“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.
“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.
“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.”
- Spencer W. Kimball
Faith Precedes the Miracle
my favorite lines:
"... no man would have to live by faith."
oh boy, oh boy... how would that be? things would be handed to us without the anticipation and without a possibility of change. LET'S JUST SAY i didn't get the opp to pray for my cancer-diseased mom, believing her body could be healed. what if her fate was sealed and the outcome was set?
i shudder thinking about it. terrible and horrible! thank goodness for the chance we have to pray, have faith, and learn lessons from our lives while we wrestle through the test of faith.
"... selfish desires and our limited understanding..."
remind me of this when i lament about my current circumstance. remind me so often...
thank goodness for the happenstance - or maybe it's a lightening strike from above, shaking me, placing it right before my eyes - to remind me of what i've already learned a gazillion times over... but need to be reminded of again, in my hour of need.
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