“The Lord Was with Joseph,” Liahona, Mar. 2022.
Come, Follow Me
The Lord Was with Joseph
As we cycle through the highs and lows of life, we can learn a lot from the example of the ancient prophet Joseph.
Joseph Explaining Pharoah’s Dreams, by Jean Adrien Guignet, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen, France / Bridgeman Images
Several years ago, our family was excited when we learned that my wife, Terri, was expecting our fourth child. However, several months into the pregnancy, we learned that Terri had a potentially dangerous medical condition. The safest option was for her to be admitted to the hospital, where she could have constant care. She was confined to bed rest in an effort to continue the pregnancy as long as possible.
This became a dark and difficult time for our family, especially for Terri. She felt so alone. And I had the challenge of caring for three young children while working in my career and also serving as a bishop. Life seemed chaotic and difficult.
In her loneliness, Terri found solace in the words of a beautiful hymn:
I need thy presence ev’ry passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Thru cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me!1
The Lord Was with Us
Ultimately, emergency surgery was required to deliver our son Jace. But both mother and son were safely cared for because Terri was already in the hospital. We felt the Lord’s protection in our lives.
Jace was born four weeks early and placed in the newborn intensive care unit. We came home without our baby. During the month that followed, we made daily trips to the hospital. Life seemed to cycle to a low point.
Again, however, we witnessed the hand of the Lord. Jace progressed to the point where we were able to bring him home, a high point as we united as a family.
Then we learned that Jace had sagittal synostosis, a condition where the bones in the skull prematurely fuse together. The result is that a baby’s head cannot grow. The only treatment was to surgically remove a large portion of Jace’s skull when he was just three months old. We endured this challenge through prayer and priesthood blessings. Again we saw the hand of the Lord in our lives. Prayers were answered. Blessings were fulfilled. The surgery was a success. Life reached a high point once again.
What a roller-coaster ride! But the Lord taught us many lessons through this journey. We know He was with us along the way.
Joseph Had His Ups and Downs
Joseph Sold into Egypt, by William Brassey Hole, © Look And Learn / Bridgeman Images
As we study the life of Joseph in the Old Testament, we find that his life, too, was a journey from the highs to the lows and back to the highs of life. And we learn that the Lord was always with him, through both good and bad.
The coat that Jacob gave Joseph was a beautiful symbol of Jacob’s love for Joseph. But it also served as an irritating reminder to Joseph’s brothers of the relationship between Joseph and his father.
When the brothers went to feed their father’s flocks, Jacob asked Joseph to go check on them. Joseph went as requested. However, it appears he got lost along the way. So the Lord sent a man to give Joseph directions so that he could find his brothers (see Genesis 37:15–17).
When Joseph’s brothers conspired to slay him, it seems more than a coincidence that a caravan just happened to be passing by on the way to Egypt. Instead of killing Joseph, or leaving him to die in a pit, his brothers sold him to the caravan. (See Genesis 37:25-28.)
The Lord’s guidance was evident again when the caravan sold Joseph to Potiphar, a captain of Pharaoh’s guard. Even as a servant, Joseph turned every experience into something good. Potiphar made Joseph overseer of his house. He put all that he had into Joseph’s hands. (See Genesis 39:4.) Joseph had journeyed from a low point to a high point. He was now enjoying the opportunities and privileges of Potiphar’s house.
However, this high point didn’t last long. When Joseph fled the inappropriate advances of Potiphar’s wife, she accused him of immorality. Even though her accusation was false, Joseph could easily have been executed. It is remarkable that, instead, he was only put into prison. The hand of the Lord preserved Joseph again.
Remarkable Faith
If you had been the one unjustly thrown into prison, what would you have done? If any person had cause for discouragement and bitterness, it was Joseph. The vicious drop from high to low might easily have caused him to think, “What’s the use of trying to serve God? All He does is punish me.” But Joseph didn’t become bitter or blame the Lord, and he didn’t give up. His remarkable faith never faltered.
And even in the dark days of imprisonment, the Lord did not abandon Joseph. First, the Lord provided an opportunity for Joseph to interpret the butler’s and the baker’s dreams (see Genesis 40). Then, a few years later, when that led to the opportunity to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, Joseph acknowledged that the ability to do so came from God (see Genesis 41:16). Not only did Pharaoh restore Joseph, but also “he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt” (Genesis 41:43). After Joseph suffered and struggled for years, God enabled Joseph to become an influential person in the land, second only to Pharaoh—another high point in Joseph’s life.
God Means It for Our Good
Joseph eventually met his brothers again, those who had plotted against him and sold him into slavery. He could have been bitter. He could have blamed them for the “infuriating unfairness” they had inflicted on him.2
But Joseph realized that the ups and downs of his life were overseen by the Lord. His statement to his brothers provides insight into that understanding:
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
“Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them” (Genesis 50:20–21).
As we cycle through the highs and lows of life, what a great reminder, that God means it for our good. The Lord explained the same principle to a latter-day Joseph:
“If thou art called to pass through tribulation; …
“If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother … and thou be dragged to prison, …
“… Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (Doctrine and Covenants 122:5–7).
There Have Always Been Hardships
When Terri and I were going through our challenges, we found comfort in this statement from a prophet of God:
“I want you to know that there have always been some difficulties in mortal life, and there always will be. But knowing what we know, and living as we are supposed to live, there really is no place, no excuse, for pessimism and despair. …
“… I hope you won’t believe all the world’s difficulties have been wedged into your decade, or that things have never been worse than they are for you personally, or that they will never get better. I reassure you that things have been worse and they will always get better. They always do—especially when we live and love the gospel of Jesus Christ and give it a chance to flourish in our lives.”3
From the story of Joseph and from the unfortunate events in the world around us, it’s easy to see that bad things happen to good people. Righteous living does not mean we will avoid challenges and sadness in our lives. However, just as the Lord was with Joseph in his adversity, He will be with us. Trials will inevitably come. But if we go through them with a determination to hear Him, the Lord will guide and inspire us, just as he did Joseph.