Why Adversity is the key to Happiness

I apologize for my delinquency in posting. I have been overwhelmed in recent weeks, both personally and professionally.

I would like to expound on my last post, which was my talk in sacrament about 3 weeks or so ago, based on Elder Johnson’s conference address, titled “More Than Conquerors Through Him Who Loved Us”. In his talk, Elder Johnson talks about the purposes of adversity and trials, what we should learn or gain from them . He briefly touches on a few of the why’s…which is what I would like to address here. Learning from our challenges is important, but knowing why they happen in the first place helps those lessons come to us.

I believe there are 3 main “causes” of adversity, if you will.

1. Choices we make.

2.Choices others make.

3.Just because.

Adversity as a result of the choices we make is fairly easily understood. We are taught as children and youth that our choices, be they good or bad, have a consequence or end result. Good choices typically have good consequences, even if not altogether popular. Bad choices have bad consequences, whether immediately identified or not. We know that if we go to work and do what we are instructed to do, the consequence (result) is that we will be paid. However, if we go to work, and either don’t do what we know we are to do or we purposefully do things we shouldn’t, the consequence could be that we get counseled or even fired. Every choice we make has a consequence. Not making a choice is still choosing.

Adversity as a result of the choices others make is a lot less understood, and I dare say a lot more painful. I have friends who have been injured and others who have died in car accidents because another person chose to drive while drunk. Or chose to drive too fast. Then there are those who choose not to go on a mission—just think of the many souls who do not receive the gospel because that one person didn’t go. The families that are bent (but not broken) when one spouse chooses to step outside the bounds of marriage. It is easy to blame, but so much better to recognize what can be learned from the experience. Dwelling on the wrongs caused by another only hurt ourselves.

Adversity and challenges that occur through no fault of our own and through no action of another are probably the most difficult to understand. Bad things happen to good people. Children become stricken with cancer. Babies are born too small, too soon, too fragile to survive. These are also the challenges that have the most opportunity for growth and learning. It is easy (sometimes in retrospect) to see what should be learned from our mistakes and from those of others inflicted on us, but it is sometimes not as easy to see what we should learn from things that just happen. And perhaps the most important lesson was taught to Joseph Smith while in Liberty Jail (D&C 122:7) “…all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.”

And this, my friends, is the key to finding happiness in this life.