Hebrews 11:40 Joseph Smith Translation
Hebrews 11:40 JST – Without sufferings we could not be made perfect
Joseph Smith, in his translation of the Bible, restored some really powerful and critical knowledge to the KJV.
KJV: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Joseph Smith Translation: God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect.
For me, this is such a consoling doctrine, to know that our sufferings are not just bad luck or to make us miserable, but the opposite is actually true. We can only be made perfect through our sufferings. Two paths are opened up to us through our sufferings, either faith is lost or faith is gained and the process of perfection begins. We get to decide, it is up to me and it is up to you. I don’t know about you, but I want the better thing that God has provided for those who through suffering, overcome by faith and are made perfect.
Remember that this was the last verse of this powerful chapter on faith. It is the closing word spoken by Paul, declaring to the world and all people the importance of our sufferings to purify our faith and to perfect us to become like Christ and the Father, therefore inheriting all that the Father has.
Let us be ready to endure our sufferings with joy, knowing that they are refining us and bringing us to that glorious end.
Craig
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