In the past few years, when thinking about suffering and mourning, I have pondered the idea (from Buddhism, as I understand it), that suffering and mourning are rooted in our thoughts—we wouldn’t be disappointed, for example, if we hadn’t expected something different; and we wouldn’t mourn if we weren’t afraid of loosing what we mourn for. Suffering, according to this philosophy, is rooted in how we relate to the world, and how much we mourn is something we can control by changing how we think.

While I think there is something powerful in this way of seeing life, I’m not sure that it is universal. I get that we often bring suffering on ourselves because of our expectations — such as when we suffer and mourn for things, like the medal you got for winning that competition, or the last think your mother gave you. In such cases, it seems like the suffering is for a representation of  something important to us, instead of the thing itself. To put it in Buddhist terms, its focusing on the finger pointing at the moon, instead of the moon itself. Why should we mourn loosing the ribbon we got at the county fair, when the event of winning itself is the actual point.

But, I am troubled when I apply this to mourning for a loved one. Shouldn’t I mourn because I won’t see the loved one again (in this life, at least)? And if I do suffer, am I somehow not as faithful, given that we know that we are eternal beings, and will see each other again in the hereafter? What should we mourn for? And then, how does what we mourn for get transformed into joy?

It may be that the joy comes from having what was lost restored to us. Or, and I think this is more likely, the joy may come from recognizing that suffering comes from our viewpoint. When we see things from an eternal perspective, we gain the ability to see that all losses are temporary, and see that things are merely representations of our memories and relationships—they don’t have value in and of themselves.

 

The Lord will bring His covenant people out of captivity.

Seen from the viewpoint above, so many of our ways of seeing life are a kind of captivity — prisoning us emotionally to things and to a mortal understanding of our relationships. In Jeremiah, the captivity is a real, physical captivity, as Judah is carried away to Babylon, leading to physical (and emotional) suffering, perhaps in part because of the people’s expectations, but also because of how they are treated. The joy comes when the Lord brings them out of captivity, as promised in Jeremiah.

LDS Church members have also experienced this kind of captivity. The following poem, by Parley P. Pratt, talks about the suffering during the Missouri period, as Church members were expelled from the state in 1838-1839. Pratt experienced this suffering personally, as he was imprisoned in jail. But I think this poem can also be read as talking about our own emotional and mental captivity to the things of this world and a mortal understanding of life.

 

Torn from our friends, and captive led

‘Mid armed legions, bound in chains,

That peace for which our Fathers bled,

Is gone, and dire confusion reigns.

 

Zion our peaceful happy home,

Where oft we’ve joined in praise and prayer,

A desolation has become,

And grief and sorrow lingers there.

 

Her virgins sigh, her widows mourn,

Her children for their parents weep;

In chains her priests and prophets groan,

While some in death’s cold arms do sleep.

 

Exultingly, her savage foes,

Now ravage, steal, and plunder, where

A virgins tears, and widow’s woes

Become their song of triumph there.

 

How long, O Lord, will thou forsake

The saints, who tremble at thy word?

Awake! O arm of God, awake–

And teach the nations thou art God.

 

Descend with all thy holy throng,

The year of thy redeemed bring near;

Haste–haste the day of vengeance on–

Bid Zion’s children dry their tears.

 

Deliver Lord, thy captive saints,

And comfort those who long have mourn’d;

Bid Zion cease her dire complaints,

And all creation cease to groan.

1840

 

“They shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

One clear source of relief for our mourning and suffering is our Heavenly Parents. Through Them we understand our place in this life and the next, and because of them we have strength to face the difficulties of this life. We are their children, and we are therefore their people.

The following psalm, by Eliza R. Snow, details how the Lord has blessed His people, and how He is our God. Although generally associated with the book of Psalms in the bible, the psalm form is still used today. As this poem demonstrates, the psalm doesn’t rhyme, nor does it have a set line length or even a standard rhythm. So it is similar to the psalms in the bible.

 

The Lord hath dealt marvelously with His people, even the Latter-day Saints.

He hath delivered them from the hand of their enemies—He hath led them forth from the land of oppression.

In His own wisdom hath He purposed it, and by His own power in the overruling hand of His Providence has He brought it to pass.

When our enemies had plotted our destruction—when they had slaughtered our Prophet and Patriarch, and insolently brandished their swords in the midst of our dwellings—when they thought to wipe us out of existence by rooting us out of our inheritances, and by driving us far beyond the track of civilization;

Then He opened up unto us a path, before untrodden, except by the roving feet of the wandering savage, the Lamanite of the wilderness.

He sustained us while we traversed the sandy waste and the dubious, interminable sage-plains; He preserved us under the scorching heat of the sun, and amid suffocating showers of dust; until we arrived in the chambers of Israel, the Valleys of the Mountains, whose summits are crowned with perennial snows.

He has brought us to a place of safety—a valley of peace—a City of Refuge, beyond the reach of the ruthless mobocrat, and far from the unhallowed rage of the heartless persecutor.

Therefore let us exalt His Great and Holy name—let us sound His praises till they shall reverberate from mountain to mountain, and echo to the most distant nations of the earth.

