Why Does God Allow Tragedies?

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A conversation with a coworker the other day has caused me to think about the relationship among God’s will, my own free agency, and the eternal progression that we all seek. He shared a story of sadness that may have come to the wrong conclusion. 

Wrapping up a church lesson on trials, he was asked by a class member why God would allow such a terrible thing to happen as the death of a young innocent child. This questioning brother had recently passed through such a trial. Friends and church members fasted and prayed for his child. Priesthood blessings were given by the elders of the church. Ultimately, the child did not improve in health and succumbed to the cancer. My coworker and friend turned the question back on this brother for an answer. His conclusion: tough things just happen. It certainly couldn’t be the will of God. Following an endorsement of the brother’s answer, the lesson closed. 

This didn’t sit completely well with me. A possible takeaway from this train of thought is that no amount of faith in God can change the outcome of a tough situation. That God doesn’t care because, ultimately, life just happens. I believe this conclusion would be shortsighted at the very least. Of course, we can sympathize with the feelings of the brother suffering through this loss in his family. But to limit our views to the timeframe of a relatively small moment in mortality is to throw away a bigger, more accurate picture that might bring us some peace. It is correct that we don’t understand all of God’s reasons for what He does. But an application of some gospel principles can shed some light on a potentially hopeless situation. 

1. God’s will: We read in the scriptures that God’s will is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of all mankind. Ultimately, He is after our complete and final happiness. We also know that His ways are not our ways. We are doing our best to look at things through the lens of this earthly perspective. But we can’t always see His reasons for doing things.

 2. Agency: As independent spiritual beings, we each possess the only thing that is truly ours and that is our agency or ability to choose. This has existed with us since we ever began to exist long before this life. God honors our ability to choose…He will force no man to heaven. 

3. Eternal progression: We are all on an eternal journey that will hopefully land us in God’s glory after we have been saved through the grace of Christ. The Book of Mormon teaches us that we are saved by grace after all we can do. If nothing were required of us, how would we ever experience the growth that we each need to have to be who we are destined to be in the eternities? As much as we may try to avoid trials, a life free of opposition and purifying experiences would cheat our souls on this eternal path. God loves us too much to shield us from everything. We must experience trials and purifying in this life to become the spiritually strong and mature souls that we need to be in the long run. 

So how do these seemingly divergent principles relate to each other? Surely God doesn’t will such difficult things as the death of a child or untold other tragic things that we experience in this life. But if we consider that God’s will is to allow free agency, does that sometimes result in unfortunate tragedies? This has been the case through all time. 

Looking at the situation of this father, it doesn’t appear that anyone’s neglect, action, or exercise of agency resulted in the death of his child. There was no murder here or anything like unto it. Could God have stepped in and stopped the spread of that disease? Absolutely. Could good things have resulted? Absolutely. 

To stop here and conclude that God doesn’t involve Himself in the affairs of men is premature also. I think that this is where number three expands our view beyond the limits of a mortal timeline. God, in His infinite love and foresight, may see a way to allow something to happen. The child lives on in the bosom of Abraham and presence of the Father, as the scriptures teach us, and is away from his family for a season. That family will now go through some really challenging refining that can ultimately result in great good in the eternal timeline. In the short term view, we would have to conclude that it is a loss and that God doesn’t care. But the eternal view reveals that parents and siblings can grow closer together and to their Father in Heaven. If they are willing to accept it, they will have the blessing of raising that child at a later time and better place. So, in a sense, God’s will is done in that He is helping us along towards our eternal destiny and happiness. 

The delicate interplay among the will of God, free agency or natural consequences, and our eternal progression can help us to better see through the pain we experience here and now. It doesn’t soften the blow but we know that blow can be a blessing to us too. 

I don’t have all the answers. I’m seeking for them just like everyone else. Some of them we can find out in this life. Joseph Smith has taught us by miraculous example that if we ask, we can receive. Yet, it would seem that other answers may be out of our reach for the duration of our lives here on this earth. I do know that these principles are true. And that God ultimately loves us more than we can ever comprehend. If we could somehow peel back the veil, see His face and be with Him, and understand His reasoning right now, it would make sense and we would not struggle as we do. Instead, we would kneel at His feet, thank Him, and praise Him forever. That day will come. It’s up to us to keep the right eternal perspective as we navigate the waves on our course across the sea of this life. Heaven help us as we work to be who we can be in the sight of God.

Authored by LLHappyEternal Writer: GUEST