Whoever said Enemies are bad…is Wrong by Jenni Perkins

Life is hard. Life is full of trials and sometimes seems impossible to go on. Standing firm in the faith seems pointless when strangers, enemies and friends turn against you. Winston Churchill says, “You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.” We need to remember that even as we are despised and rejected Christ suffered along with us.

Jesus Christ lived a perfect life yet he was “despised and rejected of men.” [1] He stood up for His beliefs and was persecuted for them. The LDS Church has recently been receiving criticism regarding same-sex marriages and my personal views have been also been attacked. At first I wanted to point out to my accusers all the hypocritical things they said and I began “Bible Bashing.” But this is not what I should have done. I should have borne my testimony and explained my views instead of arguing. I needed to remember that I need to emulate Christ in all situations. Even when he was crucified he showed love to his enemies. Robert D. Hales said, “When we do not retaliate—when we turn the other cheek and resist feelings of anger—we too stand with the Savior. We show forth His love, which is the only power that can subdue the adversary and answer our accusers without accusing them in return. That is not weakness. That is Christian courage.”[2] It is in our carnal state and nature to seek after revenge – a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye. This is not the way the Savior would respond and this is not the way we should either. Joseph Smith is another great example; he treated his tormentors with love and patience instead of hate. It may seem unfair that we go through tough times but if we think of the examples of Christ and Joseph Smith and Abinadi, we will be able to withstand the trials. Doctrine and Covenants 122:8 reads, “The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?”[3] I love this because it helps put my trials into perspective. Christ was perfect he did not have to come to this earth to be tested but he willingly came and sacrificed himself for us.

Jesus Christ atoned for our sins and knows what we are going through. Christ a “man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,” [1] and this is such a great gift to us because he has experienced our pains and sufferings and he can empathize with us. Before he came it was prophesied that “he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death,” [10] and this prophesy, like all prophesies, was fulfilled. When times are difficult and I feel that I have no one to go to and that no one can understand my pain, I remember that Christ knows exactly how I feel and he can comfort me. This reminds of the hymn “How Firm a Foundation.”
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o’erflow,

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.[4]
Jesus can and will comfort us when we are despised and rejected and when we are sorrowful and grieving. As we pass through our trials we need to remember the blessings that await us if we endure to the end.

Throughout my life there have been many times when I am not accepted and sometimes I have been scorned for my beliefs. I find when people attempt to attack the church or my beliefs I am not bothered by it. It is the times when I feel left out that I have the hardest time coping. Freshman year at BYU started out really hard for me. I felt ignored and unwanted. I am not a very emotional person and I rarely cry but I cried in the shower a lot. I felt ‘despised and rejected’ even though it was not the same level that Jesus had to face, it was still extremely difficult. But then General Conference rolled around and Joseph B. Wirthlin gave a talk and said, “Adversity, if handled correctly, can be a blessing in our lives. We can learn to love it.”[5] Immediately I decided I would change my perspective and the way I was dealing with my problems - service. I would follow Christ’s example and serve and focus on other people instead of dwelling on myself. Then Elder Wirthlin said, “every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.”[5] This filled me with so much hope and gave me a stronger desire to endure to the end so I can gain the reward.

To despise is to “regard with contempt, distaste, disgust, or disdain; scorn; loathe.”[6] This is the way Christ was viewed and the way the church is viewed and the way I am viewed. But I need to remember that, “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”[7] We are living in a time that we need to be careful to live in the world but not of the world and this may cause us to be despised but so was Christ. Instead of acting in our carnal state and seek revenge, we are promised that by trusting in God we can become “conquerors of [our] enemies,” [8] and if we hold out faithful to the end we will be able to “dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.”[9] In both of these instances we need to look beyond the small moment in time and see the broader picture. For a short period we may be despised and reject but we will be blessed eventually.

I know that Christ was despised and rejected but he did not change his views or compromise. He knew the truth and stood steadfast and immovable, “he cannot walk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said … or from that which is right to that which is wrong.”[11] I know that I may be despised and rejected but I also know that it is alright. If I do gain enemies or opposition, it is because I am standing for something. I can turn my trials into blessings and if I have an eternal perspective I can overcome my trials and if I endure to the end I will be blessed.

Works Cited
[1] Mosiah 14:3 (Isaiah 53:3)
[2] Robert D. Hales, “Christian Courage: The Price of Discipleship,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 72–75
[3] Doctrine and Covenants 122:8
[4] “How Firm a Foundation,” Hymns, no. 85
[5] Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Come What May, and Love It,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 26–28
[6] The Scripture Concordance Program
[7] John 17:14
[8] Jacob 7:25
[9] Mosiah 2:41
[10] Mosiah 3:7
[11] Alma 7:20