Yea, thou King, the Lord of Hosts, thou Most High God, we will sing of thy goodness in everlasting strains; for thou hast established us in a fruitful and goodly place amid the munition of rocks, upon the inheritance bequeathed to Joseph and his posterity by his father Jacob.

Thou hast preserved it from the possession of the Gentiles—thou hast held it in reserve for a hiding-place for thy Saints.

1856

 

The scriptures have power to turn me away from evil.

Another help to us in our suffering and trials are the scriptures—the written words of prophets inspired by God. These words have power, a kind of power by virtue of divine inspiration, as well as the trust and belief that we place in them. The influence of the teachings in the scripture can literally turn us from doing evil.

This poem, by the Bard of Springville (Utah), William Clegg, outlines the role of the scriptures in our lives, looking at each of the standard works in turn. Clegg was an English convert who immigrated to Utah a few years after it was settled. After settling in Springville, Clegg became an influential part of the community, and its principle poet for its first 50 years.

 

Inscribed on Sacred Scripture’s page,

‘Mongst things which most true hearts engage,

Are God’s eternal love and laws

And virtue’s triumphs o’er her foes,-

The record how in heaven above

Was framed a wondrous scheme of love,

That spirits born to God on high

Might have a time wherein to try

Their fealty to their Sovereign Lord,

In living by his holy word:

How earth was framed with wondrous skill,

Obedient to its Founder’s will,

And spirits in their times came forth

To prove their own intrinsic worth,-

That, clothed in flesh, might learn to be

Acquainted with humanity,-

Through tasting sin’s effects, might prize

The blessing which in virtue lies,

And, feeling evil, learn and know

That good must from obedience flow,-

By opposites appreciate

And learn to conquer and create,

For ever cherish truth, and be

As Gods to all eternity.

The Bible in its varied store

Of words and acts in days of yore,

Reveals the wisdom, power, and love

Of him who lives and reigns above;

How mercy in his dealings shone,

When man could not for sin atone;

How opened up a way to rest

For all with sin and griet opprest:

How man rebelled and God forbore,

Till justice would no mercy more;

How vengeance fell with kind intent

To save whoever should repent;

How love and mercy followed still

When man repenting turned his will;

How peace and true salvation flowed

To all who in obedience bowed;

How, in the hour when faith was tried,

The willing heart was satisfied;

How faith and works were ever owned,

And righteousness with glory crowned;

How treasure given sure returned

In blessings or in curses earned;

How heavy retribution fell,

When men were fully ripe for hell;

How Prophets gladly told the plan

Of God’s eternal love to man.

Or, filled with pure celestial fire,

Poured forth on sin Jehovah’s ire;

How, when their pilgrimage was o’er,

They suffered for the truths they bore,

Endured the tortures planned in hell,

Then left the earth with Gods to dwell.

And Mormon’s record, pure and plain,

Though brief, reveals a mighty chain

Of wondrous acts and wisdom pure

Of virtue’s blessings ever sure;

Of God eternally the same

To all who feared his holy name,-

A sure defence-a mighty tower

To all who trusted in his power;

How angels with the pure conversed,

And principles of life rehearsed;

How sin, and strife, and deadly war

Spread woe and desolation far;

Of Israel scattered, lost, and found;

Of their return, with glory crowned,

And how their Saviour should restore

All things and reign for evermore.

And Enoch’s book to mortals brings

A knowledge of eternal things;

The mystery of redemption breaks;

Of wondrous things in plainness speaks;

In glowing language true portrays

The changing scenes of future days,

Down to the time when earth shall be

Redeemed and saved eternally.

And Abraham’s book of precious things

A flood of light and glory brings;

Makes known to man how worlds on high

Trace out their orbits through the sky;

How order through creation reigns,

And less or greater still obtains;

How times and seasons roll away

Until submerged in endless day:

How endless increase shall be given

To all who keep the laws of heaven,

Till as the stars or ocean’s sand

Their countless sons and daughters stand.

The Book of Covenants Divine,

Like a rich, exhaustless mine,

Abounds with gems of purest light

To show the path from error’s night;

And as its pages light the way

To cheer and bless the “sons of day,”

God’s wisdom, power, and love disclose

In duties, principles, and laws:

As steps which lead from earth to heaven,

Its precepts are to mortals given-

The echoes of Jehovah’s voice,

Brought by the Prophet of his choice,

With promises which cannot fail :

For all who rightly would prevail.

And other Scriptures pure and true

Are and shall be brought to view,

And every link of knowledge brought

To perfect those divinely taught:

Yea, every blessing ever given

To bless the seus of God in heaven

On those that overcome shall be

Conferred to all eternity.

1859

 

Be firm in following God’s prophets.

Being a follower is often easier than not. And in a sense, it can be a way to get relief from suffering. It often seems like our lives are meant to fluctuate between learning to act correctly and wisely and following what God tells us to do. We’re like children who need to follow what our parents tell us to do, but we’re regularly told to figure out what to do ourselves. Which is a strange way to ‘be firm in following the prophet.’ Nevertheless, we have lots of examples of the good that comes from following the prophets.

