The Role of Friends

I was reading Job this morning; now how many different blog posts could be made about this one story? Dozens. But, most of them have been taught pretty exhaustively. What I want to focus on today is the role of Job's friends in the story, and what the Lord has taught us about friends.

After Job loses his livestock and family in Job 1, he then is covered in boils in chapter 2. In Job 2:11, an important occurrence happens:

"Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place... for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him to comfort him."

Then in verse 13, after they find Job, who is almost unrecognizable at this point, we read:

"So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was great."

In later chapters, his friends each counsel and comfort Job, one by one. We rightfully applaud Job for his ability to not forget God in the midst of his trials, but we forget that in chapter three, he asks, "Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?" Clearly he was at a very low point in his life, and it was undoubtedly getting to him. If it wasn't for the loving advice of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, this story might have turned out very differently.

As usual, the Savior is the perfect example of friendship. Right after He admonished His disciples to "love one another," he said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man may lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Perhaps we will never be faced with this ultimate test of friendship, but what will
we sacrifice? Will we serve our neighbors? Will we compliment our peers? Will we, as Job's friends, set our own lives aside to be there to mourn alongside a friend?

It often sounds daunting to be such a friend. It sure seems like a lot of work! President Gordon B. Hinckley, though, said otherwise:

"Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others...By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.”

Jesus certainly never seemed in the least bit irritated by someone asking for his help. In Luke 8, He completely stalled His trip to Jairus' daughter to help the woman who had an issue of blood.

I love C.S. Lewis's statement:

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value. Rather, it is one of those things that give value to survival."

I know for me, my friends have been everything. I am a part of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity back at Utah State University. My brothers there have changed my life entirely. While on my mission, I have repeatedly gone to my SigEp brothers for advice and comfort; they've been where I have, and love me enough to help me when I need it. To know that I have friends, just as Joseph Smith, who "do stand by [me], and they shall hail [me] again with warm hearts and friendly hands" (Doctrine and Covenants 121:9) is a tremendous comfort to me. It makes my stress and frustration on my mission seem entirely bearable.

I hope you, like I did this morning, will commit to setting aside your own issues at times to reach out to others. Like President Hinckley said in the above quote, when we really start looking out for others, our own pains and sorrows seem miniscule, because we get so caught up in service and love. I am extremely thankful for my friends, and for the Savior who is my perfect example in this new commitment.