3 Responses to “What is the church’s belief on why there are problems in the…”
Richard
2010-12-04 20:26:47
Before the foundation of this earth there was a plan created and proposed by our Father in Heaven. Part of that plan was, we would each be allowed to choose, or be granted moral agency. Knowing that some would choose incorrectly on this earth with the veil blocking our pre-mortal memories, God proposed to send a Savior to take upon him the sins, mistakes, pains, hardships, and wrongs of all of God's children. We find in later-day scriptures the account of Abraham's vision of this as follows: (God speaking at the beginning)
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord (father) said: whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the son of man (Christ): "Here am I, send me." And another answered and said (Lucifer): "Here am I, send me." And the Lord (Father) said: I will send the first. (Christ)
28 And the second (Lucifer) was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.
We chose to follow Christ, hence we are here in mortality with bodies in our second estate.
Jesus Christ is central to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which bears His name.
Jesus Christ in his infinite atonement took upon him all the infirmities of mortality, applied as a person seeks him out, repents of their sins, is baptized, and receives the gift of the Holy Ghost, thus emulating, or following Christ, and his baptism and reception of the Holy Ghost as recorded in the testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Bible.
As men are still free to choose, the answer to your question is found in latter-day, revealed scripture, as follows:
25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
26 And the messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.
27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his holy spirit;
29 And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom.
So the answer is an individual problem, each person, including you and including me, need to continue to make the choice to follow Christ. And that almost daily if not moment to moment.
The Savior has come and lived and died and is resurrected again, thus preparing the way for all the children of God to choose and be made free forever.
Hope that answers your questions and if you have more ask here or better yet contact some LDS missionaries as they will have the truth and will be able to help you follow the truths they reveal to you. Head to http: //www.Mormon.org/ and talk to them online, or schedule a house visit.
Anonymous
2011-01-03 08:34:02
There are problems in the world because people make wrong choices. Nephi tells us in 2 Nephi 2: 11 that "There needs be opposition in all things..." so, we know people make bad choices that cause others to suffer. The Lord will not interfere with man's use of agency because that's what we all strived to have in the pre-earth life. So, that's one reason why there are bad things that happen. Also, there are bad things that happen that are accidents like storms, diseases, and other things. In that case the Lord provides others with service so that we may comfort our neighbor. Also, the person or people who have that happen to them have a choice to grow closer to the Savior or not. I encourage you to study out agency and service a little more and in doing so you will find that solitions to these problems come with lots of time and effort on the parts of the faithful.
The Lord is always mindful of those who are struggling. He loves us. It's our responsibility to seek him as what Christ makes clear in his ministry. As we grow closer to the Savior the better we will understand his timing. I hope this answered your question adequately, however pray and study about it and you will find greater answers for yourself. The Lord has all knowledge. "Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matt 7: 7)
Grandpa Chet
2011-01-16 14:31:29
The question isn't really "Why are there bad things? " The real question is "Why shouldn't there be bad things?" This life, being a school - or, due to the compressed amount of time we have to learn it all, I'd compare it more to a boot camp... This life has to include the bad with the good. Otherwise, how would we learn to choose the good, how would we learn to serve others, how would we learn to be brave? For instance, I'm a very stubborn person - and I think the strongest lessons I've learned have been when times were toughest.
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord (father) said: whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the son of man (Christ): "Here am I, send me." And another answered and said (Lucifer): "Here am I, send me." And the Lord (Father) said: I will send the first. (Christ)
28 And the second (Lucifer) was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.
We chose to follow Christ, hence we are here in mortality with bodies in our second estate.
As men are still free to choose, the answer to your question is found in latter-day, revealed scripture, as follows:
25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
26 And the messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.
27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his holy spirit;
29 And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom.
So the answer is an individual problem, each person, including you and including me, need to continue to make the choice to follow Christ. And that almost daily if not moment to moment.
The Savior has come and lived and died and is resurrected again, thus preparing the way for all the children of God to choose and be made free forever.
(Scripture citations. The first block Abraham 3: 25-28 and the second block 2 Nephi 2: 25-29)
Hope that answers your questions and if you have more ask here or better yet contact some LDS missionaries as they will have the truth and will be able to help you follow the truths they reveal to you. Head to http: //www.Mormon.org/ and talk to them online, or schedule a house visit.
The Lord is always mindful of those who are struggling. He loves us. It's our responsibility to seek him as what Christ makes clear in his ministry. As we grow closer to the Savior the better we will understand his timing. I hope this answered your question adequately, however pray and study about it and you will find greater answers for yourself. The Lord has all knowledge. "Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matt 7: 7)