Adversity and Suffering

Volume Three—Chapter One ADVERSITY AND SUFFERING

Our discussion of adversity and suffering will be divided into two chapters. This chapter will consider the definitions of adversity and suffering and the categorization of adversities. The following chapter will consider the important roles of suffering in our lives.

#Freedoms and Adversity

Knowledge of the concept of freedom (liberty) is fundamental to understanding adversity. Freedom is most easily understood when it is contrasted with agency. Agency is the right and power to choose among available alternatives. Freedom is the benefit and blessing of having abundant alternatives from which to choose.1 Each intelligence in God’s universe has always possessed agency. It is an eternal entitlement and need not be earned, nor can it ever be taken away. In contrast, most freedoms—those beyond the most basic level—must be earned. What do freedoms have to do with adversity?

Our initial task in this chapter is to look more closely at those phenomena we call freedoms. We will then examine the relationship between freedoms and adversity.

#Freedoms Revisited

Freedom and the laws of God. When we consider the laws of God, we usually think first of the commandments of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are familiar with most of them. We have read of them in the scriptures and hear about them every Sunday in church meetings. They are often on our minds. We are almost constantly aware of them. An important part of our lives is striving to obey them and measuring ourselves against them.

Do the Lord’s commandments provide guidance for the secular as well as the spiritual aspects of our mortal lives? Do they apply to every facet or only the most important questions and issues? We may expand the concept of the laws of God. God created his “worlds without number” (Moses 1:33), peopled them with his children, and provided for all his offspring a comprehensive formula for returning to him. This formula consists of his “laws.” Many of these laws have been spoken by the prophets, including the mortal Jesus Christ, and recorded in scripture. But others remain unspoken and unwritten. We refer to all of God’s laws as truths. Everything that is true, wholesome, moral, ethical, and right is included in the laws of God. These laws or truths apply universally to every facet of the lives of men. When a man lives his life according to truth, he is responsive to and obedient to the laws of God. His obedience leads to everexpanding opportunities or freedoms in both secular and spiritual realms. The only way he can acquire worthwhile and abiding freedoms is to live according to truth. If he rejects truth and lives in ways contrary to God’s laws—contrary to truth—he fails to earn those freedoms and even loses those he already has. While many of these truths are available to read in scripture, some details are available only through the promptings of the Spirit. And these promptings are available only to those who are worthy of them. The Lord said: “I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:5). As a parenthetical note, the impersonal pronoun “it” in this verse refers to the influence of the Holy Ghost and not to the man himself. The latter may appropriately be referred to only using the personal pronoun “he.”

The relationship between freedoms and truths is an intimate one. Truths are the foundation and basis of freedoms. A man who obeys a law of God earns the blessing of receiving an increment of the attributes of Christ—a gift of the Spirit. By this process he becomes a new person, a little more like God, and a little more free—he possesses a little more freedom. While it is true that more is then expected of him (D&C 82:3), other laws of God are also opened to him. Obedience to these brings yet more and more opportunities or freedoms.

“Primer level” freedoms available to us as entitlements. As our mortal experience begins, most all of us are presented with a few fundamental freedoms without our having to earn them. As we are born into mortality, these come to us as entitlements—free of charge and without any effort of our own. As examples, let us consider a couple of these free gifts.

The Lord cares about our physical mortal bodies. He desires that we diligently care for them. He has given us commandments to guide us in that process (D&C 89; 88:124). The spiritually intuitive individual will sense laws of God applicable to physical health above and beyond these few scriptural commandments. He will intuitively come to know how he should eat, sleep, work, rest, and exercise.

At birth, most mortals are born with good (“normal”) health. Most children are free to be physically comfortable. They are able to sit or stand and move about freely, as they wish. They are free from pain or illness, and they feel energetic and not excessively fatigued. We may regard these freedoms as entitlements. The children did not have to obey laws of God in order to receive them.

It should be noted—and this is true of all such entitlements—that some are born without them, and others may initially receive them and then see them taken away through no fault of their own.

These basic freedoms are received initially as free gifts. This level of good health, physical comfort, and freedom to move about is only a beginning—a “primer”— level freedom. It may be preserved and expanded only when deliberate effort is made to obey the laws of God concerning physical health. The individual who is diligent in caring for his health, will usually maintain his normal health and even achieve increased levels of well-being, comfort, and energy. He who does not exert deliberate effort to retain his initial state of good health is likely to lose these freedoms. He will lose that level of good health and comfort with which he was born. Obviously the age of our mortal body enters into the equation. The natural deterioration of bodily functions with age impacts our physical comfort. But at any given age, we optimize our state of health by obeying the laws of God. Also, at any age, those guilty of careless dietary or sleep habits, sedentary activity habits, using tobacco or excessive alcohol, or using drugs (prescription and illicit) will forfeit their entitlement.

