I always love a good story, whether it be true or not, if it has a moral to it. The story I am about to tell is supposed to be true, as it was told to members by their stake president, during a stake conference several years ago.
The story has its setting in a (somewhere) Relief Society scripture study group. The group had been studying the Old Testament and were near the end, reading in Malachi 3:2–3, “But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiners fire, and like fullers soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” The sisters wondered what was meant by “he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”
One of the sisters said that she knew a silversmith and that she would go ask him what was meant by the verse. The next week she went to visit her friend, the silversmith, and asked him what the process was in order to purify silver? He explained that the silver ore was placed in a metal container and placed in the furnace at a very high but prescribed temperature. The silversmith must sit in front of the furnace and watch as the silver slowly melts and separates from the ore. The reason he must sit there, he explained, is so that the silver doesn’t get too hot. If it gets too hot, it will be ruined or at least become a second grade silver. The silversmith must remove it from the furnace at a precise time.
That explanation seemed to satisfy the question and the sister prepared to leave and as she was walking towards her car the silver smith came to the door and said, “By the way, I forgot to tell you how we know when it is the right time to remove the silver from the furnace. We sit in front of the furnace at the open door and as the silver melts away from the ore and puddles in the container, we wait until we can see our image in the silver and that is when we know it is ready to remove from the furnace. That is why they must sit in front of the furnace. Is it not true that, ‘all things testify of Christ’? Alma 5:14, “And now behold I ask of you my Brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have you received his image in your countenances?”
Not only must the sons of Levi be purged, but we all must be purged. When the Refiner sits before His furnace (presumably this world is where we are tried) and sees His image in our countenances than He will know that we are ready to enter into His rest. His image can be found in our image if we are obedient, loving, and charitable to all.