Mormon Church

Many people wonder why God allows bad things to happen to people when He knows what will happen and has the power to stop it. It seems to many that God could leave us all in the Garden of Eden forever.

The world did start that way. For Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden was their childhood. They were created as adults, but the Garden gave them that sense of safety, protection, and ease while they adapted to mortality. However, they couldn’t stay there forever. God never intended them to stay there forever. A perfect and easy life seems desirable, but in reality it is the most limiting life possible.

There is a Mormon scripture that says:

And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end. And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin (2 Nephi 2:22-23).

The Mormon faith addresses these types of issues. God understood that in order to fully appreciate life, we had to experience trials. It is after sadness that happiness becomes most meaningful. It would, as suggested by these verses, be impossible to raise children without the ability to experience the range of emotions—the joy, the fear, and even the frustrations. It would be a far less extraordinary experience without the powerful love we have for our children, which is made stronger by our fears for them.

There is another factor to consider in wondering why bad things happen. Agency is, in the Mormon faith, an essential aspect of our life on earth. What meaning would there be in life if we could not make any choices for ourselves? Why would God even send us to Earth if we were just puppets doing whatever God instructed us to do? Lucifer, in Heaven before the Earth was created, thought just such a plan would work. He wanted to be the puppeteer and in return, to receive all the glory and honor—in other words, to replace God in our hearts and lives. He felt this would provide more safety, guaranteeing us safe return home to Heaven. This is why, as the Bible says, Lucifer was a fallen angel.

God couldn’t allow Lucifer to get his way because it would make life meaningless to us. We might as well have stayed home with God. The purpose of life was to allow us to be tested. Could we find God and choose to follow Him if we couldn’t remember our time with Him? Could we develop faith, become unselfish enough to reject some worldly pleasures in order to live up to our heritage as children of God, and perfect ourselves as much as possible?

The only way such a thing was possible was to give us agency—the right to choose for ourselves. Being able to choose for ourselves means sometimes we will choose badly and that will always have consequences. Some of the negative consequences will impact us—but some will impact others. We are responsible for our choices. When bad things happen, we have to recognize that God didn’t cause it—He allowed us to carry out our lives as we choose. There are often wider issues involved. If someone is starving through no fault of his own, each person who doesn’t feed the hungry holds some responsibility for that person’s hunger. If a child is victimized by a person with a mental illness, we hold a responsibility to care for those with mental illness.

In other words, God doesn’t cause bad things—we often cause them through the choices we make. We need to be careful to place blame where it belongs. If we want less suffering in the world, we have to do something about it.

Some tragedies are the result of the natural laws of the universe. Storms will happen and floods will occur. Fred Rogers, the late children’s television program host and an ordained minister, said that he was often upset by tragedies as a child. His mother would tell him to look for the helpers, because there were always helpers. While the tragedies are terrible to go through, many people are touched and changed forever by the helpers who emerge in these situations—the people who show up after the hurricane to help complete strangers clear their homes of debris, the strangers who stop at a car accident, and the loving neighbors who bring in food after a death.

God can’t stop every trial. We don’t know why He stops some and does not stop others. He understands the greater picture in a way we cannot. We often don’t see what God really did in a situation. In Philadelphia, a child who had been kidnapped was left, cold and frightened, in a park in the very earliest hours of the morning. She was found by a good man headed to work, a man with a child just her age. He took care of her until the police were able to come. The tragedy of her abuse happened, but the helpers were there and will continue to be there to help her through it. God must have planned hard to have a kind and loving young father get the right job, live in the right neighborhood, and have to walk to work at such an early hour so he would be in the right place at the right time—before another evil person found her. Others made decisions that led to her suffering, but God sent in a helper when she was set free—and perhaps He also arranged for her to be set free because he knew something about her future. Elizabeth Smart, a Mormon who was kidnapped and repeatedly abused for six months as a young teenager, is today a happy adult who works hard to help other children and their families who have experienced similar situations. God didn’t plan her kidnapping, but he arranged for her to survive it, knowing she would put her trials to good use in the future and be able to help others.

