President Spencer W. Kimball on faith during trials of life

President Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985) was ordained an apostle in 1943 and served as President of the Church from 1973 to 1985.

"If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.

"Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?

"If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.

"If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil—all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls.

"Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our selfish desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood.

"'For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things... righteousness... wickedness... holiness... misery... good... bad....' (2 Nephi 2:11.)

"Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we were to close the doors upon sorrow and distress, we might be excluding our greatest friends and benefactors. Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery....

"I love the verse of 'How Firm a Foundation'—

"'When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.' [See Hymns, no. 5]"

- Spencer W. Kimball, "Tragedy or Destiny," in Faith Precedes the Miracle, 97-100. Adapted from a BYU devotional address, December 6, 1955
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Click here to listen to a recording of the talk

In this wonderful, memorable address, President Kimball considered the classic problem of evil in the world. Why does a loving God allow so much suffering and sorrow to exist? The deeply thoughtful answers President Kimball offers give a powerful perspective on our mortal experience that can bless us as we struggle through times of challenge, disappointment, or pain.

A critical part of the answer lies in understanding the eternal duration of our lives, from pre-existence to an everlasting future. The experiences of this life are a part of the training and schooling required to prepare us for the eternities, and we entered this life with full awareness of the coming struggles. We accepted a plan that included the requirement of "free agency" for each individual, allowing us to grow and progress as we learned to make correct choices.

But if every prayer were granted immediately and all suffering relieved, how different life would be! We would lose the chance to grow through the trials, to learn the lessons that a mortal experience teaches.

"Suffering can make saints of people"—can, if they learn to respond with the perspective of eternity and with faith in God's wisdom and support. Truly, God may call us to pass through "deep waters;" but He promises to "sanctify to thee thy deepest distress" and those struggles can become holy.

Incidentally, it's wonderful to listen to the recording linked above (at the end of the quote), and hear President Kimball's beautiful, strong voice share the remarks. Within 2 years of giving this address, cancer of the throat would require the removal of most of President Kimball's vocal cords, leaving him with the harsh, gravelly, whispered voice that the Saints would come to love as a sign of his own patient endurance of trials and suffering.

President Howard W. Hunter on expressing appreciation before it's too late

President Howard W. Hunter (1907-1995) was called to the Quorum of Twelve in 1959.  He served as Church President for only nine months, from June 5, 1994 to his death on March 3, 1995.

"We should never delay expressing appreciation. Some time ago I had a lesson of gratitude taught to me. I was in the mission home in San Francisco when the mission president received a telephone call and said, 'I must cross the bay and take a message to an elder that his father has just passed away.' I went with him. We crossed over the Bay Bridge, up to Berkeley, and stopped at an apartment building. A fine-looking elder came to the door. He was excited to see his mission president and said, 'Oh, president, come in; we want to tell you what happened this morning.' The president said, 'Elder, sit down with us for a moment; we have a sad message to deliver to you.'

"I will never forget that occasion as the young man's head fell into his arms and he commenced to sob. After we had comforted him he said, 'My father was the greatest man I have ever known. I have never told him that. I don't believe I realized it in my years of growing up, but since I have come into the mission field a maturity has come to me to make me appreciate my father and my mother. I decided last week I was going to sit down and write my father a letter and tell him how much I loved him and how much he has meant to me, but now it is too late.' He commenced to sob again.

"My heart went out to that young man, but I thought how typical that is of many of us. The letter we intended to write, the word of appreciation we intended to express, the prayers we intended to offer when we had more time to express to the Lord our appreciation for his goodness. We are grateful for all of these things that are done for us, of course, but in our busy life we don't always express appreciation for what others do for us."

- Howard W. Hunter, New Zealand Area Conference, Wellington, New Zealand, 11/27/79; see THWH, p. 94

This was a touching and poignant message from President Hunter. Someone waited too long to share feelings that should have been expressed. Book of Mormon prophets talked several times about "procrastinat[ing] the day of your repentance" (Alma 13:27) but we don't usually think about procrastinating the day of gratitude "until it is everlastingly too late" (Helaman 13:38).

What a wonderful reminder. We should be looking for every opportunity to express that gratitude to those we love, those who have helped and blessed us, set examples, made sacrifices, inspired, lifted, encouraged. Surely there are almost countless people that fall in those categories for all of us!

President Thomas S. Monson on the classroom of the home

President Thomas S. Monson (b. August 21, 1927) was sustained to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1963. He served as a counselor in the First Presidency with Presidents Benson, Hunter, and Hinckley until becoming Church president in 2008.

