It has been a tough few years for the innocent! War, tornados, floods, disease, civil unrest, and terror. Life can seem so fragile and unpredictable. Bad things really do happen to good people! And for me, that has often been a hard pill to swallow. I am a physician. I have been taught my whole life of actions and reactions that are measurable and dependable. I have put my faith in results and that can be calculated, by formulas that are predictable, reliable, and fair—no surprises. But these theories and corollaries don’t always add up in the real world.
There are few guarantees in life. Money doesn’t always equal happiness. Exercise doesn’t always result in perfect health or years added to one’s life. Extensive and meticulous planning does not always yield the desired result. In our temporal existence there are very few sure things. Just ask the optimistic investors who put their life savings into the stock market in early October of 1929. Or the countless lives, hopes, and dreams that were changed on a quiet Sunday morning on December 7, 1941. No one anticipates or schedules the loss of a job, the diagnosis of cancer, the death of a family member, or a worldwide pandemic. My uncle Rod, a hero of mine, didn’t plan on sustaining a neck fracture while bodysurfing and being paralyzed from the neck down on his honeymoon. How are these things fair?
Our earthly lives can be so filled with uncertainty. I promise you from the bottom of my heart that there was no entry in my Franklin day planner a few years back scheduling an appointment with a suicide bomber. But when his car slammed into my heavy armored vehicle in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and detonated, the lives of many were instantly altered forever. Incredibly, some of us walked away from that incident and were given more time on earth. Others were not so fortunate. But all who survived were reminded of the fact that life doesn’t always go as we plan it.
Our vision of life can be so limited. Unlike a novel, in which one can thumb ahead to subsequent chapters, or a theater in which we can watch previews of coming attractions, life rarely allows us any indication of what is coming next. The unforeseeable and unanticipated can wreak havoc on our personal, temporal plans.
The truth is that opposition and obstacles and trials are not always earned by our actions. Although it is true that many of life’s wounds are indeed self-inflicted, sometimes we reap what we did not sow! That is a sad fact of life. But why? If bad things and troubles will occur in our lives regardless of how we live, is it important to live lives of integrity? Was our life script, as some believe, already written and finalized before we even came here?
I do not believe that our lives are predetermined or that everything that happens to us is dictated by God (despite His omniscience). I do not believe that everything we experience, choose, or suffer was “meant to be,” or “had to happen.” For years, I flew a particular airline in South Asia. A recorded prayer was piped through the cabin before takeoff and prior to arrival. On every flight the message was blasted out, “God willing, we shall soon be landing.” I always wondered, “Wait a second. Don’t the pilots have something to do with that? Do I get a vote? Are we really leaving all of this up to deity?” But there are many who believe just that; everything that happens to us in this life is “God’s will.” But if someone is devastated by infidelity or divorce, is killed in a drive-by shooting, abuses their body, or is involved in a head-on collision, is that really God’s will? I don’t think so. Bad things happen to good people, that is true, but I do not believe it is always because God wishes it so.
I do believe that we are all blessed with agency. For this gift to be of any value to us, opposition must exist. Agency is a two-edged sword. We can choose to be critical of God because the righteous are afflicted, because violent deaths occur, because families are splintered, or because life seems so “unfair.” We can choose to be bitter because our prayers appear unanswered or because we don't receive the blessings we think we deserve.
But, if all the righteous were protected while only the wicked were punished, then the Father’s plan would be null and void. This life would not test our strength, develop our character, provide us with opportunities to grow, or allow us the use of agency.
Should all prayers be immediately answered, according to our desires and our limited (and sometimes selfish or short-sighted) understanding, there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or death. And if these were not, there would be an absence of joy, success, resurrection, eternal life, and godhood. We need to know the bitter in order to appreciate the sweet. We must have choices in order to learn and grow.
I believe that our Heavenly Father allows us some latitude for growth and development in this life. I believe that He gives us the opportunity to learn. I know that He loves us. He watches us with great interest. He has given us a lot of help! I believe that He is saddened by our poor choices and elated by our victories. And I believe that sometimes He even intervenes. But He does not take our earthly test for us, nor has He predetermined all of our answers.
Our Heavenly Father knows our potential, our weaknesses, and our strengths. He has amazing blessings in store for us. He has plans for us! (See your patriarchal blessing.) This knowledge, however, in no way thwarts the principle of agency, nor does it interfere with our right to choose. On the contrary, it allows us to more fully practice it. It allows us to get really good at it.
