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Prophets or
Evolution - An LDS Perspective Chapter 9 Why Is
There Suffering in the World? Part 1 of 2 "In such a world of conflict, a
world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, not to be
on the side of the executioners." Albert Camus Introduction Many years
ago, in 1968, I was a PFC (Private First Class) in the United States Marine
Corps and I was in One day,
while we were on patrol, I "hit" a booby trap, loaded with a
grenade. I was literally three feet away
from a grenade when it went off. For several
reasons I won't go into, I was not harmed as bad as someone might have expected. One of my wounds was that a grenade fragment
broke off a joint in the index finger of my left hand. Because of
this wound, and other wounds, I was sent back to the The
hospital ward I was in was a large room and had about 40 or 50 wounded
soldiers. All of them were “amputees,”
meaning they had had at least one arm or leg amputated. All of them were amputees, that is, except
me. I just had a finger joint missing. I never complained about my wounds after
living in that room for a month. While I was
in the hospital I learned there was another Latter-Day Saint in the
hospital. However, he was in a much
smaller room; meaning he was much more severely injured than most of the
soldiers. In fact, he was a triple
amputee. He had had both legs and one
arm amputated. I visited
him for a brief time and noted to myself that he was bitter about his
wounds. Many times I have thought about
him and every time I have concluded I would have been bitter too, if what had
happened to him had happened to me. I am
sure he asked himself many times "why me." I am sure I would have asked the same question
many times also. At the time
I visited him I did not have an answer to his bitterness. I still don't have an answer, nor did I keep
track of him and know if his attitude ever changed. I hope it did. But I have
learned a lot since The answer
turns out to be central to the purpose of earth life. While an understanding of these things may
not answer the questions about an individual case of suffering; it will answer many
of the general questions about why there is so much suffering in the world. These
chapters won't go into all the sordid causes of human suffering. Examples will have to suffice instead of an
exhaustive list. Why Is There Suffering in
the World? It is
impossible to chronicle all of the suffering and other unfortunate events that
have happened in the world's history. Of course,
when we think about suffering we first think about World War II and the scores
of millions of innocent victims of that war. "What man has done to man is
the saddest chapter in the history of the world. The story of the peoples of
the earth is in large measure the tale of how the world whipped the
nonconformist with its displeasure and visited upon him dishonor and ignominy,
torture and death." George K. Anderson, from The Legend of the Wandering Jew What a
profound quote!! When
considering all of the suffering in the history of this world, World War II was
only significant in the sense that so much suffering occurred in such a short
period of time and that small segments of society were specific targets of
suffering. Taken together, World War II only
represented a small percentage of the suffering of people in the history of
this world. Sometimes
people look at the suffering in the world, and claim that this is a proof that
there is no God. They claim that if
there was a God that He would forcefully dispense with the suffering in the
world. They may even think that God is
not powerful enough to overcome the suffering in the world. Consider
this quote President Heber J. Grant, the seventh president of the LDS church: Here is the keynote, Latter-day
Saints. Let us realize that God is mightier than all the earth. Let us realize
that if we are faithful in keeping the commandments of God His promises will be
fulfilled to the very letter. For He has said that not one jot or tittle shall
fall to the ground unfulfilled [see Matthew 5:18]. President Heber J. Grant (2004 Priesthood/R.S.
Manual - page 30) President
Grant makes it very clear that God is powerful enough to do away with the
suffering in the world. But God
does not do away with the suffering in the world. Why not? Good and Evil and Free
Agency While many individuals
who are faithful followers of God do suffer pain and other suffering, the
prophet Job being one such example (and a rather extreme example at that!), these
things do not happen because God in unable to protect us from pain and
suffering. A great
deal of the suffering in the world is caused by evil. To do away with suffering, God would have to
do away with evil. But to do away with
evil, God would have to do away with free agency. But free agency, and the ability of people to
choose between good and evil, is the
specific reason we came to this world! Even though
it may appear that satan has unlimited power to cause evil and suffering; in reality
satan is severely limited in the damage he can do, and especially he is limited
in what he can do to a righteous nation. If satan
was not strictly regulated in what he is able to do, the misery of this world
would be an hundredfold worse than it is today.
