Art Thou Greater Than He?

In one of the worst moments of his life, Joseph Smith cried out to God because he could not see him. Joseph had been cast into the pit and even the very jaws of hell were gaping open to devour him and his Lord was nowhere to be found. The Savior showed Joseph Smith and all of us exactly where He is in our deepest and darkest moments. “The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?” (D&C 122:8). Joseph had temporarily lost sight of Jesus Christ not because He was high up above and a pavilion had been placed between Him and Joseph, but rather because He had descended below, and Joseph had not yet sunk to his level. What was happening to Joseph was wrong and underserved and inexcusable. Joseph was innocent of any crime and was being punished and prevented from helping or protecting his people. So what? Because of all of the good he had done or all of the hardships that he had endured, should he be exempt from this tribulation? Was he more righteous or more innocent or more sensitive or vulnerable to the pain and suffering than was the Savior? Did his unique place in the restoration of the gospel or his position in the church mean that he deserved special consideration? Was he greater than Jesus Christ? It is a question that we must all ask ourselves. We are all perfectly willing to follow the Savior all the way to Heaven, but what if the path leads us into the very jaws of Hell? Do we think we are better than Jesus Christ and have earned the right to glide above the abyss of misery and endless woe, even as He wades through the pain and the agony all alone? If we are being pushed to our absolute limits and would that we might not partake and shrink from the bitter cup placed before us and are at the very edge of despair because we have looked up and all around us and cannot see our Savior in the midst of our most desperate hour, then maybe we need to start looking down. None of us want to prolong our suffering, but if down is the only way out, as terrifying as that prospect may be,

then having the meekness and the humility to descend further into the pit and submit to everything which the Lord sees fit to inflict upon us will not only show to our Savior that we do not consider ourselves greater or better or above Him and His suffering in any way, but it is actually the way that we can reunite ourselves with Him and have Him by our side to help us navigate these challenging times in our lives. Jesus Christ will never ask us to endure anything that He Himself has not suffered, but He may ask us to get as close as we possibly can, and who are we to refuse such an invitation. If we don't deserve some of the awful things we have been called upon to bear, then how much less did the Savior deserve such pain, and yet He meekly suffered it without complaint? I hope none of us ever feel that this or that trial is beneath us, but that instead we are willing to keep descending lower and lower until we have reached our Savior once more.