4 Therefore, they must needs be chastened and
tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son.
or this quote from the Prophet:
"You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and (said he) God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God."
This always makes me think of horrible end-of-the-world cataclysms, or the more common, but equally earth shattering tragedies of losing a job, one's health, or a loved one to estrangement or death. And of course, those apply. But I'm beginning to understand that Abrahamic trials are specifically those afflictions that strike at our most vulnerable spots, that exploit our greatest weaknesses, and serve up seemingly impossible to solve problems. Things like personal prejudices, or dearly held but false family or cultural traditions that interfere with keeping the commandments, or deep disagreements with Church leaders, or offenses that come from trusted members who commit heinous crimes, or persecution and bullying from within our own ward family. Or any number of unfair, confusing, and painful challenges.
Perhaps at the top of this endless list are problems like addiction, abuse, same gender attraction, and mental illness.
I'm not trying to demean any one's pain by lumping it in with the whole "this life is a test" answer we sometimes get from well-meaning but insensitive friends and family. Most of us understand this already, and I'm pretty sure that phrase would've done little to relieve Father Abraham's turmoil as he led his beloved son up mount Moriah to be sacrificed by his own hand.
This test struck at Abraham's very core. Remember, his own father tried to murder him by having Abraham sacrificed to false gods. I don't know that he ever said this, but one can imagine him swearing he'd never do that to his children.
The courage and grandeur in Abraham's obedience comes in his willingness to obey divine direction even when, no especially when, he didn't understand why he was commanded to do such a difficult and contradicting thing. Hadn't God promised an infinite posterity through Isaac? Hadn't God worked a miracle to bring about the son's birth? Why kill him? How did that fit in with all the promises and prophecies? From Abraham's point of view it must've seemed a clear contradiction of what he'd learned from and about God.
Yet he was willing to do it in spite of all his confusion, questions, and possibly even some feeling of betrayal. Abraham trusted that God would still somehow fulfill His promises, and make things right, even if it required another miracle to do so.
In the end, is it really so surprising that God would permit trials in our lives that hacked at the very foundation of our faith in Him? I see it as part of the program. Even the Savior's suffering was beyond what he'd expected. We all love stories both true and fictional of heroes who face their worst nightmares and come out on top. Isn't this exactly what we're here for, as frightening as that is?
President Hinckley was very afraid of cancer, and though probably the most faithful man on earth at the time, he eventually got it. We shouldn't be surprised when God makes us face the worst or most difficult part of ourselves or of mortality for it is part of this training program we call mortality. D&C 101: 5 For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny
me, cannot be sanctified.
But the answer for how to handle Abrahamic trials comes from Abraham himself. We climb the mountain, do our best to cope with our doubts and pain, and push our unanswered questions to the side as we trust in God and His prophets. That's really the sum of our reason for being here - Will we stay faithful, regardless of what happens to us, inside us, or around us?
Abraham did and his trust in God was validated, and so will ours be. I know it.
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