Alma 34:41

But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions.

Hope is the antidote of despair. Afflictions may seem to fill our lives and consume our days and threaten to overwhelm us. But they are never permanent. God is always at the end of the tunnel. What afflictions teach us is patience. We will need patience in the celestial kingdom because we will have imperfect children to deal with for a very long time. This life is where we begin to learn the lessons of patience. The reward of patience is hope.

Second Nephi 4:26

O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?

Nephi asks searching, searing, introspective questions. In essence, he says his spirit is willing but his flesh is weak. Why do we give in and then get discouraged? Because it is our fallen mortal nature. Why do I fail every day? Because somewhere along the line every day I forget to lean on the Lord, and I try to operate on my own. The thing is, God wants us to learn self reliance and to be agents. But in this life we cannot walk many steps without his strong and steady hand. Like Peter, we may have the faith to get out of the boat, but when the storm rages and the waves are high, we get distracted. We catch ourselves sinking, and if we are wise, we call out to the Lord to save us. And every day he does save us.

Second Nephi 4:18

I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me.

"Beset" means to trouble or threaten persistently. Sin is a constant problem for as long as we are mortal. Paul says that sin is in his very flesh. Though his mind wants to obey God, his body rebels constantly. (See Hebrews 12:1, Romans 7:21.) If Paul and Nephi struggle with sin, how can the rest of us expect to escape unscathed? Not unscathed, but redeemed and healed through Christ. Though Nephi seems to be down on himself at the moment, he is about to remind us of the glorious hope of Christ.

Second Nephi 3:1

And now I speak unto you, Joseph, my last-born. Thou wast born in the wilderness of mine afflictions; yea, in the days of my greatest sorrow did thy mother bear thee.

The journey in the wilderness was no piece of cake for Lehi. He receive revelation that Laman and Lemuel would reject salvation. He saw Nephi suffer greatly at the hands of his older brothers. He saw his older sons attempt murder and lie and deny that they had seen an angel and heard the voice of God. Their constant murmuring made his life miserable. The contention that his older sons and the sons of Ishmael brought into the family caused Lehi to despair of life as they crossed the ocean on what, under the best of circumstances, must have been very trying circumstances. Lehi had been hungry and fatigued right along with the rest of his family. Despite having had marvelous revelations and glorious visions and the miracle of the Liahona, Lehi had not escaped the temporal trials of the wilderness.

Just because we have a testimony and are striving to keep the commandments, we are not exempt from the challenges of living a mortal life on a telestial earth. In fact, sometimes our very attempts to draw closer to the Lord qualify us for greater trials. The Lord tries his people. He wants us to be strong and patient and humble and meek. These attributes come only to those who have endured affliction. Thus, we should consider ourselves blessed when we are faced with troubles and sorrows. It means the Lord trusts us and is stretching us. This knowledge doesn't make the trials any less real, but it can bring a measure of peace to a troubled heart. We do not ever have to be alone.