Another fundamental, primer-level, freedom that comes to most as an entitlement is that of normal emotional health. Most are born and reared enveloped in maternal love which often seems to have a near divine quality. Most also benefit from other loving family associations. These beneficent influences start the child out with some measure of security, emotional comfort, happiness, feelings of loving and being loved, and self esteem.

How does an individual maintain and even expand his sound emotional health? He must obey the laws of God. He must live according to truth. The laws of God which form the basis of this freedom are complex, and likely include obedience to all of the Lord’s commandments, perhaps particularly the law of charity (working and seeking actively for the well being of others). The individual that lives and learns charity is most likely to benefit from the positive benefits of the charity of others. Obedience to all of God’s laws, particularly his commands to be charitable, brings to the obedient higher levels of this freedom of good emotional health—above the entitlement level. These higher levels of good emotional health include joy, hope (spiritual security), and the gift of charity.

Just as with physical health, some are born without this particular entitlement freedom. They may be born into a situation that fails to provide them with love and security and therefore fails to fosters sound emotional health. Others may initially have it and then lose it through circumstances beyond their control.

What does it mean to exercise a freedom? Freedoms may be exercised in both positive and negative ways. We exercise a freedom in a positive way when we diligently strive to obey the law of God upon which the particular freedom is based. When we do so, we are blessed with new and greater freedoms. When we ignore or reject and disobey the law, we may be said to exercise the freedom in a negative way. Then the freedom begins to slip away.

The natural self tends to react to all God’s laws in ways that require little effort. This is the negative way of exercising a freedom. The spiritual self would elect the response that requires more effort. This is the positive way.

We should not speak of evil freedoms. All freedoms must be regarded as potentially positive opportunities for secular and spiritual growth. How the freedom is exercised is the important factor. A freedom may be exercised in an evil way. This occurs when the individual disobeys the law upon which the freedom is based. The evil then occurs in the form of failure to grow and the loss of secular and spiritual freedoms.

Another important freedom. A type of emotional comfort sought by almost everyone is material security. A man, for example, often has a driving need to materially provide sufficiently for himself and his family. He yearns for both to feel comfortable and secure. He is driven to ensure he and his family all have enough to eat, adequate shelter, sufficient clothing, and all other necessities of life. There are laws of God upon which this freedom is based. The man must prepare and qualify himself for his work. He must then labor diligently, consistently, reliably, and honestly. If he is employed by someone else, he must consistently prove himself to be a conscientious employee. If he works for himself, he must take the initiative of moving his business along and constructively solve all the problems incident to running one’s own business. He must earn sufficient income to provide all his family’s needs. If he is successful, he will experience freedom from the anxiety and stress of financial insecurity. He must earn this freedom, and it is usually not easy. Again, this mortal life is not always fair and just. Its circumstances may prevent success, even for the prepared, hard-working individual.

Other freedoms or laws of God inevitably present themselves to mortals in their sojourn here. Each can choose to exercise them in positive (edifying) ways or in negative (destructive and evil) ways. Hearkening back to prior examples, most individuals are free to obey the law of charity—to reach out and be solicitous to the needs of others. Or, they may withdraw into themselves and become mostly self concerned. Many people have access to an education. They can study diligently and participate fully in all of the activities necessary to acquire an education, or they may choose not to participate. Mortals may choose to remain chaste and reject sexual activity until after they are married, or they may unwisely take every opportunity to engage in sexual experiences in untimely and inappropriate ways.

Many humans are involved in various religious systems that provide them with laws or commandments that set an ethical or moral standard. All these individuals can use their agency to choose to exercise these many freedoms in any way they choose. Exercising them positively will result in spiritual growth and increasing freedoms. Exercising them negatively will inevitably lead to a loss of freedoms (Alma 12:9-11).

Individual mortals have differing access to freedoms. The variety, number, and accessibility of available freedoms varies among mortals depending on several factors. These include subjection to various types of governments or systems of religion and the rules or laws they propound. Also, various cultural expectations, expectations of influential people among one’s associates, and one’s responsibilities and obligations to others may alter which freedoms are available and how one chooses to exercise them. An example of one of these variations is the freedom or lack of freedom to worship without external interference. Some are blessed to worship however they wish, while others in the world are not. Many in the world are culturally obligated to a certain religious system with its specific laws and expectations.

