Job 21–24; 38–40; 42

Have you ever asked yourself these questions?

1. “I must be doing everything wrong. Why else is life so hard for me?”

2. “If I’m following the gospel, why am I not able to avoid trials and suffering?”

3. “I thought God loved me. Why is He making my life so difficult?”

4. “If God is real, why doesn’t He stop people’s suffering?”

During Job’s trials, he had three friends visit him. Job and his friends tried to determine the reasons for his suffering. They might have asked similar questions of Job while trying to understand his trials.

Studying divinely appointed sources can invite the Holy Ghost into our learning. Pay attention to insights He might teach you as you read the scriptures and statements in this lesson. Consider how these insights could help others answer questions about their trials. Doing so might help you gain greater understanding of your own trials.

Read Job 19:6–11, and mark phrases that show what Job assumed was the source of his trials. Then read Job 22:5–10, and mark what his friend Eliphaz assumed were the causes of Job’s struggles.

We often make similar assumptions. However, God soon showed Job that both men’s assumptions about the source of trials were wrong.

As Job continued struggling through his trials, God spoke to him. God asked Job many questions about the creation of the world, which Job could not answer (see Job 38–41).

Read Job 38:4–7, looking for examples of the questions God asked Job.

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained God’s response to Job’s inability to answer Him:

It was as if God had patiently and kindly said to Job, “If you cannot answer even one of my questions about the earth that I have created, is it possible that eternal laws exist that you do not understand? Are there assumptions you have made that are invalid? Do you understand my motives and how my plan of salvation and exaltation works? And can you foresee your future destiny?”

God in His wisdom knows that a vital part of our mortal experience is to not know everything. There is something about trusting Him that allows us to progress to become like Him. (“Trust God and Let Him Prevail,” Liahona, Aug. 2022, 5)

Read Job 42:1–6, looking for Job’s response to the Lord.

Next to Job 42:2–3, create a note with this truth: God can help us view our trials with an eternal perspective.

Job acknowledged his limited understanding compared with God’s knowledge, and Job changed the way he viewed his trials. He came to know his suffering was not a result of sin or divine punishment. God blessed Job greatly at the end of his life (see Job 42:12–13).

Review the following study options. Complete one or more.

Option A

How can I better understand the purpose of trials?

We might not always understand the reasons for our challenges. However, the Lord has provided divine sources that can help us view our trials with an eternal perspective.

Read the following scripture passages. Create at least one tag for each passage that summarizes what it teaches in one to three words.

• Job 23:10

• John 9:1–3

• 2 Nephi 2:11

• Doctrine and Covenants 122:7

Sister Michelle D. Craig taught:

When hard times come, I try to remember that I chose to follow Christ before I came to earth and that challenges to my faith, my health, and my endurance are all part of the reason I’m here. And I certainly should never think that today’s trial calls into question God’s love for me or let it turn my faith in Him into doubt. Trials do not mean that the plan is failing; they are part of the plan meant to help me seek God. I become more like Him when I endure patiently, and hopefully, like Him, when in agony, I pray more earnestly (see Luke 22:44). (“Wholehearted,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 61–62)

Option B

How can I help others through their trials?

Imagine a friend comes to you while going through some hard trials and asks one of the four questions from the start of the lesson. Choose one to respond to. Record the question in your notebook.

Search Gospel Library using words such as “adversity” and “trials.” Study to gain additional insights to help you respond to the question you picked.

Under the question in your notebook, record a response to your friend. Include what you learned from your study and from Job’s experience.

Lesson Purpose: To help you guide others to see their trials from an eternal perspective.

Share one or more of the following with your teacher or class:

• How you have seen the truth of the teachings you studied in your own trials.

• What you learned from your study that could help someone gain an eternal perspective.

• Something specific you did to achieve the purpose of this lesson.

• Any questions this lesson raised for you. How will you try to find answers to your questions?