That We May Know How To Succor
“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” (Alma 7:12). Christ willingly submitted Himself to the pains and afflictions of all the world because He wanted to know from personal experience how best to succor and give relief to His brothers and sisters when they were at their lowest. It is not fair or just or reasonable the many pains and tragedies that we are called to endure and we may ask why we must go through these torturous experiences. If we are honestly striving to be like Jesus, then the reason for our suffering is that we may know by personal experience how to succor and give aid to our brothers and sisters when they are at their lowest. We only make it through our trials by the grace of God and through the network of faith and love-filled individuals on both sides of the veil who earnestly pray for and aid us in getting through our trials. But once we have passed through the fiery crucible of affliction, we come out the other side with personal experience of that specific kind of struggle and we are able to then succor and give relief to others who must pass through similar trials. Why do we have hard times? So we can learn how to succor those who must pass through similar hard times. Knowing that our experience will enable us to help others who must go through a similar trial - whether that be dealing with cancer, or losing a loved one, or wrestling with depression - such knowledge can give us hope and can lighten the burdens we must bear. If we truly are seeking to be more like the Savior, then we will cheerfully and faithfully submit to the trials and hardships that we are called to bear, knowing that through our personal experience we will have the power to help our brothers and sisters in ways that would have been impossible had we not experienced it ourselves.
