D&C 122

The Lord counciled the Prophet Joseph Smith -

"...know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 122:7)

On this subject, I was touched by the comments of Elder Orson Whitney almost a century ago -

"It remained for the Prophet Joseph Smith to . . . set forth the why and wherefore of human suffering; and in revealing it he gave us a strength and power to endure that we did not before possess. For when men know why they suffer, and realize that it is for a good and wise purpose, they can bear it much better than they can in ignorance. . . .

The fall of Adam and Eve was a great calamity, but it brought forth a wonderful blessing; it gave us our bodies, with endless opportunities to advance and achieve. It brought death into the world, but it also brought forth the human family. There was the compensation. 'Adam fell that men might be: and men are, that they might have joy.' [2 Nephi 2:25.] The crucifixion of Christ was a terrible calamity, but the atonement connected with it was the foreordained means of man's salvation. Israel's calamitous fate proved a blessing to the world in general. God's promises to Abraham had to be made good. 'In thee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.' [Abr. 2:11.] This promise was fulfilled in Christ, but an important part of the fulfillment began when the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were flung broadcast over the world, and the barren wastes of unbelief might be sprinkled with the blood that believes, and made fruitful of faith and righteousness.

So it is with all our troubles and sorrows; there is a compensation for them. . . .

When the sky darkens and the tempest threatens, where do we go for shelter? To the sagebrush or the willow? No, rather to some spreading oak that has withstood the storms of ages and become stronger because of the fierce winds that have swayed its branches and caused its roots to strike deeper and deeper into the soil. When we want counsel and comfort, we do not go to children, nor to those who know nothing but pleasure and self-gratification. We go to men and women who have suffered themselves and can give us the comfort that we need. Is not this God's purpose in causing his children to suffer? He wants them to become more like himself. God has suffered far more than man ever did or ever will, and is therefore the great source of sympathy and consolation. Who are these arrayed in white, nearest to the throne of God? asked John the Apostle, wrapt in his mighty vision. The answer was: 'These are they who have come up through great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.' [Rev. 7:13-14.]

There is always a blessing in sorrow and humiliation. They who escape these things are not the fortunate ones. 'Whom God loveth he chasteneth.' [Heb. 12:6.] When he desires to make a great man he takes a little street waif, or a boy in the back-woods, such as Lincoln or Joseph Smith, and brings him up through hardship and privation to be the grand and successful leader of a people. Flowers shed most of their perfume when they are crushed. Men and women have to suffer just so much in order to bring out the best that is in them." (Orson F. Whitney, IE, November 1918, pp. 5-7)