The role of suffering

[Sunnysprite]

Farmer: 'It was the system that failed us' - CNN.com

In many religious circles in the world, our faith in Heavenly Father seems to be linked to how easy life is for us. What have been your experiences in dealing with adversity? Did it deepen your faith?

[applepansy]

Yes adversity has deepened my faith and more than that my knowledge of my Heavenly Father and the Plan of Salvation.

When we exercise faith then we have experiences that create knowledge. Line upon line.

Its hard for some people to understand when I say I'm grateful for the adversity in my life, but I truly am. It all has brought me closer to my Savior.

[Sunnysprite]

Yes adversity has deepened my faith and more than that my knowledge of my Heavenly Father and the Plan of Salvation.

When we exercise faith then we have experiences that create knowledge. Line upon line.

Its hard for some people to understand when I say I'm grateful for the adversity in my life, but I truly am. It all has brought me closer to my Savior.

I agree. I wasn't doing really bad things. But I did get way into putting my fun ahead of Heavenly Father and lost everything. It is sad that too many young people attribute every part of their well being to whether God exists or not. If things are good, then God loves them and if they come upon hard times then either God does not love them or does not exist.

I was in the wilderness last week and was listening to a rendition of "All is well" on a CD as I watched. The Lyrics are so stirring to me. It really touched my heart to realize that those who made the journey from Europe to America and then across the plains and mountains to SLC knew that some of them would not survive the trip.

One place I passed through up around the Clarno country, on a plaque, I saw the story of a pioneer family; the husband gone to tend the herd; the wife and children swept away in a flood. The wife perished but the two children survived. In looking at the illustration it seemed clear to me that the woman was swept away because of her many skirts.

It just made me feel real compassion for the suffering of that family.

[C_T_R]

Adversity is a blessing. I've heard before that the worst trial is "the trial of no trials." Sounds pretty good to me. But it's through our suffering that we are brought closer to the Lord and learn to rely on Him. Some of the most painful times in my life have been some of the most sweet and tender and revealing moments and I'm grateful for that. "..for when I am weak, then am I strong." (2 Cor 12:9-10)

A favorite talk on faith is Claim the Exceeding Great and Precious Promises by Spencer J. Condie

Sometimes, in our earthly impatience, we may lose sight of the Lord’s precious promises and disconnect our obedience from the fulfillment of these promises. The Lord has declared:

“Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled?

“I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing.

“Then they say in their hearts: This is not the work of the Lord, for his promises are not fulfilled. But wo unto such, for their reward lurketh beneath, and not from above” (D&C 58:31–33).

I'm not exactly sure what you were asking for here.. but I'd love to discuss it further if you'd like.

[Sunnysprite]

Adversity is a blessing. I've heard before that the worst trial is "the trial of no trials." Sounds pretty good to me. But it's through our suffering that we are brought closer to the Lord and learn to rely on Him. Some of the most painful times in my life have been some of the most sweet and tender and revealing moments and I'm grateful for that. "..for when I am weak, then am I strong." (2 Cor 12:9-10)

A favorite talk on faith is Claim the Exceeding Great and Precious Promises by Spencer J. Condie

I'm not exactly sure what you were asking for here.. but I'd love to discuss it further if you'd like.

I've had some really extreme experiences yet miraculously seem to have come out of them with a deeper sense of Heavenly Father's will. I'd just like to read others stories.

[Anddenex]

Farmer: 'It was the system that failed us' - CNN.com

In many religious circles in the world, our faith in Heavenly Father seems to be linked to how easy life is for us. What have been your experiences in dealing with adversity? Did it deepen your faith?

First, when I think of suffering there are some variables I think of:

1. A direct result of disobedience

2. A direct result of obedience

3. Life sometimes, just sucks (to put it bluntly)

Suffering in connection with disobedience typically will not strengthen or deepen ones faith, it will have more of a tendency to continue in disobedience and for some the ultimate loss of their testimony.

