"Those who feel no need for mercy usually never seek it and almost never bestow it. Those who have never had a heartache or a weakness or felt lonely or forsaken never have had to cry unto heaven for relief of such personal pain. Surely it is better to find the goodness of God and the grace of Christ, even at the price of despair, than to risk living our lives in a moral or material complacency that has never felt any need for faith or forgiveness, any need for redemption or relief.
A life without problems or limitations or challenges--life without 'opposition in all things,' as Lehi phrased it--would paradoxically but in very fact be less rewarding and less ennobling than one which confronts--even frequently confronts--difficulty and disappointment and sorrow. As beloved Eve said, were it not for the difficulties faced in a fallen world, neither she nor Adam nor any of the rest of us ever would have known 'the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.'"
"The Peaceable Things of the Kingdom" Jeffrey R. Holland
I love the truth that difficulties and challenges are necessary to comprehend real joy, which can be experienced even in the midst of those trials when I allow them to help me come unto Christ. They also enable me to become more compassionate and less judgmental of others. I guess I prefer this route than one of "moral or material complacency" where I feel little stretch to change or grow, with an accompanying lack of depth to life. I am really grateful for the words of prophets and apostles that bring the Spirit to my heart and speak to me like no person could.
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