"Perhaps most significant of all classrooms is the classroom of the home. It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are the laboratories of our lives. What we do there determines the course of our lives when we leave home. Dr. Stuart E. Rosenberg wrote in his book The Road to Confidence, 'Despite all new inventions and modern designs, fads and fetishes, no one has yet invented, or will ever invent, a satisfying substitute for one's own family.'

"A happy home is but an earlier heaven. President George Albert Smith asked, 'Do we want our homes to be happy? If we do, let them be the abiding place of prayer, thanksgiving and gratitude.' (In Conference Report, Apr. 1944, p. 32.)"

- Thomas S. Monson, "Precious Children—A Gift from God," Ensign, Nov 1991, 68
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"The classroom of the home"—President Monson makes good use of this expression and imagery. Many of the important lessons of life are taught and learned as a family interacts together in that setting. And I think it's not just the children who are learning; adults continue to learn as well, throughout their lives, in that special "laboratory":

It's not hard to extrapolate on the situation when home life deteriorates, as it has in so many ways since President Monson shared this thought in 1991, more than 25 years ago. The lessons he describes are not being learned in far too many home settings in our time. Crucial attitudes and beliefs that should be learned are missing. And hope is destroyed more than it is fostered. Society is definitely impacted.

On the other hand, there are still many who can testify to the statement, "A happy home is but an earlier heaven." As we carefully retain the practices of prayer, thanksgiving, and gratitude, we can be blessed with that joy and peace.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell on mortal vs. eternal perspective

Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926-2004) served as a Seventy from 1976-1981, then as a member of the Quorum of Twelve until his death from cancer in 2004.

"God is infinitely more interested in our having a place in His kingdom than with our spot on a mortal organizational chart. We may brood over our personal span of control, but He is concerned with our capacity for self-control. Father wants us to come home, bringing our real resume, ourselves!

"Even so, our mortal jealousies still occur regularly over money, turf, a slight, or the 'robes' and the 'fatted calf' given to others (see Luke 15:22-23)....

"Yes, we are free to choose the mortal perks with their short shelf life. However, ahead lies that great moment when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ! (See Mosiah 27:31; D&C 88:104). Then the galleries and the mortal thrones will be empty. Even the great and spacious building will fall—and resoundingly! (see 1 Ne. 8:26-28). Then, too, those who have lived without God in the world will confess that God is God! (see Mosiah 27:31). Meanwhile, His character and attributes should evoke adoration and emulation from us.

"Isn't it marvelous, brothers and sisters, that God, who knows everything, still spends time listening to our prayers? Compared to that cosmic fact, what does the world really have to offer us? One round of applause, one fleeting moment of adulation, or an approving glance from a phantom Caesar?

"May God bless us to see things as they really are and as they really will be (see Jacob 4:13; D&C 93:24), and may we give the glory and honor and praise unto God."

- Neal A. Maxwell, "The Tugs and Pulls of the World," Ensign, Nov. 2000, pp. 35-37
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This is a classic message by Elder Maxwell. The talk's title explains the theme: how the world tries to pull us away, to distract us from what really matters in the eternity scheme. One of those "tugs and pulls" for many people is the desire for public recognition. We want to be high on the chart, with the power and prestige that accompany the position. But Elder Maxwell explains that such "mortal perks" are fleeting and short-lived. It's the ultimate, eternal, divine recognition that matters more.

Can there be valid reasons for desiring a position of influence or leadership? Can it be done with a pure heart? Perhaps. This is reminiscent of Jacob's counsel about seeking riches:

"But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.
"And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted."
(Jacob 2:18-19)

Just as a person with a solid foundation of faith might desire riches in order to bless others and further the work of God's kingdom, so he might desire leadership opportunities or chances to help direct the work with the same motivation.

Elder Maxwell then reminds us of the astonishing love of an all-powerful God, as manifested in His willingness to listen and support us in our needs and trials:

Following God's example of service and love will always keep us on the right path to eternal progress.

President Harold B. Lee on the blessings of the temple

President Harold B. Lee (1899-1973) was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1941. He served as a counselor in the First Presidency from 1970-1972, then as Church president from July 1972 until his passing less than 18 months later in December 1973.

"When you enter a holy temple, you are by that course gaining fellowship with the Saints in God's eternal kingdom, where time is no more. In the temples of your God you are endowed not with a rich legacy of worldly treasure, but with a wealth of eternal riches that are above price.

"The temple ceremonies are designed by a wise Heavenly Father who has revealed them to us in these last days as a guide and a protection throughout our lives, that you and I might not fail to merit exaltation in the celestial kingdom, where God and Christ dwell.