All men are accorded sufficient freedoms. The prophet Lehi taught that all men have agency, and the Lord provides each with sufficient freedoms so that he may follow the path of spiritual growth and exaltation or the road to damnation. Lehi wrote: “Wherefore, men are free [they have agency] according to the flesh; and all things are given them [freedoms] which are expedient unto man. And they are free [they have agency] to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27).

#The Gospel of Jesus Christ and Freedoms

Many of the important freedoms to which we in the Church have access are intimately associated with the commandments of the gospel of Jesus Christ and are clearly identified in the scriptures. Though we may call them “freedoms,” that does not imply they are easy to acquire, particularly at first. Each freedom is intimately associated and based upon particular laws of God or truths. The natural self must be deliberately denied in order to obey the pertinent law of God. Eventually, as a principle of freedom (the pertinent law of God) is deliberately and repeatedly obeyed, it may then be obeyed with less resistance from our natural self. The positive exercise of these freedoms leads to greater and greater spiritual and secular freedoms. Thus, an important freedom is ridding oneself of the burden of one’s natural self and its relentless pulls.

Mortality is a school and period of training. The Lord intends that we learn to identify and exercise freedoms. He particularly hopes we acquire the character (strength) to positively exercise those freedoms that result in our spiritual growth.

#Adversity Is a Loss of Freedoms

There are circumstances here in mortality that each of us has faced and will yet face that compromise our freedoms, even those which potentially edify and sanctify. These circumstances may produce a temporary or even a permanent loss of some of our most cherished freedoms. It would seem that these circumstances are a deliberately built-in part of our mortal experience. It is intended by God that we should face these. What do we call these circumstances? They are adversities.

Are adversities really a loss of desirable freedoms? Can you think of any examples? Consider, for a moment, the consequences of serious illness, mental or physical disability, untimely bereavement, losing one’s job with a consequent inability to adequately support one’s family, or other financial hardships. Each of these is obviously an adversity, and each adversity results from a loss of precious freedoms.

#Suffering

We usually speak of adversity and suffering in the same breath. What is suffering in this context? Suffering, simply defined, is mental, emotional, spiritual, or physical distress or pain. It is the discomfort resulting from the loss of desirable freedoms. It is the pain of adversity.

#The Lord’s Chastening

Scriptures teach that the Lord chastens those he loves. The Lord said to the saints in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1833: “Whom I love I also chasten” (D&C 95:1). Adversity is the mechanism of the Lord’s chastening. We should not think of chastening as punishment. Recall that the Lord never allows us to be exposed to adversity for purely punitive reasons. The Lord’s chastening of us is, more accurately, his allowing us to be subjected to experiences that humble, build, and strengthen us. The Lord’s emphasis in chastening is surely not on punishment but on correction and sanctification.2

Does the Lord himself actually chasten us? Does he personally orchestrate the adversities that come into our lives? Actually, we will learn it is more appropriate to observe that he has designed this mortal experience so that it will bring into each of our lives sufficient adversity—adequate chastening. He has mandated that each of us experience mortality and thereby he exposes us (actually allows us to be exposed) to those adversities that all will encounter here on earth.

#Adversity and Obedience

How can adversities possibly aid us in the process of our returning to our celestial home? What good can possibly come from a loss of some of our freedoms?

This loss often makes it more difficult for us to exercise those edifying freedoms that remain available to us. The loss of our freedoms can be painful, disabling, discouraging, and it may at times even lead to despair. When circumstances here on earth compromise the number of freedoms available to us, we may suffer and experience stress. In this setting, summoning the discipline to deny our natural self and obey is more difficult and may even seem overwhelming. Adversity and suffering may also distract us by producing an obsession for seeking relief of our suffering. Will we persist in our obedience, or will we succumb to the negative effects of adversity and give up—allowing our natural self free reign? In the face of adversity, more character is required to obey those laws that are still available to us. Adversity can build strength of character or it can result in discouragement, despair, and lead to spiritual deterioration.

Then why would the Lord want to chasten us with adversities. Why would he want us to suffer? Why did he say “Whom I love I also chasten”? (D&C 95:1). Why did he say of the saints “They must be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son”? (D&C 101:4). We may postulate two significant reasons:

1. Experiencing adversity and trying to obey the Lord’s commands at the same time is analogous to lifting weights. As we are able to do it, we are made stronger. Obeying the Lord’s commands in an idyllic world where all our needs are met and we encounter no adversity would be easier. Does this bring to mind any scripture? How about 2 Nephi 2:11: “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.”