God’s vision is better than ours. He sees the whole picture. He knows best what is good for us and what will help us. He knows what lies at the end of the road if we choose wisely or not. We must be very careful to avoid spiritual myopia (short-sightedness). If we trust, have faith, and persevere, the reward will come—maybe now, certainly later.
Lehi taught that there is necessarily “opposition in all things.”[1] The prophet Moroni reminded us that we are given weakness to keep us humble and that those weaknesses, over time, could be turned into strengths.[2] Sadly, the gospel is often taken for granted. But, as a lighthouse beacon in a raging tempest, how glorious the gospel can be in times of personal struggle. We will face opposition, but we never have to be alone. Conquering and overcoming adversity increases our confidence and builds our character. Opposition in our lives can give us an opportunity to strengthen muscles we didn’t even know we had. Adversity is not always a bad thing. I guess it depends on our point of view and our understanding of the plan. Let me share with you one of my favorite Chinese fables:
Once, in ancient China, there lived an old man whose way of looking at life differed from that of the other people in his village. He never made quick judgments as to whether what happened to him was good or bad. His philosophy was "wait and see." One day, the old man’s horse ran away. Since it was his only horse, his neighbors felt sorry for him and were quick to tell him so. "Tsk, tsk such a misfortune,” they lamented, shaking their heads. The old man’s answer surprised them. "But how do you know it is bad?” A few days later, his horse came back. With it were two wild horses. Now the old man had three horses. When the neighbors saw this, they congratulated him on his good fortune. "But how do you know it is good?” he said. The next day, while attempting to break in one of the wild horses, the man’s son fell off and broke his leg. Once again, the neighbors came to express sympathy. "Such bad luck!” they commiserated. "But how do you know it is bad?” the old man asked them. The neighbors looked at him in disgust. Was he crazy? They decided not to have anything more to do with him. The next day, a warlord came through the village and took all the able-bodied young men off to war. All but the old man’s son.[3]
We are all susceptible to opposition. In Christ’s seminal tutorial, the Sermon on the Mount, He talked about two men who built houses, one on the rock and the other on the sand. You will recall that despite the wisdom of one and foolishness of the other that both houses underwent a battering. Think about that. Just because we follow Christ doesn’t ensure us immunity from trials. There is no plea bargain. We do not enter an “adversity protection program” when we are baptized. But it does mean that we can receive the help to overcome it.
The righteous have often been asked to prove themselves in a big way! Lehi was asked to leave his home and all his riches and journey into the wilderness. Latter-day Saint pioneers underwent heated persecution, suffered poor living conditions, and were condemned to a refugee lifestyle.
Now, let’s be clear, I am not advocating the avoidance of righteousness! It is just that difficulties do not always befall us because of something that we did wrong. Though hard, and sometimes painful, trials and obstacles can often be used to our benefit. They are sometimes blessings in disguise.
Do you remember Joseph of Egypt? He was the birthright child of Jacob (Israel). He was a righteous and obedient young man, blessed of the Lord and beloved of his parents. He was special. (He may have possibly been a bit more tactful, but nobody’s perfect!) He chose the right, and what was his reward? His brothers counselled together to kill him, and then decided to sell him instead. The Ishmaelites, in turn, took him to Egypt where he was purchased by Potiphar, Pharaoh’s captain of the guard. But Joseph persevered. He soon became the ruler of Potiphar’s house. He was loved and trusted for his integrity. Unfortunately, he was also very admired by Potiphar’s wife! Despite her advances, Joseph kept the commandments and maintained his integrity. And what was his reward? He was falsely accused and sent to prison! While incarcerated, he continued to live his religion and to carry on. He eventually rose to be the overseer of the prison and an interpreter of dreams. By helping Pharaoh’s butler, he hoped that it could be his ticket out of jail, but he was forgotten. But not forever. Sometime later he was summoned out of prison to help Pharaoh interpret a dream. Joseph’s interpretation, and the impression he made on Pharaoh, led to his becoming the second-in-command in all of Egypt! His position allowed Joseph to become an instrument in the Lord’s hands in saving the kingdom and the surroundings lands from famine, including Canaan, where his family lived. Joseph became a great prophet to his people. In the story, we see again that God’s vision is better than ours. It was fortunate that Joseph never gave up just because it seemed that the gospel wasn‘t working in his life.
We don’t always know why, but we can be assured that something positive can, and will, result from our trials when we place our trust in God and follow His commandments, as did Joseph.
