Ultimately, people who can't find satisfying answers to these questions will many times end up blaming God for allowing such unfair things to happen or, alternatively, decide that these injustices indicate that there is no God at all because if a loving God really did exist, He surely wouldn't allow these sorts of gross injustices to occur in the first place. People who arrive at this conclusion seem to believe God's primary role in our lives should be to relieve suffering and constantly ensure and facilitate justice and equity at all times. In their mind, then, God is either derelict in His duty or non-existent.
If our faith in God and in His purposes, so far as we are concerned, will not allow us to believe that He is remiss in his duty nor banish Him from existence, then we must find some middle ground which allows God to both exist and love His children despite the fact that He does indeed allow bad things to happen all the time...even to those least deserving of the heartache, loss, and suffering this implies.
Once we get to the point in our faith that we can no longer deny God's existence, then an understanding of this question becomes very important because of what it can potentially reveal about God Himself and about the nature of this life in which we find ourselves. If God really is there, then, given the fact that this life presents most people with a healthy dose of loss, injustice, and even suffering, one of the following things must be true about God.
- God really doesn't care about or love us. At best, He takes only a casual interest in us, but is unmotivated generally to compassion. The worst case here is that He doesn't love us at all which is so entirely contrary to the scriptures that if they are true, and I testify that this is so, then this notion of a God who is casual in his dealings with His children or worse yet, unloving of them, can be immediately dismissed as false and misguided. Beyond the scriptures, there are so many examples and witnesses of God's personal loving touch in my own life that for me to assert such a thing about God would be blasphemous.
- Although God loves us, He is incapable of helping us through this life and, therefore, must stand as an idle witness to the suffering and injustices this life poses to His children. Again, this isn't the God I know or believe exists. The God I know has all power and knowledge and is capable of doing all things for the benefit of His children who He loves.
- The only point remaining, then, is that if God is neither indifferent nor uncaring and is empowered to act in our lives, then there must be a high purpose and meaning in the things He allows us to suffer. Simply put, our suffering is no mistake and is, ironically, a manifestation of God's love for us.
If God really does exist then either He loves us or He does not. If we conclude that God does indeed love us, then we must also realize that the suffering, inequities and trials He allows us to face in this life serve a high purpose and were intentionally woven into the fabric from which this world was created.
If this is true, then, the Lord never intended this life to be the utopian paradise we seemingly demand when we ask questions such as those posed above and we must, therefore, conclude that there are valuable things to be gained from the truly difficult times common to our present condition. And, although I don't believe the Lord takes any delight in the things we suffer, perhaps they pave the way forward to the more noble attributes that God desires we develop and which, perhaps, can be gained in no other way.
Surely wisdom and perspective are among the attributes available to those who experience this life fully, both the good and the bad. Until we are really tested, none of us knows for sure what we can and can not accomplish in this life and, therefore, our trials and hardships afford us an amazing education, imparting knowlege, assurance and an awareness of self which we otherwise would not have.
Gratitude and compassion are godly traits which may be difficult or even impossible to develop outside the context of our own trials. Love, one of the defining attributes of the Lord takes its foundation from traits such as these which can be garnered from the things we suffer and expressed as we reach out through the compassion we naturally feel for others who are facing challenges similar to those we have already faced and from which we have already learned the lessons of love.
Faith and patience are also made possible and strengthened through trials and difficulties. It is in the depth of my trials that my own faith in God is honed and sharpened as I reach out to Him for support, comfort, and courage. Many times it is when I suffer most in this life that I feel closest to God and am most able to receive his support and mercy. And, each time I come out the other side with God's help, with the perspective I've gained by passing through my trials, I see wisdom and growth and understand in part some of God's purposes in allowing me to pass through them...not alone, but with His guidance and help.
Real character may not be entirely shaped by our trials alone, but they surely reveal it. It is at our most distressing moments, when everything else is stripped away, that our true nature and character are revealed. Our trials can serve as the reinforcing cement which holds our values together, strengthening them and giving them context and a firm foundation, having been truly tested and tried. Our trials become personal victories and a satisfying strength and experience from which we can council and help others.
My father is a man who was faced with some truly difficult challenges. I remember when I was very young that I sort of feared my father. He never physically hurt me, but sometimes he would be very disappointed in my behavior. I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to please him and at times, he raised his voice in frustration. He was very strict and had very little patience and I was constantly getting into trouble with him.
