The Patience of Job

I recently thought that I should start writing on my blog and luckily I have come up with 3 things to write about. I'll start with Job, then move to the other items in later posts.

I have been reading the Book of Job in the Bible again recently. I've noticed some things about Job's patience and what it means. About a month ago I was also sitting in a Sunday School class in church and we were discussing Doctrine and Covenants Section 121. In this section Joseph Smith prays to God and pleads for help and asks "O God, where art thou?" (v1) etc. God then answers him. Well in class some people said that the Lord was gently chastising Joseph. They said that God says "Thou art not yet as Job.." v10 in a rebuke, basically saying that Job took his persecutions without complaining and questioning so so should Joseph Smith. I didn't and don't like this interpretation and in re-reading Job I have a very good reason for my belief.

I don't think those who made comments about D&C 121 had read Job or at least not recently. Job loses everything in the first two chapters and then he does a lot of questioning. Here are some examples:

Why died I not from the womb?.. ch3 v11

Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I longed for! Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!" ch 6 v 8-9

Job clearly wants to die and he asks God why he has to go through these things. It isn't faithless. He doesn't curse God. But Job knows he is righteous and asks why these things are then happening to him.

Those people who said that God was rebuking Joseph Smith might want to be careful in what they say. God says that JS is not yet as Job because his friends still stand by him. What did Job's friends do? They criticized him for complaining or pleading with God.

Job's patience wasn't that he kept quiet when going through trials. He questioned and pleaded and struggled and suffered through his afflictions. He tried to understand why God would allow such things to happen to him. This wasn't faithless asking. He cursed the day he was born but didn't curse God. He asked why but didn't turn away from God. If we are to have the patience of Job we can do the deep thinking, soul searching, pondering and pleading that Job did. Job questions a lot but he also says "I know that my redeemer liveth" ch19 v25 and asserts that even after his sicknesses destroy his body, he dies and worms destroy his corpse that he will be resurrected and see God. This isn't wrong. Joseph Smith's pleadings weren't impatient or wicked. God's answer was a merciful answer, not a soft rebuke. Saying that JS was not yet as Job was giving comfort that although it certainly was bad, God wasn't going to let it get that bad.