Two frogs fell in a deep bowl. One was an optimistic soul. But the other took the gloomy view. “We shall drown,” he cried without more adieu. So, with a last despairing cry, He flung up his legs and said goodbye. Quoth the other frog, with a merry grin, “I can’t get out, but I won’t give in; I’ll just swim around till my strength is spent, Then will I die the more content.” Bravely he swam till it would seem His struggles began to churn the cream. On top of the butter at last he stopped, And out of the bowl he finally hopped. What of the moral? ‘Tis easily found: If you can’t pop out, keep swimming around.[4]
Perseverance is the key.
An equestrian steeplechase is where horses and riders are pitted against obstacles, such as pools of water, jumps, or hedges. The obstacles are not placed to discourage, injure, or maim the animals, nor are they there to cause the horse and rider to crash. They are put there to challenge the team. The beauty and excitement of the race is to watch the horse and rider jump over the hurdles, to overcome the obstacles. When seen in such a light, obstacles in our own lives can be better understood. They are challenges to be hurdled.
Joseph Smith Jr. is a great example to us of perseverance. Over the course of his remarkable life, he proved himself to be a humble man and a worthy servant. He accomplished a lot, “more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.”[5] Through him, the Lord restored the Church of Jesus Christ, complete with teachings and priesthood, cleared up doctrinal questions that had existed for centuries, was followed and revered by tens of thousands, and has influenced for good millions and millions around the world. And what was his reward in this life? He was persecuted and driven from place to place. He was falsely accused on many occasions, arrested dozens of times, and became personally acquainted with more than a few jail cells. He was hated from without and betrayed from within. It was his lot to babysit a sometime stiff-necked people, spread across a wild frontier. He hardly had a chance to just stop and smell the roses! He was a righteous man, as obedient as any who has ever lived, yet he would ultimately be asked to seal his testimony with his blood.
In March of 1839, during some downtime in Liberty Jail (ironically named), the Prophet Joseph, like his namesake over 3,000 years before him, had the chance to ask, “Why?” Why is the way not smoother and easier? After all, we are doing everything thou hast asked of us. The Lord answered his query:
My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.[6] If thou art called to pass through tribulation; . . . If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; . . . And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit . . . and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he? Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee. . . . Thy days are known and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.[7]
President Russell M. Nelson noted, “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”[8] We learn obedience, as Christ did, by the things that we suffer. We learned many things that way! In eternity, as we look back, our lives may look a lot clearer. Hindsight is nearly always 20/20. We may find that our trials turned us to God and granted us experience, refinement, and perfection.
We have simply been asked by God to prove our willingness to follow His example by working through our own challenges and staying on the covenant path.
Your being members of the Church makes you a target, so expect some of the adversary’s attention! The adversary obviously considers you valuable, worthy of his efforts, and more importantly, not yet one of his fold. Mary Ellen Edmunds once wrote, “Opposition is evidence of the truth at work.”
God’s vision is better than ours; always has been, always will be. He knows what He wants us to become.
After returning from two years of missionary service in Bolivia, I began to look for ways to reduce the time it would require me to get through my education to become a physician. I was directed to a program sponsored by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. This very prestigious school accepted 25 students a year from undergraduate schools across the country to be part of a five-year program that resulted in a Bachelor of Science, plus an MD degree. I was just starting my sophomore year of college, so admittance to this special program, though expensive, would save me a full year of schooling. Instead of two more years at BYU, followed by four years of medical school, I could achieve my degree in five years-time. It sounded fantastic. I committed to do what it would take to be considered.
My sophomore year at BYU was hard! I needed to take all of my prerequisite science classes at once! That made for a heavy load. It would also mean taking my medical school admission test (the MCAT) at the end of my sophomore year, competing with recent college graduates and grad students. But the determination was there, and I had the support of my new bride, Ann.
The school year finished. My grades were excellent and my MCAT scores were near the very highest percentile. With all the requirements met, I submitted my application. A few weeks later, I received a letter saying that I was one of 60 finalists that had been chosen from around the country. They desired that I come back to Baltimore for an interview. I made the trip back East, and, after meeting the other finalists, felt that my chances were quite good. I was older, married, had been out in the real world doing service work, spoke another language, and so forth. I was excited.
The morning of the interview came. I sat in front of half a dozen physicians and professors. Rather than ask about my experiences, one of the professors zeroed in on the fact that I had been a missionary. The spirit in the room grew heavy and dark as this gentleman begin asking negative questions and making accusations against me. “What makes you feel you have the right to go to another country and culture and push your beliefs on them? Who are you to decide what is best for another?” I felt like I was on trial. About all I could do was to bear my testimony and crawl back to Provo. I was certainly qualified but did not get an invitation to join the elite class of 25. I was disappointed and a little angry. It didn’t seem fair. My plans had not worked out. I felt I had been disqualified because of my faith.