God does not want us to suffer, but sometimes he has to allow suffering. It is up to us to find good in the trials. It is also our responsibility to step in and help others through them. When we help others, we deliver God message that He is aware of our needs and wants to send someone to help ease the pain.

Even Jesus, God’s own Son, suffered terrible trials and God did not step in to stop them. Without question, His heart was broken by His Son’s suffering, brought about by the sins of others, as He is by ours, but He understands certain things we do not. He can see the eternal perspective we don’t have. When the Savior suffered, it was essential that it happen so everyone else could be saved. When we suffer, there may be a lesson that can be drawn from it to help us grow and to encourage us to help take care of each other. “Love one another” can solve many of the world’s trials.

Listen to two Mormon scholars discuss this topic in detail:

Why: A Mormon Answer

I am a Jewish convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the Mormon Church.  I have found that deepening one’s understanding of the Jewish Passover can deepen one’s appreciation for the symbolism of Easter.

Passover is really just a one-day holiday, ordained by God just before the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.  It is the day of sacrifice of the paschal lamb, itself representing the Savior.  The lamb was to be under one year old, a first-born male without blemish.  No bones were to be broken when it was sacrificed and roasted and partaken of during the Passover meal.  Little lambs are innocent and precious, as is Christ.  Each Israelite family was to take a chosen lamb into their household on the tenth of Nisan and keep it until the sacrifice on the fourteenth.  By then, the sacrifice would be made in sorrow, because everyone in the family would love the lamb so much.

The sacrifice of the lamb was to take place between 3 and 5 in the afternoon, the hours Christ would hang on the cross, and the very date.  The blood of the lamb was painted onto the lintels of the exterior doorway of the house with hyssop, a healing herb later used to offer vinegar to the dying Christ.  The blood of the lamb was a sign unto the destroying angels that the household were faithful followers of God.  Mormonism teaches that God pays special attention to family salvation.  Exaltation into His very presence in the afterlife can be a family affair.

Passover leads into the Feast of Unleavened Bread, lasting one week.  Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are observed each year in Jewish homes to remember their redemption from slavery in Egypt, and therefore, the message of the entire holiday is redemption and deliverance.

The Passover meal, honored the night before the 14th of Nisan, is full of imagery of Christ and redemption.  The story of the deliverance from Egypt is recounted.  Five cups of wine are partaken of, representing covenants between God and Israel.  The final cup, which is now a toast to Jerusalem rebuilt, was the covenant Christ could not fulfill at the Last Supper — the restoration of Israel to its homeland as an inheritance forever.  The other cups represent deliverance from slavery, deliverance from Egypt, becoming God’s people, and physical and spiritual redemption.

The unleavened bread represents Messiah, and it is pierced and striped, as was Christ.  It is blessed and broken, wrapped in white linen and “buried” or hidden and then resurrected.  This, Christ used to represent Himself and the body He yielded up to save us.

When we participate in a Passover ritual meal in our home in the spring, we now do so to celebrate Easter.  The ritual foods on the Passover Seder Plate are maror, the bitter herbs, to remind us of the bitterness of slavery (sin); the charoseth, a mash of sweet fruit, to represent the sweetness of hope (in Christ); the lamb shank bone to remind us of the paschal lamb; the sweet herbs to remind us of the earth’s rebirth in the spring (and Christ’s, and our own); and a roasted egg, symbol of birth, but which has translated into an Easter symbol in many Christian nations.

The Passover was celebrated for hundreds of years looking forward to Messiah.  Christ used it to testify of Himself to His apostles at the Last Supper, and bid them do these things as a sacrament in remembrance of Him from then on.

Additional Resources:

The Lord Jesus Christ in Mormonism

The Holy Bible in Mormonism

Worship with Mormons

The Mormon Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland spoke on March 20, 2012 to students of the Harvard University Law School as part of the school’s annual “Mormonism 101″ series. Elder Holland (Mormon leaders are traditionally addressed by the title, “Elder”) explained about the history and beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are often called “Mormons.” He then engaged in a question-and-answer session with members of the audience. Elder Holland’s remarks helped shed some light on the Church, which has received a lot of media attention lately due to the presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney.