Nevertheless, satan has been given a "very long chain" in
order to allow people the opportunity to choose between good and evil. Here is a
quote from President John Taylor in 1875, more than 125 years ago!! We are living in a critical and an
important age. Men sometimes are astonished when they see the corruption,
wickedness and evil, the departure from honesty and integrity, and the villainy
that everywhere exist; but why should they be? ... Has it not been preached to
us that the nations of the earth had the elements of destruction within
themselves and that they were bound to crumble? And when we see honor trampled
under foot, and integrity and truth standing afar off, while the wicked,
corrupt and [disobedient] manage and direct affairs, we may expect that the
axe is laid at the root of the tree and that [the tree] is decaying and will
soon fall [see D&C 97:7]. And that is what is being accomplished among the
nations today. We need not whine or think there is anything strange or
remarkable about it. We have expected these things to transpire, and they
will be a great deal worse than they are to-day. President John Taylor, 1875 President
Taylor is talking about the "corruption, wickedness and evil" in
1875!! The last sentence in this quote (i.e.
that these things "will be a great deal worse than they are to-day") is
a prophecy that has literally been fulfilled many times since it was originally
stated. God is in
charge of this world. In his infinite
wisdom He allows evil to abound at times.
And because God allows evil to abound (to allow people to choose between
good and evil), then God must allow
suffering to abound. Someone
will suffer if evil people are allowed to exercise their free agency. An Example of God's Will During the
ministry of Alma the Younger, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, the prophet
Alma the Younger, and another prophet named Amulek, preached to the people in
the wicked city of Ammonihah. Alma and
Amulek had success in converting some of the people of the city. However, this success did not go unnoticed by
the leaders of the wicked city. In fact, the
city leaders cast out all those who believed in the words of Alma and Amulek. They had to flee to another city. Then, the
city leaders took the wives and children of those who believed Alma and Amulek
and cast them into a fire to destroy them. As the
women and children were being burned, Amulek was pained. This is what Amulek said to Alma the Younger:
10 And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were
consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we
witness this awful scene? Therefore let
us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and
save them from the flames. Alma 14:10 [Amulek] I suspect
any person would say the same thing under the circumstances: "How can we
stand by and watch this horrible scene?" Alma the
Younger, however, being a prophet, saw a bigger picture than Amulek saw. Here is his reply to Amulek:
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
judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood
of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily
against them at the last day. Alma 14:11 [Alma the Younger] There are
several things to be learned from this statement. First, "[The Lord suffers] that they may
do this thing ... according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments
which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of
the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily
against them at the last day." In other
words, God allowed this thing so that the evil people who led the city of Ammonihah
could be justly condemned before the great judgment seat of God. But Alma
also comments about the righteous who were being murdered: "... the Lord
receiveth them up unto himself, in glory."
In other words, their pains and suffering were but for a short moment,
and then they were to be taken into the glory of God. Another
example of this doctrine can be found during the great wars between the
Nephites and Lamanites:
13 For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and
judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the
righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the
rest of the Lord their God. In this
quote we see the same two concepts.
First, the righteous are allowed to be slain and "they do enter
into the rest of the Lord their God."
We also see that the wicked will be condemned for their actions: "that
his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked." We see in
these two situations the correlation between suffering and judgment. The wicked must commit an act or horror to be
justly condemned before God. But this
act of horror will lead to there being victims. We must
remember that this earth life is nothing more than the "twinkling of an
eye" relative to eternity. From an
eternal perspective, the suffering of those who suffer is but for a short
moment. But those who intentionally
cause the suffering of others are putting themselves at risk for their own
suffering; which could last for an eternal
duration. In other
words, the long term suffering of those who intentionally cause the suffering
of others may be far, far greater, in the eternal scheme of things, than the
totality of suffering they have caused others; even counting all individuals
they have caused to suffer. Why We Are On Earth In a profound
talk by Elder Neil L. Andersen, of the Seventy, he gives a warning to the
members of the church: Let’s begin with what we know. Good
comes from God; evil comes from the devil. They are not, however, equal forces
that are fighting each other in the universe. At the head of all that is good
is the Christ—He who is the Only Begotten of the Father, who created our world
and numerous others. Our Redeemer is a resurrected and perfect being. I know He
lives. The devil, on the other hand,
“persuadeth men to do evil.” “He [has] fallen from heaven, … [has] become
miserable forever,” and now works “that all men might be miserable like unto
himself.” He is a liar and a loser. The power of the Savior and the
power of the devil are not truly comparable. On this planet, however, evil has
been allowed a position of influence to give us the chance to choose between
good and evil. The scripture says: “God gave unto man that he should act for
himself. [And] man could not act for himself ... [unless] he was enticed by …
one or the other.” The choice between good and evil is
at the very heart of our experience on earth. In the final review of our lives,
it will not really matter if we were rich or poor, if we were athletic or not,
if we had friends or were often forgotten. We can work, study, laugh and have
fun, dance, sing, and enjoy many different experiences. These are a wonderful
part of life, but they are not central to why we are here. The opportunity
to choose good over evil is precisely why we are here. Not one of us would say, “I want to
choose evil.” We all want to choose the right. However, the choice of good over
evil is not always easy, because evil frequently lurks behind smiling eyes.
