Job

 Welcome!

When will humanity understand Job? (and at what price?)

Job is a strange book. many believe it is a parable and thought exercise in nature and that there was no original man named Job who had a similar story. members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have extra spice on taco in this debate because we we have God referencing Job to Joseph Smith in D&C 121. Was God referring to a man who existed once, or just using it in parable nature as well?

There are a few lessons we can learn from Job. Most of them can be useful but miss the mark. Here are a few of these types of lessons. Apologies in advance to those who have identified themselves with one of these types of lessons through some hard trial.

- whenever I'm down, I can remember that job was even more miserable and that should cheer me up.

- a better variant on this is to think of all the blessings you do have and focus on those.

-a slightly worse variant is to try and weigh blessings and trials in your mind and play mindgames to get the blessings (or trials in some cases) to weigh more.

-some people thing that our suffering is insignificant in all the creations of God, so why should we care about them. In a sense, it is insignificant compared to the eternal workings, but this is the FARTHEST from the truth from how God sees it. There is nothing insignificant to God about the slightest scratch you receive; even in His eternal creation of numberless worlds, every sorrow or setback you have is ingrained in the palms of His hands. So I wouldn't think this way.

- a lot of people say 'well if I suffer a lot now, it will eventually be better and I'll get a big reward at the end. Once again, not exactly wrong, but that isn't really the point of the story either.

- some people point to Satan's original argument and say the lesson is that we should be good not from any promise of reward or blessing we have, but because of our intrinsic nature. True, but you could have learned that without Job telling you.

- others say - if we just hold on to the thought of eternal life, we can endure all our suffering. 

There are many like this, some greater, some worse.

Job decided to end his book on this note.

1 Then Job answered the Lord, and said,

2 I know that thou canst ^ado ^bevery thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.

3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too ^awonderful for me, which I knew not.

4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.

6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ^aashes.

The lesson of  Job is dealing with the problem of pain and of how God and us relate to it. Job states here that he had no comprehension of the works of God through these trials, but now he understands they were part of a plan from God more marvelous and wonderful than what he could have conceived before and he is finally ready to learn.