10 For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
Afflictions are an important part of this life, and they
serve several different purposes. This verse suggests that afflictions imposed
on a people will separate out or remove any impurities, just as in the refining
process where impurities are removed from precious metals, such as gold and
silver. The pure metal can withstand the intense heat of the furnace, whereas
the elements that make these precious metals impure, or of less value, cannot
withstand the heat, and they are separated out and removed. In fact, through
this process the impurities separate themselves so they are more easily
identified and removed. When the furnace of affliction is fired up, those who
are not converted or committed become committed one way or the other. They
either strengthen their testimonies, thereby adding to the quality of the
people, or they remove themselves from the body, which also serves to improve
or enhance the quality of the people in general simply by their not being part
of the covenant anymore. Either way, the Lord’s people are chosen through
affliction. They are tested, tried, and found to be either useable or not.
On a smaller, individual basis the same thing happens. After
all, a group or society is made up of individuals. As individuals we are either
purified or cast off (usually through self-separation) through afflictions.
Almost paradoxically the thing about affliction that determines our quality or
strength is how willing we are to depend on the Savior. On the surface this
seems somehow wrong. Show your own strength by leaning on another person’s
strength? However, when you consider that a major purpose of mortal life is to
develop faith, it makes perfect sense. If we want to be like our Heavenly
Father, we not only need a physical body (one reason for coming to this life),
but we also must learn to live and act by faith, which is a major attribute of
Heavenly Father. For example, He doesn’t create worlds with His physical
strength; He does it with the strength of His word, or in other words, faith.
(See the Lectures on Faith for a more detailed discussion about God’s faith.)
If we are to have that kind of absolute faith in our own power and abilities,
we must first practice and strengthen our faith by making the object of our
faith someone else: Jesus Christ. Just like exercising muscles makes them
stronger, exercising faith in Christ makes our faith stronger. So affliction
not only separates the strong from the weak (speaking spiritually), it is also
a vehicle that strengthens the strong, or weakens the weak. Affliction purifies
the pure, and it does all this by making us realize that we can’t handle this
furnace by ourselves, so we rely on the Lord. This is how the Lord refines us
individually, or as a people, as suggested in this verse, through the furnace
of affliction.
- Mosiah 23: 21
- D&C 136: 31