But, having said that, what you have to understand about my father, and something I didn't appreciate until I was much older, is that through most of his adult life, due to a very rare disease, he was in constant pain. And not the gentle kind of pain that most of us suffer occasionally, but the really distressing and persistent sort reserved for only a very few. Doctors constantly prescribed narcotic based pain killers which would have afforded a measure of relief, but he would never take them out of a fear of becoming addicted. And so, he endured the pain as best he could and at times, his agony spilled over into the way he dealt with me and my siblings.
But as time went on, his very nature began to change, not because the nature of his pain changed, but because he had become a stronger better person. He made conscious choices to not allow his pain to negatively impact his relationship with his family. By the time I was a teenager, when his pain became too much for him to handle politely, he would apologize and dismiss himself to deal with it alone and on his own terms. He almost never raised his voice to me or anyone else by that time. He had learned to take control of himself despite the pain he suffered. By the time he passed away, I know his pain was, at times, severe, but he had become the truly gentle and concerned parent any child would be lucky to have.
Not all of my siblings feel the same way I do about my father although most of them do. Sometimes the hurt which is thrust upon us when we are young is difficult to shake and put in the past where it belongs.
The type of suffering experienced by my father throughout most of his life was related to the fact that our bodies are imperfect and susceptible to disease and aging, both of which bring their own particular flavors of trials and suffering. But there is another type of suffering which presents even more challenges and is complicated by the fact that the suffering results from the actions taken by another. This type of trial can be the most difficult to surmount because to really get past it entirely, on top of everything else, forgiveness is required.
The Lord allows these types of injustices to occur because He allows us all the right to make our own choices in this life. To protect the innocent from those who exercise their agency unrighteously would require God to interfere with our ability to choose. If the only choice we have is to choose what is right, then, there is no choice at all, and our agency would be reduced to something so trivial that it would have no value. And since it is through our agency that real growth and progress are possible, God allows us to retain this precious gift despite the fact that many times it is used unrighteously to hurt others.
If this is true, then, the Lord never intended this life to be the utopian paradise we seemingly demand when we ask questions such as those posed above and we must, therefore, conclude that there are valuable things to be gained from the truly difficult times common to our present condition. And, although I don't believe the Lord takes any delight in the things we suffer, perhaps they pave the way forward to the more noble attributes that God desires we develop and which, perhaps, can be gained in no other way.
Surely wisdom and perspective are among the attributes available to those who experience this life fully, both the good and the bad. Until we are really tested, none of us knows for sure what we can and can not accomplish in this life and, therefore, our trials and hardships afford us an amazing education, imparting knowlege, assurance and an awareness of self which we otherwise would not have.
Gratitude and compassion are godly traits which may be difficult or even impossible to develop outside the context of our own trials. Love, one of the defining attributes of the Lord takes its foundation from traits such as these which can be garnered from the things we suffer and expressed as we reach out through the compassion we naturally feel for others who are facing challenges similar to those we have already faced and from which we have already learned the lessons of love.
Faith and patience are also made possible and strengthened through trials and difficulties. It is in the depth of my trials that my own faith in God is honed and sharpened as I reach out to Him for support, comfort, and courage. Many times it is when I suffer most in this life that I feel closest to God and am most able to receive his support and mercy. And, each time I come out the other side with God's help, with the perspective I've gained by passing through my trials, I see wisdom and growth and understand in part some of God's purposes in allowing me to pass through them...not alone, but with His guidance and help.
Real character may not be entirely shaped by our trials alone, but they surely reveal it. It is at our most distressing moments, when everything else is stripped away, that our true nature and character are revealed. Our trials can serve as the reinforcing cement which holds our values together, strengthening them and giving them context and a firm foundation, having been truly tested and tried. Our trials become personal victories and a satisfying strength and experience from which we can council and help others.
My father is a man who was faced with some truly difficult challenges. I remember when I was very young that I sort of feared my father. He never physically hurt me, but sometimes he would be very disappointed in my behavior. I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to please him and at times, he raised his voice in frustration. He was very strict and had very little patience and I was constantly getting into trouble with him.
But, having said that, what you have to understand about my father, and something I didn't appreciate until I was much older, is that through most of his adult life, due to a very rare disease, he was in constant pain. And not the gentle kind of pain that most of us suffer occasionally, but the really distressing and persistent sort reserved for only a very few. Doctors constantly prescribed narcotic based pain killers which would have afforded a measure of relief, but he would never take them out of a fear of becoming addicted. And so, he endured the pain as best he could and at times, his agony spilled over into the way he dealt with me and my siblings.