Did the early saints experience adversities? Were they made stronger thereby? Did they eventually become a truly strong people? How about us today in the Lord’s kingdom? Are we encountering adversities? Are we suffering them well? Have we become and are we becoming a strong people? I hope so.

Is strength, per se, a characteristic required of celestial people? Intuitively, we tend to think of righteousness as a quality quite apart from strength. Certainly, the Lord requires us to be righteous (obedient to his laws) in order to inherit celestial glory. But does he really require us to be strong? Does he insist we have strength of character? Is it possible we might even fail to qualify for celestial glory if we lack strength? Celestial beings are both obedient and strong. Obedience leads naturally to strength, as obedience requires us to deny and discipline ourselves. The obedient person naturally becomes strong.3 Then, our strength leads to obedience. Isn’t it easy, then, to see why the Lord desires that we are exposed to adversities?

2. There is yet another reason why the Lord wants us to suffer. He desires to produce in us the quality of empathy. What was the essence of the Lord’s experiencing overwhelming adversity in Gethsemane and at Golgotha? What did his horrible suffering accomplish? For one thing, it produced in him perfect empathy. It made him the perfect judge.4 Does he actually want us to suffer, even as he suffered? He has actually commanded us. Let’s consider a couple of scriptures:

Jacob 1:8: The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob said: “Wherefore, we would to God that we could persuade all men [to] . . . view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world.”

D&C 112:14: “Now, I say unto you, and what I say unto you, I say unto all the Twelve: Arise and gird up your loins, take up your cross, follow me, and feed my sheep.”

Viewing his death, suffering his cross, bearing the shame of the world, and taking up your cross all refer to suffering adversities. Adversity is a vital part of this mortal experience.

When the Lord speaks of chastening, he is talking about you. He does not have in mind punishing you. He wants to make you strong in the faith. He wants to build your strength. Because that is the way you become a celestial person. Celestial beings are not passive and weak. Quite the contrary: they are strong, proactive, and independent.

Adversity and suffering are topics most pertinent and vital for all of us. None of us will avoid them in our mortal sojourn. Adversity finds its major importance for each of us as individuals in the suffering it spawns and the significance of that suffering in our lives. Suffering has a most important role in our second estate as we strive for our eternal reward. Thus far we have provided basic definitions of adversity and suffering. We have discussed their relationship to freedoms and the roles of obedience and disobedience. In the remainder of this chapter and in the one that follows, we will address such issues, among others, as: How might we categorize adversities? Are there elements of evil in adversity and suffering? What role, if any, does God himself have in introducing adversity and suffering into mortality? What about Satan? What is his precise role? Is he a source of adversity and suffering? What is the relationship between sin and adversity (and sin and suffering)? Is adversity a “temptation” to sin?

#Is Suffering Ever Purely Punitive?

Let us first consider further a topic introduced above—that of chastening and punishment. God surely acknowledges the inevitable adversities and consequent sufferings each of us must endure here in mortality. While he may not often actually orchestrate this suffering, he knows of it and gives his consent to its presence in mortality. We have already concluded that he hopes adversities build and strengthen us. But does he ever utilize them for other purposes in our lives? Is there such a thing as suffering for the sake of punishment in God’s universe? Put another way, does God actually inflict suffering for purely punitive and not constructive, reasons?

Most of us are inclined to believe that God may inflict suffering as a punishment for disobedience. This inclination comes from several scriptures: “Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not” (D&C 19:15). The prophet Enoch wrote of those who die without repenting of their sins. They will be “looking forth with fear, in torment, for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God to be poured out upon them” (Moses 7:1). “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression” (Articles of Faith 2). The prophet Nephi saw in vision: “And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten” (1 Nephi 13:14). As the people of Israel crossed the River Jordan into the promised land, the Lord apparently chose to punish those who occupied the land, the Canaanites for being “ripe in iniquity”: “Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God. But behold, this people had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fulness of the wrath of God was upon them; and the Lord did curse the land against them, and bless it unto our fathers; yea, he did curse it against them unto their destruction, and he did bless it unto our fathers unto their obtaining power over it” (1 Nephi 17:35). A people’s being “ripe in iniquity” means that they have reached the stage of sin and evil that inevitably leads to their destruction. They may also be said to have reached a “fulness of iniquity” (Ether 2:10). The Canaanites had rejected every word of God. Thus the Israelites were enabled to clobber them as they moved into the Holy Land. Did not the Lord punish the Canaanites in this circumstance?