Luckily, I have a great companion. She was able to console and brighten my outlook. After a while, I decided that rather than be bitter, I would look for a silver lining. I had a fabulous third year at BYU, taking whatever class I wanted because all of my medical school prerequisites were done. I decided to go ahead and apply to medical school as a junior, and was pleasantly surprised when the requests for interviews began to pour in. Then the acceptance letters began to appear! I ended up selecting an acceptance from the University of California, San Francisco medical school at the end of my junior year. Being a California resident, going to this medical school meant that I would not be up to my eyeballs in debt upon graduation, like I would have been at Johns Hopkins. As it turned out, I graduated with my MD degree at the very same time as the class I had so desired to be in graduated back East! UCSF was arguably a better school and closer to home. Ann and I made lifelong friends there. Because we had gone to school in San Francisco, I had substantial freedom in choosing where to go after my medical residency, not being in any significant debt. This opened up the opportunity for us to go overseas, something that would have been much less likely had I attended Johns Hopkins. Our overseas experiences, including the adoption of three children, blessed our lives in incalculable fashion. Looking back, seeing through my eyes more clearly, I would not change a thing. The lives we stepped into were better than anything we had planned or could have imagined.
Obviously, my vision pales in comparison to His! How fortunate that I didn’t get my way.
Our Lord and Savior and Eldest Brother, Jesus Christ, was the greatest example of endurance and long-suffering. His life was a textbook on how to deal with trials and disappointments, troubles, and difficult circumstances. He was not immune to pain, suffering, and sorrow. For me, it is infinitely hard to comprehend the weight that He willingly bore. His journey was a rocky one, difficult every step of the way, and to most observers, seemingly coming to an end at destination Calvary. But we understand that something quite unusual and extraordinary was happening in His final, and finest, hours. Peace was on His lips and in His heart, no matter how vile the accusations or tough the persecution around Him.
“He [who has] ears to hear.”[9] We must listen and learn. We should not expect to get through our journey without some opposition, nor should we want to.
The race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, but to him or her who will endure to the end, who will never, ever quit.
And what of my uncle Rod, paralyzed on his honeymoon? Well, he was the recipient of several priesthood miracles, and, though never completely physically whole, led a full rich life, inspiring hundreds of people in the process.
Boyd K. Packer wrote: “It was meant to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even some failure, is normal. Teach our members that if they have a good, miserable day once in a while, or several in a row, to stand steady and face them. Things will straighten out. There is great purpose in our struggle in life.”[10]
Let us endeavor to overcome our obstacles, conquer our challenges and throw off our burdens. Mend a few fences and heal a few relationships. Forgive. Tackle a bad habit. Make weak things strong. Smile, and be happy. Reach out your hand to another. Scratch and claw and struggle through whatever it may be that is weighing you down. Do it today!
Early Church leader Orson F. Whitney stated:
No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called children of God… and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.[11]
God has better vision than we do! Trust Him.
In our lives of uncertainty, surrounded by the unknown and the unexpected, there are things that can be absolutely counted on. We do have a living and loving Heavenly Father who knows us by name and considers us His highest priority. The Savior of all mankind, our Rock and our Redeemer, understands our sadness, sorrows, confusion, doubts, suffering, and pain because He endured them, that He might be ready to help us to overcome, at all times. Prophets are on the earth today, as they have been in the past. There exists a plan for us, a purpose authored by God, that is both beautiful and fair and cannot be derailed by earthly cares or concerns, no matter what tomorrow may bring. Discipleship in this world often comes with a price, but it always comes with a reward.
We understand God’s plan of happiness. We recognize that rejoicing, striving, serving, suffering, enjoying, and enduring life’s experiences all play an essential role in helping us to become, as our Savior implored, “Even as I am.”
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] 2 Nephi 2:11.
[2] See Ether 12:27.
[3] Parable of the Chinese Farmer.
[4] Walter Knight. “Two Frogs.” Knight’s Master Book of New Illustrations, Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 1990.
[5] Doctrine and Covenants 135:3.
[6] Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8.
[7] Doctrine and Covenants 122:5–9, emphasis added.
[8] Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” Ensign, Nov. 2016.
[9] See Matthew 11:15.
[10] Boyd K. Packer, “Solving Emotional Problems in the Lord’s Own Way,” Ensign, May 1978.
[11] Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, Deseret Book, 2001.