"May you strive diligently and be guided to prepare yourselves to gain these priceless riches in the House of the Lord."

- Harold B. Lee, "Enter a Holy Temple," Improvement Era, June 1967, 144; see THBL 582
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I had to ponder what President Lee meant in his first statement. Participation in ordinances in the temples provides "fellowship with the Saints in God's eternal kingdom." We have fellowship with each other in a variety of settings, but not in the same way as when we enter the temple. In setting aside the things of the world and focusing on ordinances and instruction related to settings "where time is no more" we are blessed in different and unique ways. The blessings that come are not of this world, but are "eternal riches that are above price."

I'm also grateful for the simple thought that the temple ceremonies provide "a guide and a protection" in our lives that will keep us safely on the path to obtain the joy and peace of eternity:

If we truly understood the power and blessings available to us, we would, as President Lee concludes, "strive diligently" to be always worthy and ready to gain the riches offered in the House of the Lord.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband on challenges with family members and loved ones

Elder Ronald A. Rasband (b. February 6, 1951) served as a Seventy beginning in 2000.  He was the senior president of the Seventy when he was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in October 2015.

"To all of you who have challenges, concerns, disappointments, or heartaches with a dear one, know this: with infinite love and everlasting compassion, God our Heavenly Father loves your afflicted one, and He loves you!

"Some might ask when faced with such suffering, how could Almighty God let this happen? And then that seemingly inevitable question, why did this happen to me? Why must we experience disease and events that disable or call precious family members home early or extend their years in pain? Why the heartaches?

"At these moments we can turn to the great plan of happiness authored by our Heavenly Father. That plan, when presented in the pre-earth life, prompted us all to shout for joy (see Job 38:7). Put simply, this life is training for eternal exaltation, and that process means tests and trials. It has always been so, and no one is spared.

"Trusting in God’s will is central to our mortality. With faith in Him, we draw upon the power of Christ’s Atonement at those times when questions abound and answers are few."

- Ronald A. Rasband, "Special Lessons," Ensign, May 2012, pp. 80-82
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In this tender address, Elder Rasband tells of his family's emotions and concerns as they dealt with the birth of a grandson who was significantly handicapped. He quoted Elder Russell M. Nelson, who taught, "A perfect body is not required to achieve a divine destiny. In fact, some of the sweetest spirits are housed in frail frames" (Ensign, Nov. 1998, 85). In discussing the challenges of dealing with physical handicaps, Elder Rasband offers suggestions that can apply to many of the aspects of our relationships with family and friends in general:

It is sometimes difficult to "trust in God's will" when we are faced with disappointments, challenges, burdens that seem unfair, or individuals who have let us down. But the reassurance is that God knows all the details and all the reasons in these situations. He will not only sustain us through them, but will eventually help us to understand fully the "great plan of happiness" that is behind all of these challenges. We must strive always to grow in faith in order to "draw upon the power of Christ's Atonement" to carry us through.

President Ezra Taft Benson on following the example of Jesus Christ

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994) was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1943, and served as the 13th President of the Church from 1985 until his death in 1994 at age 94.

"Christ asked the question as to what manner of men ought we to be. He answered by saying we ought to be even as he is (see 3 Nephi 27:27). That man is greatest and most blessed and joyful whose life most closely fits the pattern of the Christ. This has nothing to do with earthly wealth, power, or prestige. The only true test of greatness, blessedness, joyfulness is how close a life can come to being like the Master, Jesus Christ. He is the right way, the full truth, and the abundant life.

"The constant and most recurring question in our minds, touching every thought and deed of our lives, should be 'Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?' (Acts 9:6). The answer to that question can come through the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost. Fortunate are those who so live that their beings are filled with both of them."

- Ezra Taft Benson, "Jesus Christ—Gifts and Expectations," BYU devotional Dec 10, 1974; see also Ensign Dec. 1988 p. 2
Click here to read or listen to the whole talk on the BYU websiteClick here to read the whole talk on the Ensign website

President Benson spoke on several occasions of the desire to closely follow the Savior, to walk in His steps and live as He lived. This was a landmark address at a BYU devotional about the topic. He reminds us that true joy and peace in life come when we strive most sincerely to follow the example of the Master.

President Benson mentions the experience Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, when his evil and destructive path was abruptly changed by the Lord. A humbled Paul, "trembling and astonished," now asked that powerful question: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" President Benson suggests that we should all be asking that question in our lives, in every aspect, every thought, every day. If we truly strive to do only what the Lord would have us do, we will be His disciples indeed, and will be firmly on the path to peace and joy.