So, how do we conclude? Does the Lord actually punish, sometimes even angrily, for no other purpose than to punish? I believe that these scriptural accounts of God’s actions taken in wrath and anger, are likely more metaphorical than literal. I believe these graphic accounts are intended more as deterrents than descriptions of literal happenings. Surely the quality of God’s “punishment” is transcendently apropos and superior to that which men might design. It is surely redemptive in nature. I believe careful consideration of this issue must lead one to conclude that divinely-inflicted suffering is never purely punitive. His goal for each man (including each Canaanite) is to help him return to his celestial home if possible. He may chastise and warn, but underlying all this is his hope that all suffering may ultimately prove productive for an individual’s or for a people’s spiritual life and progress. That he would ever inflict suffering merely for suffering’s sake is unthinkable. No sinner, or any individual, will suffer at the hand of God for no good reason. If God inflicts suffering, it will always have a potential for a beneficial (sanctifying) effect.

#How Might We Categorize Adversities and Sufferings?

Adversities with their consequent sufferings may be divided into two general types, internal and external.

Internal adversity and suffering—from within. Internal adversity or conflict arises from a combination of our natural self and God’s laws. Our natural self yearns for things of this world. God’s laws encourage us to deny ourselves of those things. Internal suffering stems from our efforts to obey the Lord’s commands. It is the pain of denying ourselves. Ironically, internal suffering occurs when we obey the commandments, not when we disobey them. Our natural self eschews obedience to gospel law. From the point of view of the natural self, God’s laws are adversities. Our natural self favors easier, more comfortable, less painful courses of action. Obedience is inevitably difficult. It flies in the face of our pleasure-and-comfort-seeking natural self. To obey is to experience discomfort, even pain. When we obey, we pay the price of internal suffering. Internal suffering results when the natural self struggles against the spiritual self and when the spiritual self predominates.

On the one hand we are attracted powerfully to many, varied, pleasures and satisfactions of the world. On the other, we experience subtle promptings which incline us toward a denial of our natural self and obedience to the Lord’s commands. Each of us is powerfully drawn daily to the things of the world. It is most difficult to resist those yearnings. We must do so deliberately and with purpose. We must deliberately subject our self to internal suffering. We refer to our worldly yearnings as temptations.5

Disobedience allows the individual to avoid the immediate pain of self denial. Yet, it does lead to other types of suffering mentioned below.

The suffering brought about through our self-denial is positive and productive. We have spoken of the process of deliberate obedience to gospel principles. It is the exercise of deliberate faith (deliberate charity, deliberate patience, deliberate sacrifice, etc.). There is inevitably some pain and discomfort associated with deliberate obedience. This discomfort is a necessary prerequisite to our spiritual growth. We may refer to any suffering leading to spiritual growth as “sanctification suffering.” When we deliberately will ourselves to obey, we experience this productive suffering. We may also qualify to receive gifts of the Spirit. The suffering of obedience (sanctification suffering) is the prerequisite of spiritual growth or sanctification.6

Are we painting a dark and pessimistic picture of mortality? Is man here on earth only to suffer? The Lord quickly rewards obedience with joy. Real joy comes only through obedience to the commandments. It is a perquisite gift of the Spirit. The life of an obedient individual is literally intertwined with and immersed in joy. Joy is the result of receiving gifts of the Spirit, of growing spiritually. Joy can come to us in no other way. Worldliness offers specious and counterfeit forms of joy we may call happiness or pleasure, but these are superficial, fleeting, and not abidingly satisfying. True joy is spiritual happiness that endures forever.

Our mortality will inevitably present us with abundant opportunities to experience productive pain and growth. However, it is possible to hide from such opportunities. No one is forced into this type of suffering. In order to grow spiritually, however, we must all have the proactive attitude of “venturing forth” into life and its experiences. We need to search for opportunities to overcome our natural selves. We cannot afford to wait until they come to us. We must actively seek for opportunities to grow spiritually. Those who assiduously avoid self denial and obedience will fail to grow spiritually. They will also rapidly lose any spiritual growth they once possessed.

This suffering of obedience is eventually overcome as the diligently righteous receive increments of divine attributes. They are changed through receiving these gifts. Their natural man urges are gradually tempered and purged from them. They then experience less resistance from the natural man, and this productive suffering lessens. It never entirely disappears, however. Also, the obedient gain in spiritual strength or

character. Their ability to overcome adversity is enhanced.