Example, a person in high school who decides the one drink of alcohol to appear cool with their friends isn't bad. It is only one drink. Until that drink leads to another drink, and then another, until finally the spirit has fully withdrawn from that individual.

In these circumstances, these are the young men and women by which wards are seeking to reactivate, or attempting to activate.

Suffering in connection to faithful obedience, will have more of a tendency to deepen ones faith. However, it will only deepen ones faith if the person is willing to accept the outcome, and then positively move forward, waiting upon the Lord for his answer.

Some of my most important revelations have come through great trial and tribulation, by which I more fully understood Paul's words in Romans 5: 1- 5.

However, I have one suffering or tribulation, which has had the opposite affect, and has not served to strengthen my faith, and a tribulation I still struggle with and right now am not thankful for (just being honest).

Suffering in connection with "life just sucks sometimes" will have either affect also. If a person's attitude is in the right place the suffering will give experience, and at times make it easier to suffer more.

[Sunnysprite]

I truthfully think that a lot of suffering comes just because. And most of us struggle against it, wanting to find the reason, wanting to say that Satan attacked us and so on. I once read the book of Job and marvelled at the suffering of the poor man. He had done nothing wrong at all.

I remember one instance where I cried all day, cried all night and wakened crying and apologising to Heavenly Father for not being as good as Job. At the time, it felt like I was a complete failure, but in the coming months I began to realise that we are not our own and we are to serve and love Heavenly Father in good and bad.

It was very tough and I would not want to experience it again.

[slamjet]

I suggest reading Mountains to Climb from this past conference.

[Sicily510]

Hebrews 11:40

God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

JST translation: God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect.

Our sufferings is what chastens us, improves us, builds us, the compassion our Heavenly Father has for us if we are willing to endure along the gospels of Jesus Christ.

The Role of Suffering

I believe our spiritual strength is directly related to the extent to which our souls are stretched. But we should neither seek for suffering nor glory in tribulation. There is no intrinsic value in suffering in and of itself. Suffering can wound and embitter the soul as surely as it can strengthen and purify. Some souls become stronger in response to suffering, but others bend and break. As author Anne Morrow Lindbergh wisely noted, “If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers.”2 If we are to partake of “the fellowship of [Christ’s] sufferings” (Philippians 3:10), we must pay the price of striving with all our hearts to know and emulate Him. That price may indeed involve suffering, but to suffering we must add compassion, empathy, patience, humility, and a willingness to submit our will to that of God.

The wondrous manifestations of Christ’s love for all bring hope and encouragement to those who suffer from ailments of all sorts. His love is ever present and never failing. As Paul testified:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? …

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

“Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35, 38–39).

Jesus, in His infinite love and compassion, knows of our trials and sorrows, for He “is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth” (Alma 26:37).

LDS.org - Ensign Article - The Spiritual Component of Healing

[Blackmarch]

Farmer: 'It was the system that failed us' - CNN.com

In many religious circles in the world, our faith in Heavenly Father seems to be linked to how easy life is for us. What have been your experiences in dealing with adversity? Did it deepen your faith?

Yes cause usually I'm a prideful and forgetful person, and that tends to be the times i turn towards god...

(need much improving)

[Blackmarch]

Our sufferings is what chastens us, improves us, builds us, the compassion our Heavenly Father has for us if we are willing to endure along the gospels of Jesus Christ.

I'd also like to add that within LDS understanding, that when we were spirits with God we chose sacrifice and go through suffering and sorrow so that we might end up free and better than what we were, rather than choose the free easy ticket plan.

[Sunnysprite]

I'd also like to add that within LDS understanding, that when we were spirits with God we chose sacrifice and go through suffering and sorrow so that we might end up free and better than what we were, rather than choose the free easy ticket plan.

Something that I have not seen in our church but have heard others from other churches complain about is that there seems to be a feeling that if life is going good for you, then you are right with God, but if you are experiencing hardship, then there is sin in your life.

