I promised that I was going to share a scripture this week. So here it goes. This is from the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon. Alma was a prophet who went on a mission to a city called Ammonihah with a man named Amulek. Nobody wanted to listen to them, really. In fact, the people in this city wanted to kill them. They thought that repentance was stupid, and didn't want to listen to anything that either man said. (I'm glad that people actually listen to me and generally don't want to kill me here in Korea.) Alma and Amulek kept trying. Some people listened--but most of the people were angry...

They were angry enough that they gathered together all the scriptures and those who had believed and then cast them into the fire. Amulek was really worried about this. I would be too. These were good people who were being killed. Who wants to see good people die? So he asked Alma why they couldn't call down the powers of heaven for help.

Alma 14:11--"But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgements which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and that the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day."

This seems pretty harsh, doesn't it? Why would God allow this to happen just so He can punish the wicked? God is all powerful--could He stop this from happening and just punish the people anyway?

Of course He could. The more important question is should He?

Heavenly Father gave unto all of us agency, which is the ability to choose. In order to have choices, we have to have different things to choose from--many of which are wrong, and contrary to what God would have us choose. Without right and wrong, our choices would never really be more significant than "do I want to wear green or pink?" We would never learn or grow because our choices would always be good.

God wants us to grow and change. There would be no reason for us to leave His presence to come to earth if all we ever did was good. It would make far more sense for us to just stay with Him forever.

It doesn't particularly seem fair. But life isn't fair. God never promised that life would be easy. Children never really appreciate what their parents have done for them until they have children of their own. We need tough experiences to grow and progress.

A particular sentence of this verse had never really stuck out to me until my district meeting last week. Elder Barzee emphasized this phrase "he doth suffer that they may do this thing unto them" while sharing his thoughts. Suffer is a very important word in this instance. The Lord took upon Him the sins of the world during the Atonement. He suffered more than any of us can ever comprehend. He felt all of our griefs and sorrows so that by turning to Him and following His commmandments, we can return to our Father's presence. He understands every paper-cut, jammed thumb, or sense of grief when our loved ones die. He "suffer[ed] that they [might] do [that] thing." Christ experienced the intense pain of the women and children tossed into the fire.

He felt the anguish of the parents of the students at Virginia Tech who were killed. He felt the pain of all those who died on 9/11. He felt the pain of those who are killed or injured in car accidents. He has suffered for everything.

And He still lets bad things happen. It would have been infinitely easier and far less painful for Him if He jumped in like a super hero every time something bad was about to happen and caused it to not happen. He could make us always happy and ensure we do the best thing all the time.

But He doesn't. We wouldn't grow. He won't take our agency. Suffering is a necessary part of life, as harsh as that seems.

Christ learned obedience through suffering, as we learn in Hebrews 5:8: "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." In order for us to be like Him, we have to learn obedience the same way.

It's really easy to follow a law that you already do naturally. However, sometimes it's hard to follow rules that you don't understand. For example...let's say that a parent tells his 3-year-old to not drink from the bottle under the sink. The 3-year-old doesn't know why...so when Daddy leaves, he opens the sink and pulls out the bottle of vinegar. It looks vaguely like a bottle of soda, so he opens it and then starts to drink it. Obviously after a few swallows (if even that many), he's going to realize that vinegar in large quantitites really doesn't taste very good. He has now learned to be obedient to that rule of his father.

Doing the right thing isn't always easy, especially since life is hard. People aren't going to give us pretty blue ribbons when we choose to be obedient or we are going through tough times. Life isn't going to be all puppies and kittens. And bad things will inevitably happen to everyone--regardless of religious creed or background.

The Savior knows how you feel. He has suffered all you have and more. His arms are stretched out to help you. Reach out and cast your burdens at His feet. He will help you. The burden won't disappear, but it will be easier to bear because someone will be helping you. The world won't be as dark.

I hope you all have a great week! Next week, I'll be giving you a typical day in the life of Sister Oates.