But as time went on, his very nature began to change, not because the nature of his pain changed, but because he had become a stronger better person. He made conscious choices to not allow his pain to negatively impact his relationship with his family. By the time I was a teenager, when his pain became too much for him to handle politely, he would apologize and dismiss himself to deal with it alone and on his own terms. He almost never raised his voice to me or anyone else by that time. He had learned to take control of himself despite the pain he suffered. By the time he passed away, I know his pain was, at times, severe, but he had become the truly gentle and concerned parent any child would be lucky to have.
Not all of my siblings feel the same way I do about my father although most of them do. Sometimes the hurt which is thrust upon us when we are young is difficult to shake and put in the past where it belongs.
The type of suffering experienced by my father throughout most of his life was related to the fact that our bodies are imperfect and susceptible to disease and aging, both of which bring their own particular flavors of trials and suffering. But there is another type of suffering which presents even more challenges and is complicated by the fact that the suffering results from the actions taken by another. This type of trial can be the most difficult to surmount because to really get past it entirely, on top of everything else, forgiveness is required.
The Lord allows these types of injustices to occur because He allows us all the right to make our own choices in this life. To protect the innocent from those who exercise their agency unrighteously would require God to interfere with our ability to choose. If the only choice we have is to choose what is right, then, there is no choice at all, and our agency would be reduced to something so trivial that it would have no value. And since it is through our agency that real growth and progress are possible, God allows us to retain this precious gift despite the fact that many times it is used unrighteously to hurt others.
Remember too that God Himself is not unaquainted with suffering, loss, injustice, persecution or any of the other difficulties of this life (Isaiah 53:3-5). He suffered many of these things while He yet walked among us, and He suffered all of them in their infinite complexity and variety as He worked out our salvation through the atonement at immeasurable personal cost, pain and suffering to himself. (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19) The atonement is the definitive argument for and proof of God's love for His children. Never has anything ever been done so selflessly for the good and salvation of so many. There never was a more unjust thing to ever happen to anyone than when a life so pure and innocent as that of the Lord's was taken in such a cruel and merciless manner for crimes He never committed.
The atonement is proof that suffering can, ironically, serve a high purpose and be of great benefit in bringing about God's loving and merciful purposes to His children. We who benefit most from this great irony, that the things Christ suffered provides the mercy and escape upon which we rely, should be the last to argue against this point. And if God's own suffering, and the injustices which He bore with such unmatched grace and dignity provide the sweet fruit of mercy and forgiveness, then isn't it possible that our trials, and the injustices we face in this life, when born well, might also produce a sweetness and a reward in our own lives which, perhaps, can be gained in no other way? And, could it be for this reason, that through opposition we might taste the sweet fruit it offers, and experience the strengthening of character our suffering provides, that God, ironically, and mercifully, allows us to pass through our trials without removing them from us?
Our trials can strengthen us and help us become more wise and capable in our desires to serve others because they give us valuable experiences we can draw upon to help those who face similar challenges. They can also soften our heart toward others and allow us to feel compassion for and a desire not to judge them, but to help them through and out of their trials.
I know that some of you, after reading my post to this point, feel that I've entirely missed the point of the original questions and that questions of this magnitude are meant to address the larger problems of suffering caused by war, fammine, poverty and natural disasters such as floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and others which cause whole populations of people pain and suffering.
Some of the problems listed above are of our own making and things that a moral society would strive to abolish. These things fall under the purview of agency and the Lord will allow us to choose them, if we wish, without interfering. But the responsability for unrighteous choices such as these, that cause so much suffering, will stand as a bright testimony against those who make these choices, and against us as well if we don't try to avoid them and to relieve the suffering they cause when avoidance of these things lies outside our own power to influence or control. War and poverty fit into this category and even fammine in many cases is caused by our, society's, unwise or unrighteous choices.
Natural disasters are, many times, ascribed to God. But, even when not directly attributed to Him, many wonder why He allows such things to negatively affect His children, who He professes to love. Beyond the answers already given about the nature and purpose of suffering, I have nothing else to offer except to say that these events certainly offer a great opportunity to express our love and concern for our brothers and sisters affected by such disasters as we collectively reach out to them to minister to their relief. This may not be the most satisfying answer, but surely it fits among some of God's purposes in allowing such things. I will be the first to admit that I don't have all the answers, especially when the questions are this big, but I do know there is a God, and that he does, indeed, love me and all of mankind in very real and personal ways.