The following poem is an example of this. Edward Sloan, writing in Ireland, expresses his admiration for two LDS missionaries who have followed the prophet and were then returning to Utah. Sloan then writes that their converts in Ireland “are few, we are humble, but willing and ready / To follow your footsteps unshaken and steady…” to storm Hell, if necessary. That seems very firm to me.

 

Go, ye chieftains of Israel, to Zion’s free mountains,

Return to the valleys you love and revere,

Where Truth gushes pure from celestial fountains,

Through the lips of our ruler, our Prophet and Seer.

Go, your families await you with welcomes of gladness,

Taste the sweets of love’s goblet unmingl’d with sadness,

Far away from a rotten world’s strifes, cares, and madness,

In our own darling Utah, the queen of the earth.

 

With your labours and toilings the Lord is well pleased,

And His fond eye was still o’er your perilous track;

Now His voice sounds-“Beloved, from your labours you’re eased,

To the mountains and valleys of Ephraim come back.”

Yet you carry our heart’s warmest wishes and blessings,

And our love pure and fervent-no lips cold professing,

With the prayers of the humble of Erin possessing,

To waft you to Utah, the queen of the earth.

 

You have toil’d here and lov’d us with fervour untiring,

And ’tis fair we return the rich measure you gave,

Oar down-trodden warm hearts, with liberty firing,

You ‘mid poverty taught us to soar and to save.

And for us, say to Brigham, and Heber, and Jeddy,

We are few, we are humble, but willing and ready

To follow your footsteps unshaken and steady,

To storm Hell’s dark fortress, or die by the way.

 

Say we long for the day when iniquitous leaven

From this earth shall be purged, and to darkness be hurl’d;

When the Saints shall triumph as the armies of heaven,

And Brigham’s behest be a law to the world.

Say that shoeless or shirtless we’ll follow, untiring,

Our James and his Mac, nor once think of retiring

Till Truth, o’er the gorgon of Error expiring,

Shall wave its bright standard and victory be won.

 

Go, beloved ones, the smile of the Lord hovers o’er you,

And the power of the Priesthood your steps shall sustain,

The reward of your labours of love is before you,

When the crowned sons of Michael begin their glad reign.

Let the dim future rise like a ne’er-ending river,

Track its course by the aid yo’ve still found would deliver,

For the past has been onward, then onward for ever,

Till with Gods you commingle through worlds without end.

 

May our united faith and our prayers safely bear you

Where the tempest and waters sport strangely with life,

Up the rivers of Joseph and o’er the wide prairie,

Unscathed by the deeply-wronged Lamanite’s knife.

And when safe in the mount-girded valleys of Zion,

Ne’er forget those behind who your aid still rely on,

And we’ll make Erin ring while Hope’s pinions we fly on,

With Utah mavourneen, the queen of the earth.

1856

 

I can be bold in standing up for what is right.

One place where we sometimes suffer, and where we can hurt others, is in what we say. Saying boldly and bluntly what is right can itself cause suffering, when the person we tell sees things differently or understands what we say as an attack on them. The truth can be hard and how it is delivered can make a big difference.

In this poem, Jane Merchant explores how truth interacts with our feelings about how it is delivered. She suggests that each individual must come to understand truth for themselves, “aware of the exceeding cost / Should any particle of truth be lost.”

 

If I should wound you, speaking what I hold

As truth in needlessly emphatic terms,

Expressing with a tongue too bluntly bold

For grace conviction that my heart affirms,

Believe me, it is but my eagerness

To add to universal truth the grain

Of inward certitude which I possess

Through well-authenticated joy and pain,

For I am well aware no word of mine

Is all of truth, for truth is various

As individual hearts that must divine

Their own, and utter it with scrupulous

Swift zeal, aware of the exceeding cost

Should any particle of truth be lost.

1955

 

The Lord can relieve the sorrow I experience because of sin.

Perhaps the most common cause of suffering is the consequences of sin. And therefore the most important relief of suffering comes through repentance and the atonement of Jesus Christ. I think this is very similar to the Buddhist ideas I mentioned in the beginning of this post. Repentance is a changing of our hearts, of how we see the world, and through repentance we can remove the mindset that leaves us suffering.

I like this take by Annie Lauritzen, who shows us how the Master can give us faith and help us see how to walk over the tempestuous waves of life.

 

We have an immortal brother, a king,

Who once walked over the sea.

A lesson of faith he meant to bring;

To all such as you and me.

I can fancy I see thee, O, Master, dear,

With thine arms outstretched to save

One soul from sinking through lack of faith;

As thou walkest over the wave.

And thus when the waves of life beat high,

On that great tempestuous sea,

Let us know that the god of life is nigh,

Who once walked on Galilee.

In whom a supreme faith bears us up,

And bids us be strong and brave;

It bears us up till we fairly walk

Over life’s great rolling wave.

O, Brother, help us and give us faith,

As we walk over life’s deep sea;

Keep us from sinking as faint Peter sank;

Oh, help us to walk like thee.

And when our great tempests of grief arise,

Sin and sorrow would seek to o’ercome;

With our faith firmly fixed on eternal skies,

O, brother, guide us safely – home.

1912