Adversity and Joy

Why does God allow bad things happen to good people? This is a question for the ages, and probably one you've asked at one point or another. There isn't one simple answer to this question, but I do want to focus on one explanation: God allows bad things to happen because He wants us to know joy.

How on earth does suffering allow joy? That seems like an oxymoron.

Well, let's start by looking at Adam and Eve. 

"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25).

"And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And ... they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin" (2 Nephi 2:22-23).

Think about that: "they had no joy because they knew no misery." How does that work?

Here's an example that you can probably relate to. This last week I was pretty sick - fever, sore throat, vomiting, the whole 9 yards. Then on Saturday, I woke up without a fever for the first time in three days. Even though I still wasn't 100%, I felt amazing! Yet there are hundreds of other times I've woken up perfectly healthy, and I haven't even noticed. The joy I experienced because of my improved health was made so much greater because of how sick I had felt just before.

For a more spiritual example of how suffering leads to joy, we can look at the experience of Alma the Younger. As a young man, he was described as being among the "vilest of sinners." He has a miraculous conversion experience, and in the process feels tremendous guilt for his sins. He describes his anguish as "inexpressible horror," with the "pains of a damned soul" who is "in the gall of bitterness." As he is torn by his guilt, he calls on the Lord for forgiveness, and he is able to feel relief from his pain: "Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy" (Alma 36:21). For Alma, the joy of repentance was made all the sweeter because he knew the bitterness of sin and guilt. 

Neal A. Maxwell taught this principle when he said, "Meek suffering often does the excavating necessary for [an enlarged capacity for joy]." Our happiness is central to God's purpose for us, and sometimes the best route to a greater capacity for joy includes turbulence and tribulation. "All things have been done in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things" (2 Nephi 2:24). Trust in the Lord. His way is the perfect plan for our happiness. God will give us no trial greater than what we can handle with his help.