In life, each person will face difficult trials, like the loss of a loved one, and sometimes traumatic experiences that could lead to long-term sadness. Each trial can become a learning experience that can help grow a testimony of Jesus Christ.
“God wants his children to be happy in this life and exalted in the next,” said Mat Miles, the system librarian at BYU-Idaho in his BYU-Idaho devotional talk. “He ministers and nurtures sinners, the poor, and the oppressed.”
Miles has worked in the David O. McKay Library since 1996 and periodically will teach in the Music and CIT departments as an adjunct faculty member. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music and his master’s degree in library and information science from Brigham Young University. Miles found inspiration to title his devotional talk “Expectations, Christian Living, and Belief” from a sacrament meeting a year ago where he was giving a talk based on people’s ideas of themselves, others and God. From that talk, he received insight that people sometimes have unrealistic expectations of God, others, and themselves which he touched on during his devotional.
Miles said, in moments of doubt and blindness it's easy to have unrealistic expectations. It can be difficult to see things as they really are. Miles offered simple suggestions in his devotional for listeners to be meek and magnify the Lord’s mercy.
“As we follow Christ’s example and repent of our sins, forgive others, and serve those in need, we deepen our faith in Him and our testimony of His gospel. We also learn to be more realistic and humbler in our expectations of ourselves, our fellow church members, and our Heavenly Father, knowing that we all fall short of perfection but can rely on his grace.”
Besides focusing on receiving revelation for realistic expectations, Miles said living the “Word of Wisdom” is a true principle.
“There is a spiritual benefit and a health benefit to living the Word of Wisdom,” Miles said in an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio. “There are all kinds of scientific evidence why it’s a true principle. For example, people who live the Word of Wisdom generally have better health and are in control of themselves. That’s something we strive for; we don’t want to take substances into our bodies that might lead us to do things that we will regret.”
Miles also provided positive affirmation to those struggling to honestly live the Word of Wisdom.
“We need to be welcoming to people who might be struggling with Word of Wisdom issues so that they feel like they are still welcomed at church,” he said. “We are all sinners, and that’s why we have our congregations and get together to strengthen each other. It’s not to exclude people who we think are not measuring up.”