External adversity and suffering—from without. External adversity consists of the problems, challenges, and crises that occur in our lives. They arise from without ourselves. These also induce physical, emotional, and spiritual pain—external suffering. These adversities are inevitably a part of mortal life. We have no choice but to experience the pains they produce. They cannot be avoided. They are a predictable feature of our mortal experience.

This suffering is different from that generated by obedience to gospel principles. External adversity produces a variety of powerful and distressing emotions. Sometimes, there is pain or other physical sufferings from illness or injury. We may experience disappointment, embarrassment, disillusionment, loneliness, untimely bereavement, fear, dismay, anxiety, insecurity, despondency, feelings of inadequacy, desperation, hopelessness, financial reverses, cruel words and deeds of others, separation anxiety, sadness, grief, discouragement, uncertainty, and even despair. The danger of this type of adversity is that the individual who experiences it may become so discouraged he loses his taste for all suffering, including that of spiritual striving. He may then avoid internal suffering and instead seek for the immediate pleasures of the world.

It is important to distinguish between mortality’s external adversities and our responses and reactions to them. All of us will face these adversities, but how we respond and react is up to us. There is a tendency for these adversities to cause suffering, but the quantity and quality of that suffering is at least partly under our conscious control. We previously defined character as spiritual courage, that attribute which allows an individual to do the difficult thing when it is the right thing. Character is also the ability to optimistically and positively brook difficult external adversity and suffering when they cannot be avoided and must be tolerated. Character involves the deliberate summoning up of our inner strength and stealing ourselves against negativism and despair. The Lord expects us to grow in spiritual character.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell has divided external adversities and their consequent sufferings into three distinct types (All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, 29). We will utilize his categories but alter his nomenclature somewhat.

Type 1. These trials come to us merely as a part of living in this world. They are “designed” in as part of this mortal experience. We may refer to them as “mortal accidents.” They are unavoidable characteristics of our telestial world. In individual instances, God does not necessarily orchestrate them—he does not determine the time, the place, or the individual. Yet, he does allow them to be an inevitable part of our mortal experience. They are due to natural forces inherent in this telestial world. When they occur, they may not seem just or fair. Indeed, they often seem senseless and cruel.

A couple of examples from your author’s personal experience are illustrative. A young father of three children, all under twelve years of age, acquired acute leukemia and was dead within six months of his diagnosis. Just imagine the adversities experienced by his wife and children. A fifteen year old boy, who did not possess a driver’s license, drank alcohol to the point of drunkenness, stole his mother’s car, and ran down two twelve year old girls walking together along a sidewalk. Both girls died of their injuries. The adversities obviously occurred in the lives of the young man, his family, and the families of the girls who were killed.

Elder Maxwell quotes a wise friend of his who said, “If it’s fair, it is not a true trial!” These adversities are usually characterized by some inexplicableness, some irony, and some injustice. They are not deserved. They just happen. Even though these trials may occur “by accident” and not at the bidding of the Lord, they may serve to stretch the sufferers. They may ultimately become positive forces in their lives.

Such adversity adds significant uncertainty to this life. Perhaps an ability to cope with this uncertainty is another quality the Lord expects us to obtain in mortality. In Ecclesiastes we read: “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race [is] not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happened to them all” (9:11). Inevitably, our lives contain elements that “just aren’t fair.” We must simply learn to anticipate them. We must also remain alert to their occurrences in the lives of others so that we might run to their side and succor them.

It may seem ironic, but I have come to consider an understanding of type 1 suffering or “mortal accidents” as somehow almost comforting. We must all acknowledge that this earth and the experiences encountered here will not necessarily be fair or just. But that is okay. It is essential that we all acknowledge these trials and stick together to help each other through this mortal veil of tears. These unpredictable adversities create an essential need for us to develop loyal, supportive associations. The Lord never intended that we “go it alone” here on earth.

Some of the inevitable trials of mortality can hardly be called “accidents.” Death, for instance, obviously cannot be avoided. It will eventually occur. The where and when of our death, however, is part of “mortal accidents.” It is this uncertainty that adds to our type 1 suffering.

When an individual experiences type 1 suffering and pleads before the Lord for relief, might we expect the Lord to spare the individual that suffering? Certainly the Lord can, and sometimes he does, intervene. But he often simply cries along with us, offers the support and relief he can, and allows the suffering to run its course. He will not spare any of us the experiences of mortality. We live in a telestial world, outside the direct presence of God. Often, he will allow the things of the world to occur unimpeded by him. This is the nature of this mortal trial to which we have voluntarily submitted. Type 1 adversity and suffering are an intended divine purpose of mortality. Ultimately, they are a factor in mortality that lead to our growth.