Elder Holland began his remarks by congratulating the students on their openness to discussions of religious belief. ”In the western world religion has historically been the basis of civil society as we have known it, and if I am not mistaken, men and women of the law are committed to the best—that is, the most just—civil society possible,” Elder Holland pointed out. “So thank you for taking religion seriously. You will not only be better attorneys but you will be closer to the truth in your own personal lives.”

Mormonism: The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ

The origins of Mormonism were the first topic addresses by Elder Holland. Mormonism is a restoration of the original gospel established by Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry. Following Christ’s ascension into heaven and the deaths of the original twelve apostles, the primitive Christian Church entered a long period of confusion:

So what ensued was a millennium and a half of destroying Paul’s hope that there would be a “unity of the faith, and [a] knowledge of the Son of God, . . . that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” It is commonplace to note that in the Christian world we now see anything but “a unity of faith” or any real Christian cohesiveness that could remotely be called “the building fitly framed together”that would reaffirm “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

The Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith

By the time of Joseph Smith, who was a young man during the time of religious contention and revival during the early 1800s in the United States known as the second “Great Awakening,” huge divides of doctrine separated the different Christian sects from one another. According to Elder Holland,

This young boy-prophet lamented that his region was “a scene of great confusion and bad feeling . . . priest contending against priest, and convert against convert; so that [any] good feelings . . . were entirely lost in a . . . war of words and tumult of opinions.” “A war of words and tumult of opinions.” That says so much about post-New Testament Christianity.

Mormonism: Basic Beliefs

Mormons are Christians

We are not fourth-century Christians, we are not Nicene Christians, we are not creedal Christians of the brand that arose hundreds of years after Christ. No, when we speak of “restored Christianity” we speak of the Church as it was in its New Testament purity, not as it became when great councils were called to debate and anguish over what it was they really believed. So if one means Greek-influenced, council-convening, philosophy-flavored Christianity of post-apostolic times, we are not that kind of Christian. Peter we know, and Paul we know, but Constantine and Athanasius, Athens and Alexandria we do not know. (Actually, we know them, we just don’t follow them.)

Doctrinal Differences Between Mormons and More Recent Christianity

A few doctrinal differences between Mormon doctrines and post-fourth-century traditions were pointed out:

• God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are separate and distinct beings with glorified bodies of flesh and bone. As such, we stand with the historical position that “the formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found in the [New Testament].”…However, having affirmed the point of Their separate and distinct physical nature, we declare unequivocally that [God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ] were indeed “one” in every other conceivable way—in mind and deed, in will and wish and hope, in faith and purpose and intent and love. They are most assuredly much more alike than They are different in all the ways I have just said, but They are separate and distinct beings as all fathers and sons are. In this matter we differ from traditional creedal Christianity but agree with the New Testament.
• We also differ with fourth and fifth century Christianity by declaring that the scriptural canon is not closed, that the heavens are open with revelatory experience, and that God meant what He said when He promised Moses, “My works are without end, and . . . my words . . . never cease.” We believe that God loves all His children and that He would never leave them for long without the instrumentality of prophets and apostles, authorized agents of His guidance and direction.
• …we are unique in the modern Christian world regarding one matter which a prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called our “most distinguishing feature.” That is, divine priesthood authority to provide the saving sacraments—the ordinances—of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The holy priesthood, which has been restored to the earth by those who held it anciently, signals the return of divine authorization. It is different from all other man-made powers and authorities on the face of the earth. Without it there could be a church in name only, and it would be a church lacking in authority to administer in the things of God. This restoration of priesthood authority eases centuries of anguish among those who knew certain ordinances and sacraments were essential but lived with the doubt as to who had the right to administer them. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we can answer the question of “who laid hands on him” all the way back to Christ Himself. The return of such authority is truly “the most distinguishing feature” of our faith.

