I very much enjoy reading the back and forth discussions between Job (Old Testament) and his friends. Job was a very wise and wealthy man; a God fearing man. During Job’s time, “the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord. Satan came also among them. The Lord said unto Satan, “Whence comest thou?” and Satan said, “From to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it.” The Lord said unto Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect man, who feareth God and escheweth evil?” Satan came back saying, “Hast thou not built a hedge about him and his family, Thou hast blessed his hands and his substance, etc.” Satan said that if Job were to lose it all he would curse God to his face. And the Lord said, “All that he has is in thy power.” So, Lucifer was free to do what he desired to cause Job to curse His God. Satan began by taking away all of Job’s wealth, then his lands, then his cattle, the support from his friends and finally he took his children and their families. Job continued to be faithful while he was encouraged by his friends to curse his God. Yet, he would not. The debates, the accusations of his friends, even his wife encouraged him to blame God and to curse Him. With their discouraging remarks and their arguments they debated him and even tried to convince him that he actually was an evil person for, if he were not, instead of being cursed he would be blessed. Their arguments were good and very convincing. The philosophy of Jobs would be reformers soon degenerated into the belief that if you can’t make a person good, you have a duty to make him miserable. But Job would not curse God. There was not a more faithful man that ever walked the earth than was Job. Why was he being cursed? He knew not, but God in His wisdom knew. Wisdom, Job said, is fully understood only by God who “looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven.” Then he added: “And to man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, That is wisdom; and to depart from evil that is understanding.” Oh, that we could all have the patience, the faith, the understanding, the love of God that brother Job had.
Job was a visionary man as well, for it is in the Book of Job where we learn somewhat about our pre-earth life. Job saw us all, when we were called to stand before god, as spirit children, while God explained the Plan of Salvation. He told us how He created the earth whereon we were to dwell. We were to spend time here, to be tried and to see if we would be faithful and do all things that God commanded us while at the same time we were given agency to make choices, doing as we pleased. Job was one of the great one’s spoken of in the Book of Abraham 3:18-23, wherein He stated, “The Lord had shown me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was, and among all these were many of the noble and great ones.” Job was not mentioned there but I know with all my heart that Job was among the noble and great ones. Would God have said “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect man, who feareth God and escheweth evil. Had he not been among the great and noble ones, would he have been praised of God as he was? I, who am just a simple man, but one who loves God and who loves His noble and great ones, I would very much love the opportunity to meet and listen to Job, King Benjamin, Mosiah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah and many of the other great and noble ones.
My fear is that many of the youth growing up in today’s society, will never even have heard of these great men. Why? Because before they have that chance they will already understand that all things of the spirit are no longer relevant.
May God bless them to be introduced to the wisdom of the ages. To great and wise men and women of the spirit, those who can introduce them to God their Father.