Many of us have looked on as our friends have suffered with adversities obviously of this category. Their friends and ward members flock about them to do whatever they can to help. There is often fasting and prayer, sometimes by an entire ward. Frequently the sufferer will seek for blessings from righteous priesthood holders. His name will often be placed on the prayer role of a temple. If the adversity here is truly a mortal accident, how does the Lord deal with this? He is, of course, fully capable of intervening. But will he?

While serving as a bishop, I witnessed first hand situations like this. I developed the impression that the pleadings, fastings, and priesthood blessings of righteous saints can almost compel the Lord to remove the adversity from the category of mortal accident and instead place the matter squarely on his figurative desk. He will deliberately decide the matter based on his infinite wisdom. He may choose to intervene and miraculously resolve the problem, or he may choose otherwise. If he should choose not to intervene, then at least the sufferer and those of us who are petitioners in these situations have the comfort of knowing he personally, carefully considered the matter and made a studied decision. We then must gratefully allow his eternal wisdom to prevail.

Type 2. These are trials and sufferings that beset us because of our own mistakes, misdeeds, and sins. Consider the pain, for example, an adulterous individual experiences as he or she fully contemplates the consequences of his or her actions.

Mostly these mistakes, misdeeds, and sins have adverse consequences naturally without divine intervention. The smoker may suffer the ravages of lung cancer or other chronic and incapacitating lung disease. The alcoholic may die of cirrhosis of the liver or suffer the devastating effects on himself and his family of alcohol addiction. The lascivious individual may acquire AIDS or other venereal diseases. The Lord need not intervene in these instances.

While there is no such thing as purely punitive suffering, type 2 sufferings are the closest thing to it. They are not, however, actually inflicted by the Lord. We ourselves inflict them. These sufferings are the direct and natural consequences of sinful actions.

The wife and children of an adulterer obviously suffer adversities of their own. These are examples of “external adversities,” but not type 2. They seem to fit primarily into type 1. We may call them “secondary” sufferings.

The range of suffering we bring upon ourselves is far broader than these few examples. Every wrong moral choice, or sin, is a forsaking of one’s true inner spiritual self. Each time we break a commandment, unless we are able to turn about through repentance, we set a course for heart break and remorse. True happiness is never to be found in worldliness and sin. “Wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10). Indeed, conversely, wickedness inevitably leads to unhappiness, pain, and suffering. Each wrong choice dooms us to some suffering.

Often such suffering sets the stage for failures in our relationships with man as well as God. When our comportment sinks to purely worldly pursuits, heartache inevitably follows. This may be seen in broken human relationships.

The personal sins resulting in type 2 suffering may be sins of “commission” or “omission.” We must keep in mind that it is (at least in the immediate present) easier to commit sin than to obey. We commit sins of commission when we are brought face to face with a commandment and we disobey that commandment. Also, our natural self offers constant resistance to our efforts to obey the Lord. It is the easier path for us to passively ignore opportunities to obey. This is the sin of omission. The Lord expects us to seek opportunities to obey him. It is not enough to manage to obey only when we are forced by circumstances.

Consistent and constant obedience requires real strength of character. An individual with this strength, this ability to choose the more difficult path when it is the right path, may be said to have a “good spiritual work ethic.” In spiritual matters, it is vital that we learn to “work.” Success, either secular or spiritual, is highly dependent on work. The individual who consistently chooses the easy path has chosen not to work. He will drift with the current and will not succeed temporally or spiritually.

Type 3. Yet another type of challenge comes to us even though we may be innocent. These come because an omniscient Lord deliberately chooses to school us. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6). As we concluded above, divine chastening is not punitive. It consists simply of growth experiences given us by a loving Father. The Lord deliberately tried the faith of Abraham by asking him to take his son Isaac up onto Mount Moriah and sacrifice him. By this means, Abraham learned through obedience what it was to be asked to sacrifice his son (D&C 132:37). Elder Neal A. Maxwell coined a phrase for these types of sufferings. He called them “divine tutorials” (If Thou Endure It Well, 7).

The apostle Paul suffered with some unknown type of physical ailment. He obviously believed this abnormality was given to him deliberately by the Lord. He wrote, “There was given to me a thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). As armchair observers, we may speculate that Paul may have been mistaken in his assessment of the cause of his ailment. It may, in fact, have been an example of type 1 suffering (“mortal accident”) instead of type 3. Paul’s affliction persisted even though he petitioned the Lord for its removal. Through this adversity, Paul had learned he would be strengthened: “My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). As it must be with all who seek exaltation, Paul had to be “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him” (Mosiah 3:19).

