Chastening, again, really?

We find in the Book of Mormon--Another Testament of Jesus Christ, in the book of Mosiah (one of 15 sections in that book of scripture), 23rd chapter and 21st verse: "Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith."

Are you kidding me?  You're telling me that after all the malarky that I have to go through in this life from friends, family, work, school, etc. that The Lord Almighty can't see how and what I will do from that alone?  Now He's got to try my patience and my faith?

Hold on...  I thought that He was not only an all knowing and a benevolent God.  So, what's the angle with the "trying" and "testing"?

Wait, wait, young son...  God is not only Kind and Loving and Patient and Long-suffering, but He is also infinitely charitable and doing what He does out of Love!  For He has told Moses, "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (1:39)"

In His love, we, His children don't and can't become all that we are to become without His testing-and-trying out of endless Love.  Not only do we have to meet a certain level of righteousness and spiritual stature and obedience through Christ's grace, but we have to know (not just a matter of confidence, but pure and unadulterated knowledge) that we can do anything with God's help; become anything with God's help; become like God with God's help.

That's what the scripture says, right?  Let's hear that again: "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."  In the Holy Bible it says something almost exactly like it: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."  Christ didn't give us any commandments that we couldn't do...  Did He?  Why even say it if He knew we couldn't do it?  Fact is: Jesus Christ never said or did one single thing that was inauthentic or misleading or deceitful, therefore, He knew that we could become perfect just like His and our Father--A God.

What?  Hold on!  You've gone too far...  Just wait a second...

But it says it right in the Bible!  Not only that, but in a verse of scripture read hundreds upon thousands of times by any bible-reading-person!

There it is...

JPS