[Blackmarch]

Something that I have not seen in our church but have heard others from other churches complain about is that there seems to be a feeling that if life is going good for you, then you are right with God, but if you are experiencing hardship, then there is sin in your life.

theres an ancient meme. I've seen that pop up in all sorts of places, dont know why humanity is prone to go into that rut... maybe cause when you are doing righteously you do eventually get blessed, and perhaps its easy to see hardship as removal of such blessings.. or we just like to blame other things.

[Dravin]

theres an ancient meme.

Yep, Job is a classic ancient example.

[Sunnysprite]

Yep, Job is a classic ancient example.

I hope that I have realised that other than choosing to do the right thing, our life here is not very important in comparison with what Heavenly Father has for us after. It is hard to keep that mind set however.

[Guest]

In my experience, the harder life becomes the more religious people become. This is perfectly demonstrated by the number of intensely faithful Filipinos in the poorest parts of the country.

LDS conversions are much higher in the poor areas than the urban areas.

I see people who are so humbled by life's challenges that they rid themselves of their pride and surrender to God. And then I see people who are so poor that the only thing keeping them going is their faith that God loves them so much that He found them worthy of the sacrifice of His Son.

[Sharky]

A Priesthood Lesson discussion some weeks ago got onto the subject of "praying" & "listening" for direction when we have major & not so major decisions in life.

20 years ago my wife & I packed up & moved. We had good job offers in 4 different states, though we felt no different about any of them as we sought to understand where the Lord would have us go.

In fact we felt very much that no one place was any better or any worse then another. That while the place would be different & perhaps the experiences we would have would be different, the end result would be the same.

We decided to return to my childhood home.

Sometimes I think we want to blame difficulties on something or someone. Yet, we make our decision, the events that follow are frequently just the natural events that follow anyone that makes that same decision.

I am now a fulltime farmer, our entire livelihood is anchored to the farm. When we move back home farming was the furthest thing from my mind, but it came so naturally & rapidly I turned from working for someone else to farming as a way of life.

2 years of severe drought has all but driven us into the poorhouse.

Adversity? Yes. But just a natural sequence of consquences of the chain of decisions we have made.

The same "consequences" would have resulted to anyone else who had made those same decisions.

Our adversity is nothing "special", how we respond to it & what we learn from it is very personal.

Edited August 30, 2012 by Sharky

[Sharky]

In my experience, the harder life becomes the more religious people become

A large percentage of guys "find" God while in prison. When times get easier they "lose" God.

So often we find a "God of convienance" when we feel a need for divine help & forget that God when things begin to go well.

[Sunnysprite]

A Priesthood Lesson discussion some weeks ago got onto the subject of "praying" & "listening" for direction when we have major & not so major decisions in life.

20 years ago my wife & I packed up & moved. We had good job offers in 4 different states, though we felt no different about any of them as we sought to understand where the Lord would have us go.

In fact we felt very much that no one place was any better or any worse then another. That while the place would be different & perhaps the experiences we would have would be different, the end result would be the same.

We decided to return to my childhood home.

Sometimes I think we want to blame difficulties on something or someone. Yet, we make our decision, the events that follow are frequently just the natural events that follow anyone that makes that same decision.

I am now a fulltime farmer, our entire livelihood is anchored to the farm. When we move back home farming was the furthest thing from my mind, but it came so naturally & rapidly I turned from working for someone else to farming as a way of life.

2 years of severe drought has all but driven us into the poorhouse.

Adversity? Yes. But just a natural sequence of consquences of the chain of decisions we have made.

The same "consequences" would have resulted to anyone else who had made those same decisions.

Our adversity is nothing "special", how we respond to it & what we learn from it is very personal.

I have to tell this story. LOL When I became Mormon several years ago, I did not actually believe that the church did not practice polygamy, but I did believe that Heavenly Father wanted me to be Mormon. I used to daydream about somehow fitting into farm culture with many other women, and wondered how that would work out.

Well, neither the farm nor the multiple other wives ever happened.

I do agree that adversity can be very instrumental toward bringing people closer to Heavenly Father.