Listen to these warnings: “Take heed … that ye do not judge
that which is evil to be of God.” “Ye must watch and pray always lest
ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you.” “Satan hath sought to deceive you,
that he might overthrow you.” The message is: Beware of the evil
behind the smiling eyes! I have known a few young men who
began with every intention to stay firm in their loyalty to the Savior but who
slipped from the path because they did not see the evil behind eyes that
appeared quite harmless. They saw the fun, the pleasure, the acceptance, but
they did not see the other consequences. Neil L. Andersen, “Beware of the Evil behind the Smiling
Eyes,” Ensign, May 2005, 46 All youth
of the church, and even adults, should read Elder Andersen's entire talk
several times!! It is on the www.lds.org
website in the May, 2005 Ensign. The
following section from the above quote is worth repeating: "The power of
the Savior and the power of the devil are not truly comparable. On this planet, however, evil has been
allowed a position of influence to give us the chance to choose between
good and evil." In other
words, even though God is infinitely more powerful than satan in the context of
the Universe; on this planet
satan is given a "long chain" so that by using his seemingly
unlimited power and money he can provide people the choice between good and
evil. Evil acts
must be allowed in this world so that everyone has the opportunity to make
choices between good and evil. But if
there must be evil; there must be suffering. There have always been two great
competing forces in the world. These began before the world was created.
These opposing forces are the forces of good and evil. Between these two
powerful forces each of us is caught in a tug of war. In simple terms, that
which is good comes from God, and that which is evil comes from the devil. You
can’t have it both ways and find true happiness; some have tried, but in the
long run all have failed. If any of you young men think you can have it both
ways, you are only deceiving yourselves. It doesn’t work that way. It never
has. It never will. James E. Faust, “The Devil’s Throat,” Ensign, May 2003, 51 The Tobacco Industry Members of
the church are frequently confused when they see versus like these, which both
refer to the latter-days and to members of the LDS church:
27 And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto
the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness. Mormon 8:27 [ Or like
this:
22 And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get
power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be
destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which
shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for
vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not. Ether 8:22 [ The context
of these verses is that in the latter-days (in which we now live), many saints
(i.e. members of the church) will die (i.e. the "blood of the saints"
and "blood of his saints") as a direct result of the actions of the Secret
Combinations of the devil. The tobacco
industry provides us with one of many examples of members of the church dying
because of secret combinations. While
the members of the church who died because of the deception of the tobacco
industry were generally less active members; there are many other situations
where even the most active members of the church die because of secret cartels
or secret combinations. When
considering the tobacco industry, no mortal can begin to comprehend how much
suffering and death the tobacco industry has caused and is still causing!! Did the tobacco
industry cause all this pain, suffering and death out of ignorance or
was it people who caused this
suffering and death? An
"industry" cannot think or act.
Only people can think and act. An
"industry" is simply a bunch of pieces of paper and it cannot think
or act. It is people who cause and
caused the suffering of those who have used, and do use, tobacco products. In the
early 1950s scientific studies were making it very clear that tobacco caused
lung cancer. The tobacco industry
executives were well aware of these studies.
Did the tobacco industry quit making tobacco products when scientists
clearly provided a connection between lung cancer and tobacco? The tobacco
industry executives made several claims to the general public in a newspaper
advertisement titled: "A Frank Statement To Cigarette Smokers." First, they claimed they would find the
“truth” about whether there was a relationship between smoking and lung
cancer. The ad even claimed that if it
was shown that tobacco caused lung cancer (which they already knew was true) they
would quit making tobacco products. The
ad was nothing but a lie. The tobacco
industry (i.e. people in the tobacco industry) knew perfectly well that their
products caused lung cancer and other diseases.
So what the tobacco industry tried to do was convince the general public
that there was insufficient scientific
evidence that tobacco products caused lung cancer and other health
problems. Their
thinking was that if people were convinced that there was insufficient
scientific evidence that tobacco caused lung cancer, the people would continue
to smoke (and chew) and the tobacco industry would continue to make many
billions of dollars in profits every year.
