1836 Temple Dedication to 1837 Trials

 

The Blessings of 1836 and the Difficulties of 1837

By Matthew J. Grow

Church History Department

The Lessons of 1836–37

Why remember the tragedy of 1837 and not just the triumph of 1836? Because, of course, the two can never be separated. It is such in our own lives. God grants all of us periods of spiritual blessings, times when He speaks to our souls and leads us by the hand along the covenant path. He grants us periods of stability, times in which we have enough and to spare, times in which our families are healthy and happy, times in which our friends are close at hand and commune with us. We all live through times that are like 1836.

But God never promised that we would only experience 1836. For each of us, 1837 comes. It comes with economic instability, when we worry about where money will come from. It comes with personal instability, when our families suffer from sudden illnesses, chronic diseases, depression, or anxiety. It comes with social instability, when our friends drift away or betray us.

If we don’t remember our own 1836 experiences—our own times in which we have felt the Lord’s hands in our lives—1837 might bring spiritual instability. It can tempt us to say, “This isn’t worth it.” It can tempt us to say, “God doesn’t love me.” It can tempt us to say, “Joseph Smith wasn’t a prophet” or “President Nelson isn’t a prophet of God.” It can tempt us to say, “The covenant path is not for me.”

But if we do the spiritual work of remembering and dwelling spiritually in 1836 even as we experience the trials of 1837, we can still be grounded in our faith in Jesus Christ, we can still know that God loves us, and we can still know that the Restoration of the gospel and Church of Jesus Christ is real and that the Lord leads His Church through His chosen servants.