It takes great faith and courage to face many of the challenges this life poses. My faith in God and in His loving nature strengthens me and gives me courage to continue even when I know that I, personally can't go on alone. I know He is there to help me through my trials and to even shoulder some of their weight when that is required. He has never let me down and I know He loves me. My faith is that my trials and challenges are part of God's plan to ultimately help me become a better person and to develop a character within me which will ultimately enrich my life and bring me happiness and joy. I pray that my faith won't fail me as new challenges make their way into my life. Some of the challenges I have faced have been very difficult, but with God's help, have not become insurmountable.
I also pray that I might be wise enough to spend my time in this life trying to relieve the suffering and lessening the trials of others. In doing so, I believe that I will be doing the work God intends me to do and will find myself in His service. Won't you join me in this service? We may not be able to fully explain all of the suffering of this life, but we can play a part in relieving it. Let's try to bring hope, comfort, and friendship to others as we minister to their needs.
For most of us there is a balance to this life where the happy and beautiful moments are not overpowered by our trials and challenges. This is certainly not true for some of God's children and it is therefore our duty and a moral obligation to try to restore that balance to the lives of those who suffer whenever we can. We may not be able to do all things necessary to accomplish this, but there are things each of us can do. May we all be found doing what we can.
Our trials can strengthen us and help us become more wise and capable in our desires to serve others because they give us valuable experiences we can draw upon to help those who face similar challenges. They can also soften our heart toward others and allow us to feel compassion for and a desire not to judge them, but to help them through and out of their trials.
I know that some of you, after reading my post to this point, feel that I've entirely missed the point of the original questions and that questions of this magnitude are meant to address the larger problems of suffering caused by war, fammine, poverty and natural disasters such as floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and others which cause whole populations of people pain and suffering.
Some of the problems listed above are of our own making and things that a moral society would strive to abolish. These things fall under the purview of agency and the Lord will allow us to choose them, if we wish, without interfering. But the responsability for unrighteous choices such as these, that cause so much suffering, will stand as a bright testimony against those who make these choices, and against us as well if we don't try to avoid them and to relieve the suffering they cause when avoidance of these things lies outside our own power to influence or control. War and poverty fit into this category and even fammine in many cases is caused by our, society's, unwise or unrighteous choices.
Natural disasters are, many times, ascribed to God. But, even when not directly attributed to Him, many wonder why He allows such things to negatively affect His children, who He professes to love. Beyond the answers already given about the nature and purpose of suffering, I have nothing else to offer except to say that these events certainly offer a great opportunity to express our love and concern for our brothers and sisters affected by such disasters as we collectively reach out to them to minister to their relief. This may not be the most satisfying answer, but surely it fits among some of God's purposes in allowing such things. I will be the first to admit that I don't have all the answers, especially when the questions are this big, but I do know there is a God, and that he does, indeed, love me and all of mankind in very real and personal ways.
It takes great faith and courage to face many of the challenges this life poses. My faith in God and in His loving nature strengthens me and gives me courage to continue even when I know that I, personally can't go on alone. I know He is there to help me through my trials and to even shoulder some of their weight when that is required. He has never let me down and I know He loves me. My faith is that my trials and challenges are part of God's plan to ultimately help me become a better person and to develop a character within me which will ultimately enrich my life and bring me happiness and joy. I pray that my faith won't fail me as new challenges make their way into my life. Some of the challenges I have faced have been very difficult, but with God's help, have not become insurmountable.
I also pray that I might be wise enough to spend my time in this life trying to relieve the suffering and lessening the trials of others. In doing so, I believe that I will be doing the work God intends me to do and will find myself in His service. Won't you join me in this service? We may not be able to fully explain all of the suffering of this life, but we can play a part in relieving it. Let's try to bring hope, comfort, and friendship to others as we minister to their needs.
For most of us there is a balance to this life where the happy and beautiful moments are not overpowered by our trials and challenges. This is certainly not true for some of God's children and it is therefore our duty and a moral obligation to try to restore that balance to the lives of those who suffer whenever we can. We may not be able to do all things necessary to accomplish this, but there are things each of us can do. May we all be found doing what we can.
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