The executives did not care how many people suffered and died. They were
and are the quintessential examples of "modern business ethics." To achieve
their profit goals the tobacco industry formed an organization in 1954 to fund
scientific studies which were not
looking for a relationship between tobacco and lung cancer. The organization was eventually called the
Council for Tobacco Research (CTR). In other
words, the CTR funded studies which pretended to look for a relationship
between smoking and lung cancer, but in fact these studies were forbidden to
look for such a relationship. For 42
years after its inception, the CTR funded more than $280 million in scientific
studies. However, in order to get some
of that funding you had to design a scientific study which had a title that sounded like it was
looking for a connection between tobacco and disease; but in fact the actual study was designed to
avoid finding such a relationship. Think of
these studies as you would an archery target.
The center of the target is the truth, the truth that tobacco caused
lung cancer and certain types of heart disease.
For a research scientist who wanted money from the CTR, the title of
their paper had to make it sound like they were going to aim directly at the
center of the target. However, their
actual study had to completely miss the target. Those who
received this funding had to know exactly what was going on because it was very
tricky to get funding. This is how the
CTR deceived the public. "Since 1954, one of CTR's
[Council for Tobacco Research - U.S.A., Inc.] principal activities has been to
fund scientific research by independent scientists through its grant-in-aid
program, under the supervision of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)
supplemented on occasion by research contracts. CTR itself has not conducted
any scientific research. Through this research program, from
1954 through 1996 CTR has provided approximately $282 million to fund over
1,500 research projects by approximately 1,100 independent scientists. The researchers who have received
CTR grant funding have been affiliated with approximately 300 medical schools,
universities, hospitals and other research institutions, ..." http://www.rkmc.com/tobacco.order91097.asp By having
the studies funded by the CTR published in scientific journals, the tobacco
industry could tell the public that the scientific evidence connecting tobacco
and disease was inconclusive. In other
words, the studies which were not
funded by the CTR generally did
find a relationship between smoking and lung cancer. However, the studies which were funded by the CTR did not find a relationship. Thus, the
tobacco industry could claim that the scientific results were “inconclusive”
and that scientists could not agree among themselves as to whether smoking
caused lung cancer. It was a scam. The media
made little or no attempt to expose this fraud because they were receiving
many, many millions of dollars a year from the tobacco firms. Most large media companies own several
different kinds of media (e.g. television, radio, magazines, newspapers, etc.),
so when tobacco advertising was legally stopped in certain kinds of media (e.g.
television), the big media companies were still making big money from the
tobacco companies in other kinds of media. Thus the
media was pretending they “knew nothing.” Even the
movie industry was making a lot of money by having people smoke in their motion
pictures. Who Is To Blame? While the
general public blames the "tobacco industry" for the pain and
suffering and death of millions of people, God does not look at things the way
we do. To God, corporations
don't even exist. The "tobacco
industry" did not make any decisions because it is nothing but pieces of
legal paper. It was human beings who made the decisions. It was
human beings who were making the decisions not to shut down making tobacco
products in the mid-1950s. These
decision makers included the owners of the tobacco companies, the executives of
the tobacco companies, the members of Congress (especially after 1959), etc. It was
human beings (i.e. research scientists) who conceived, submitted and got
funding from the Council for Tobacco Research in order to give them the
propaganda they needed. It was human
beings who used the motion picture industry to influence millions of people to
start and continue smoking. And so on. It is these
human beings who will be held responsible before God on Judgment Day for the
human suffering and death their decisions caused. Any time a
decision maker intentionally deceives someone, by any method, even when acting
in the name of a corporation, knowing their deceit will cause people to suffer
and/or die; they will be held personally responsible by God for the pain,
suffering and death which their decision caused. Thus, we
can better understand Mormon 8:27, even though not many members of the church
died as a result of the CTR. In the
Doctrine and Covenants the Savior refers to human
beings in the last days when He stated:
4 Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils
and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the
last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this
word of wisdom by revelation... Doctrine and Covenants 89:4 Note that
the D&C does not refer to "conspiring corporations" or
"conspiring pieces of paper" or "conspiring industries" or
“conspiring governments;” but rather He refers to "conspiring men." How would
you like to stand before God and be grouped among the "conspiring
men?" While this
verse definitely applies to the tobacco industry, the verse is actually much
more general than just the tobacco industry. By knowing
what is in the scriptures, member of the church can begin to comprehend the
viewpoint of God and how God will determine, on Judgment Day, the responsible
parties. See three chapters in the book
of Matthew, chapters 23, 24 and 25, which describe the "big picture"
of Judgment Day. The sermon these three
chapters came from was given by the Savior in the temple on the Tuesday before
his crucifixion. See also Alma 26:6-7
regarding the Lamanite converts. There are
in fact, other types of organizations and corporations which also knowingly
cause people to suffer and die because of their lust for profits; and these
owners and executives will also be held responsible for their actions on
Judgment Day. God has a
very different viewpoint than mortals, as we will now see. This discussion is led by the three chapters
in Matthew just mentioned. The Whited Scepucler During the
last week of the Savior’s mortal life He gave several talks in the temple. In one of these talks He addressed the
scribes, Pharisees and other religious leaders of His day. This is one of the things he told them:
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto
whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full
of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye
are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23:27-28 In these
versus he delineates between how evil people appear to the world versus how
evil people appear to God. God sees the
“inside” of the sepulcher and the world sees the outside of the sepulcher;
which has been whitewashed many times by the sophistry of evil people who claim
to the public that they are really righteous. But God
cannot be deceived. God sees the inside
of the sepulcher, behind the walls of stone and whitewash. God sees the “dead men’s bones.” The general public only sees the whitewash. For
example, the world views the tobacco executives (and many other executives in
other industries) as highly successful and very crafty businessmen. The world views them as role models because
of their business expertise, wealth and power.