The very act of choosing to be a disciple and a believer will bring upon us certain sufferings. These seem best to fit into category 3, though one might also argue they are mostly type 1. Paul wrote that Moses decided to forgo the luxuries of the courts of Egypt and instead “suffer affliction with the people of God” (Hebrews 11:25). Scripture describes some of the sufferings of the righteous as being “for righteousness’ sake” (Matthew 5:10, 1 Peter 3:14), “because of the word” (Matthew 13:21), “for the name of Christ” (1 Peter 4:14), for “well doing” (1 Peter 3:17), or “for the cross of Christ” (Galatians 6:12).

It should be noted that the Lord’s role in this type 3 category is to introduce adversity into the life of a man. The suffering occurs because of the adversity and is not the Lord’s doing. When the Lord judges it prudent, he will place an unavoidable adversity in the path of an individual he chooses to school. The amount and quality of the suffering is then determined by the individual. The individual may “suffer it well.” That is, if he endures positively and productively with an appropriate attitude and perspective, he will experience the spiritual growth or sanctification contingent upon that suffering. He may, however, experience only disappointment, frustration, anger, resentment, and despair. Then he will fail to grow spiritually from the adversity.

We must consider it an honor to be challenged and tested by the Lord. Some individuals may struggle so much with those routine, yet challenging, events in mortality that the Lord chooses not to give them type 3 challenges. It would seem likely that type 3 trials are given by the Lord only to those he feels can tolerate them (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The Lord may, on occasion, see fit to deliberately inflict upon a sinful individual or group a trial as a reprisal for sin. This inflicted reprisal fits into type 3 suffering, and is not intended to be purely punitive, but rather restorative and constructive. A good example of this type is the so-called promise-curse of the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 1:5- 10; see also D&C 82:10; 130:20). Whenever the Nephites deteriorated in pride on account of their material wealth and began to ignore the Lord and his purposes, the Lord would send a calamity, not so much to punish them, but more to rehabilitate and redeem them.

The phenomenon of “secondary suffering,” spoken of above, also applies in types 1 and 3 as well as in type 2. This is the suffering produced in us as we observe the trials in the lives of those whom we love. For example, the suffering of an individual coping with serious health problems may engender resentment in the hearts of observing family members. Elder Maxwell has observed that even though the person who is undergoing the primary suffering may be handling it well, those around him may react less well.

Many of us have had the thought that others around us seem to be suffering, but we are not. Elder Maxwell has counseled:

Parenthetically, those who worry if they currently seem to be untested should not feel guilty or anxious, nor should they pray for trials. First of all, the absence of major tribulation can, ironically, produce the trial of tranquility with its very grave risks of careless ease. Second, the Lord does require a few intact individuals and families to help others manage their trials and tribulations, even though these roles often rotate. . . . Third, life is not over yet, and there can be, as we have all seen a tremendous compression of trials. Finally, the absence of [type 2] trials, those arising out of our own sins and mistakes, is obviously never to be regretted (All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, 31-32).

The distinction among the three types of suffering above cannot always be drawn clearly. It is helpful for each of us to attempt to distinguish between pains that are selfinflicted and those which are not. The righteous individual ought to draw comfort from the knowledge that his trials are not self-inflicted and the Lord is fully aware of his plight. Consider, however, the pitiful circumstance of the faithless who suffer either selfinflicted (type 2) or mortal accident (type 1) adversities in utter aloneness. They may have nowhere to turn for help and succor.

1 Prior to undertaking the more advanced consideration of freedom in this chapter, please review the basic discussion of agency and freedom in volume 1, chapter 13, Agency and Freedom.

2 For a review of the concept of sanctification, see volume 1, chapter 17, Justification and Sanctification.

For further discussion of strength, particularly work ethic and independence, as requirements for celestial glory, see “Post Resurrection Governments?” in volume 2, chapter 19, God and Governments.

See volume 1, chapter 19, The Essence of the Lord’s Atonement.

5 We have discussed the natural self more thoroughly in volume 1, chapter 5, Our “Natural Self” and Our “Spiritual Self.”

Again, see volume 1, chapter 17, Justification and Sanctification.

7 See “Perquisite Gifts of the Spirit” in volume 1, chapter 8, The Blessings of Spiritual Gifts.