Why are Unbearable Trials Important?

This week has made me question, why would God let bad things happen to good people? Recently, I thought I was going to through some terrible trials until yesterday. Carson’s friend and his fiancee were on the road going home. Two hours out on their trip, they rolled. Carson’s friend passed away. His fiancee is in critical condition. I can’t imagine how much her life and their families life has been turned upside down. As I type this, I can’t help but, to cry and pray for these people. It also scares me, because that could have happened to anyone. Why did Heavenly Father let this happen? Why couldn't he have stopped this? I think Elder Quentin L. Cook, an Apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, put it in a clear and simple way, “There are many kinds of challenges. Some give us necessary experiences. Adverse results in this mortal life are not evidence of lack of faith or of an imperfection in our Father in Heaven’s overall plan. The refiner’s fire is real, and qualities of character and righteousness that are forged in the furnace of affliction perfect and purify us and prepare us to meet God (Cook, Q.).”  Another Apostle named Elder Jeffery R. Holland said this “You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. [Trials are] not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy…The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary (Holland, J. 2000).” I am so grateful for the Savior, Jesus Christ. He knows exactly what every person is going through; he knows it’s hard and has nothing but empathy towards us. What Jesus Christ went through in the Garden in Gethsemane, in Jerusalem, and finally, on the cross on Calvary was hard. He suffered as any normal human being would have suffered. He was beaten, bruised, and bled from every pore on his body. In a way, when Jesus Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, he went through the refiner’s fire to know what we would go through. Matthew 26:38-39 explains how Christ felt when he did suffer, saying, “Then saith he unto them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me… And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” He cried out, like we would, to our Heavenly Father to help him. He wanted the pain to end, never the less, He knew He had to drink that bitter cup. It was the only way to save us and to help us in our time of need. Elder Holland continued to say in that talk “The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” I know this to be true. During our unbearable trials, where we feel we cannot make another step, I know we can because; we can rely on the Lord and Jesus Christ. When you start to think and ask the Lord, “Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me (Stevenson, M)?” Remember this “The Lord replied, ‘The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand, is when I carried you (Stevenson, M).”

References:

Cook, Q. (n.d.). The Songs They Could Not Sing - Quentin L. Cook. Retrieved December 18, 2014, from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/print/2011/10/the-songs-they-could-not-sing?lang=eng

Holland, J. (2000, June 20). Missionary Work and the Atonement - Ensign Mar. 2001 - ensign. Retrieved December 18, 2014, from https://www.lds.org/ensign/2001/03/missionary-work-and-the-atonement?lang=eng

Stevenson, M. (n.d.). Footprints in the Sand – Poem. Retrieved December 18, 2014, from http://www.poetseers.org/the-great-poets/misc-2/footprints-in-the-sand/