Grief is part of the human experience. Opposition is necessary for growth, according to the Mormon view of our mortal experience, revealed by the Lord through modern prophets. It can, however, be lifted through the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Mormons believe that the Savior, Jesus Christ, not only died to pay for our sins but also to take upon Himself our sorrow, grief, and infirmities (Alma 7:11–12).

Patricia Pinegar, former President of the Primary, or children’s organization of The Church of Jesus Christ (errantly referred to by the media as the Mormon Church), speaks of her own encounter with grief and the Savior’s intercession:

The difficult experience of my son’s death helped me identify and rejoice in the blessings of peace, hope, and direction—blessings that all who truly accept and live the gospel of Jesus Christ may enjoy. I can bear witness to the words of Elder Richard G. Scott: “Please learn that as you wrestle with a challenge and feel sadness because of it, you can simultaneously have peace and rejoicing” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 20; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 17). (“Peace, Hope and Direction,” Ensign, Nov. 1999).

Jesus Christ Himself was a man of sorrow and grief, yet He must have had the supreme joy of knowing He was in tune with His Father and solace in that unique relationship with Him. We, too, can find that peace and assurance that we are not abandoned when death of a loved one strikes or when someone’s agency tragically colludes with the plans for our own life.

Elder Bateman, a contemporary Mormon leader, speaks as well to the healing balm that can come when we ask the Lord for that special soul salve that only He can truly provide:

Death teaches that we do not experience a fulness of joy in mortality and that everlasting joy can be achieved only with the assistance of the Master (see D&C 93:33–34). Just as the lame man at the pool of Bethesda needed someone stronger than himself to be healed (see John 5:1–9), so we are dependent on the miracles of Christ’s atonement if our souls are to be made whole from grief, sorrow, and sin…. Through Christ, broken hearts are mended and peace replaces anxiety and sorrow.

Grief isn’t always caused by death or sickness.  There are as many life burdens as there are blessings. Of the lesser-visible crosses, modern apostle of the Lord’s re-established Church (Church of Jesus Christ, “Mormon Church”), Marvin J. Ashton remarks:

One type of cross is that of violated trust by a parent, a family member, a teacher, a bishop, a member of the stake presidency, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a co-worker, or a classmate.

Another cross that isn’t always visible but that on occasion can be very heavy and worrisome is the lack of self-respect—a feeling of unwillingness to accept oneself. Can you find it in your heart to once in a while compliment yourself on your behavior? Or do you think poorly of yourself no matter what you do? Having feelings like these can be a heavy cross to bear. Such a cross may slow down your eternal progression. (“Carry Your Cross,” Liahona, Sep. 1988.)

My own crosses have taught me, more than anything, about who Jesus Christ really is and who I really am.  Regardless of their source, there is solace to be found through drawing near to the Lord, who descended below all of the things we endure, so He could lift us up out of them. I testify that Jesus Christ’s power is real, that His knowledge of our struggles is intimate, and that His ability to help us is unparalleled.  If you would like to know more about how to access His power, please visit www.mormon.org or chat with the missionaries.

Latter-day Saints (nicknamed Mormons, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), like other Christians, accept both the Old and New Testaments as Holy Scripture. Additionally, they accept the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price as part of their standard works (canonized scripture).  The Doctrine and Covenants, first published in 1835, contains one hundred thirty-eight sections or individual documents generally arranged in chronological order beginning in 1823 through 1918 and two “Official Declarations” announcing new policies in 1890 and 1978. These documents are a selection from the revelations and other inspired writings given through Joseph Smith (1805-44) and his successors as president of the Church.

Mormon Beliefs: Mormon Books of Scripture

Like chapters in The Bible, sections in the Doctrine and Covenants are divided into verses. Much of the Doctrine and Covenants, like the Pauline letters in the New Testament, deals with time- and culture-specific directions. However, members of the Church believe that the Doctrine and Covenants contains general principles that can inspire those living today to strengthen their faith in God and encourage them to fulfill the Lord’s will in their lives.

The Doctrine and Covenants also contains doctrinal teachings that provide modern-day disciples insights to the purpose of life and God himself, such as “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36) and “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21).