necessary for our growth and development.
“
And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall give thee rest, from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,” (2 Nephi 24:3).
I am grateful for Jesus Christ, whose Atonement makes it possible for each of us to be forgiven of sin and lifted up in our burdens and afflictions. It is my prayer that we can stand united in proving ourselves fit for the Kingdom of God.
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