Their "business ethics," which cause massive suffering and
death, are considered to be the ideal for young executives to emulate. But on Judgment
Day all people will see how God views them.
The Doctrine and Covenants gives us an advance clue that God will call
them "conspiring men" on Judgment Day, not business role models and
people with "high business ethics." On Judgment
Day no human being who makes key decisions will be able to hide behind a piece
of paper - any type of paper. The Key Questions Here are
some key questions. Why did God allow the
tobacco industry to thrive? Why did God
allow the media to use their absolute power over the minds of the people to whitewash
and hide what was really going on? Why
did God put tobacco plants on this earth when it was created? The reasons
are, and were, because the purpose of this earth life is to give people the
choice between good and evil. The point
to this long discussion is so the reader can better understand that those who
have suffered at the hands of conspiring men can take some consolation in
knowing that God is not subject to the laws of the land and that God cannot be
deceived by the media. God does not sit
around all day watching television so He can gather information for Judgment
Day. The
punishments of God on those who intentionally cause others to suffer and die; may,
in the long run, be much, much greater than even the collective suffering of
those they cause to suffer. Rest
assured the punishments of God can cause a great deal more suffering than any disease
is capable of causing:
15 Therefore I command you to repent - repent, lest I smite you by the
rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore
- how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you
know not.
16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they
might not suffer if they would repent;
17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to
tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body
and spirit - and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink -
19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my
preparations unto the children of men.
20 Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my
almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these
punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least
degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit. Doctrine and Covenants 19:15-20 The phrase
"they must suffer even as I" should cause a little reflection to
business executives and many others who have similar "business
ethics" as the tobacco industry executives. No one can hide
behind a piece of paper on Judgment Day.
And no one can deceive God. The point
is that God will recognize that the suffering and deaths of many, many millions
of people (as well as the suffering of their loved ones!!) were caused by human
beings, not by pieces of paper referred to as "corporate charters" or
"non-profit organizations" or "labor unions." When
Judgment Day rolls around, it is quite possible more people will have died in
the wars of information than
in all the military wars combined. The
deadliest weapon on earth today is information. "It is curious that physical
courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare." Mark Twain Since World
War II more people have died prematurely from deceit (i.e. the outside wall of
the sepulcher) than from any other cause, including guns, tanks and airplanes. It fact, it is not even close. Not only
did tobacco executives plan and execute all of this deception, but they were
adding chemicals to the tobacco products to make them more and more addictive. They were also luring young people to start
smoking by making smoking look attractive and sophisticated. More on Suffering If there
were no evil; and if evil were not appealing for a variety of reasons
(including high salaries, high status, public exposure, etc.); few would choose
evil. But many choose evil because of
its "benefits" as they suppose. If we are
to be able to choose between good and evil, there must be both good and evil on
the earth for us to choose between. However,
this also means that innocent people will be the victims of evil people. This happened many times in the Book of
Mormon. And we have been warned it will
happen in the latter days, even to members of the church, as mentioned above. One of the major
dividing lines between the different eternal consequences people will
experience will be determined by the standard of the Golden Rule: "Do unto
others as you would have them do to you [and to your family]." People who cannot live this simple rule will
have a very bad day on Judgment Day.
9 Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall
be poured out upon the wicked without measure -
10 Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man
according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure
which he has measured to his fellow man. Doctrine and Covenants 1:9-10 The next
chapter will clarify these issues in even more detail. |