Jeremiah endured. We can too. (Jeremiah 30-33; 36; Lamentations 1; 3)

30:12

This verse isn't as negative as it sounds. It's actually comforting. The JST changes it to: "Thy bruise is NOT incurable, although thy wounds are grievous." It is a message of hope to those of us who feel like we have strayed too far. Sure, we may have committed very grievous sins. But, our wounds are never incurable. Christ's atonement has infinite power. Our sins may trouble us but only with that trouble that brings repentance. No one is past saving because of Jesus Christ.

30:22

"And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." This is how the relationship is supposed to work.

• We are God's people. We follow and worship him. We grow a relationship with him by learning about him. We love him and show that love by following his commandments.

• Christ will be our God. He will strengthen us. He will help us. He will remove barriers to our success. He will help us resist temptation. He will teach us through his prophets. He will provide a constant guide through the Holy Ghost.

If we can simply be his people, he will be our God. He will always fulfill his role in this relationship - if we fulfill ours.

31:3

"The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." Love drives God's actions. He loves us completely and selflessly. He has CHOSEN his work to be our immortality and eternal life.

With loving kindness, he is anxiously engaged in drawing all men and women to him. He wants us to enjoy what he does. He has perfect empathy and knows how much joy we will feel if we can engage in the same work that he is. Every action, even punishment, is done with love and kindness.

31:10

He scattered Israel out of love. It wasn't out of anger. It was for their own good. They needed to see real consequences. Imagine if he blessed them in their idol worship? How would that help them progress to become like God? "Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock."

He scattered Israel as a consequence and also as a way to preserve them. The scattering doesn't represent any lack of pure love for us. He knew that, when he scattered, he was eventually going to gather.

31:19

"Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth." There are a four steps illustrated here:

1. I turned. We must stop going in the wrong direction. We have to realize that we are sinning. We must see things from a new perspective.

2. I repented. Of course, when we realize that we are sinning, the key step is to repent. This means changing our ways and attempting to make things right.

3. I was instructed. When we repent, the Spirit strengthens us. We regain our worthiness to enjoy the constant companion of the Holy Ghost. Truly it is the Holy Ghost that instructs us. We can learn a fact - but to really understand and appreciate truth from an eternal perspective, we need the Spirit.

4. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded. We often feel this way when we repent. We feel shame for our past behavior. This is actually good. It's not healthy to look back at sinful times with fondness.

31:34

"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." In the millennium, it won't be about us teaching each other. Everyone will be able to know the Lord personally. Everyone will have a relationship with him.

We need that now. We cannot rely on each other to build a relationship with Jesus Christ by proxy. We each need that direct connection.

31:36

"If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever." There have been times in my life that I have thought that ordinances were nice but were 'extra' elements in the gospel.

I've since learned that the ordinances are truly saving ordinances. The ordinances act as guideposts and milestones for us. We need that as humans.

Also, if we submit and receive the ordinances that have been given to us, we are becoming more teachable. If we were to decide to do away with ordinances given from God, what does that say about our willingness to be obedient and submit to God? How will that attitude impact us throughout eternity? To disregard the ordinances of God is to disregard God himself.

32:33

"And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction." God does all that he can. Even when he knows he will be rejected, he teaches. He knows that for us to have a real choice, there needs to be truth presented. The wicked need a choice.

32:39

"And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them." After experiencing the bitter, we appreciate the good and have a healthy fear of consequences of bad behavior. It is good teaching. It demonstrates the will of our Heavenly Father that he is willing to do anything to help us progress and be like him.

"And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me." Having fear, respect, honor, submission for our God will be a key factor in our ability to progress forever.

33:3

God loves us equally. If we turn to God and ask him for help, he will give it to us. "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." We can gain knowledge and understanding from the Spirit that we can't get any other way. No amount of study can burn the truth in our hearts like the Holy Ghost.

33:8-9

These are comforting verses about the latter days. "And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it." We are seeing this now considering how the church is respected and revered.

I used to believe that, in the last days, the Church will be persecuted. I've felt that our peculiarity will make us the receipient of scorn and derision. It may happen. But I also am beginning to see how the Church is going to explode with growth and will remain strong when other institutions are failing. Governments may fall but the Church will not. The Church is going to enjoy a lot of growth and success in every way. This Church will prosper.

36:32

"Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words." When men attempt to thwart the growth of the church, all of their efforts are in vain. In fact, God often restores more than was taken.

When bad things happen to us, we can simply mourn the loss, or, we can get right back up and start moving forward again. If we are doing the Lord's work, there may be setbacks. However, nothing will stop the work from progressing.

Lamentations

1:7

"Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old..." I believe that the population of America will be thinking the same thing. There will be a time when we look back fondly on our ability to go to church, visit a stocked grocery store, not have to ration water, etc.

Often, when I see a river, I think about how it may eventually dry up. We may look back and say to our children or grandchildren, "It's true, there used to be tons of water flowing by every minute!" Young people may not be able to imagine what that would be like and question us about why we didn't store more of it while we had it.

We may look back with fondness at our ability to go to sleep at night - unworried about defending our lives and property.

All of the things that we take for granted may be pleasant, almost unbelievable memories.

3:7, 17, 22-23, 31-32

This chapter feels like two sides of Jeremiah. The first verses thoroughly describe the trials and tribulations that Jeremiah has had. He didn't feel like the Lord had opened many doors for him. "He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy." How many of us feel like this regularly?

He wasn't experiencing joy in this life. "And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity." He didn't live a comfortable life. We all have some hope for prosperity in this life - Jeremiah forgot about that.

We may all feel like God isn't there are that he has abandoned us. "Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through." It may feel that way but we must see that it is meant to be this way. This is a key element in the plan of salvation.

At the same time, he understands the compassion of the Lord. "It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Jeremiah is aware of his struggles but is grateful that he still lives. He sees this life as a gift. We should be grateful that we are alive each morning.

We may struggle from the beginning to the end of our lives, but we should know that struggles are not eternal. They are not permanent. "For the Lord will not cast off for ever."

The purpose of this life is to see that everything has its opposite. We are meant to face trials and sorrow. God allows it to teach and try us. "But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies." I don't think God causes grief but allows it. He allows all of the natural consequences to occur for our good.

3:57

God rarely removes our trials. That's the point. However, he can strengthen us. "Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not." He can reassure us that we need not be afraid. I believe that our lives are meant to be what they are. Our struggles are what they needed to be to learn certain lessons that couldn't be effectively taught in the premortal realm or the spirit world.

Like Jeremiah, we must learn how to embrace our trials and move forward carrying our unique cross. It's okay to be heavy hearted at times when we're facing mighty headwinds. But, at the end of the day, we must not fear anything that this temporary mortal life can throw at us.