KnoWhy #767 | December 10, 2024
Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen?
Post contributed by
Scripture Central
“And they have become strong in their perversion; and they are alike brutal, sparing none, neither old nor young; and they delight in everything save that which is good; and the suffering of our women and our children upon all the face of this land doth exceed everything; yea, tongue cannot tell, neither can it be written.” Moroni 9:19
The Know
Although the Book of Mormon is filled with encouraging messages of righteousness, it is also a tragic tale fraught with wickedness, corruption, tribulation, exile, captivity, war, and death, particularly when describing the destruction of whole civilizations.1 Yet despite the tragedies, millions of faithful readers have found that the doctrines and real-life stories of this book fortify them spiritually against their own challenges and trials.
Though the Book of Mormon does not necessarily explain why all instances of suffering occur, it supplies several reasons for why a particular trial might have occurred, providing readers with meaning and relief. These explanations are given not to invalidate the seriousness of suffering but rather to acknowledge its reality and provide meaningful, scriptural perspectives on suffering in each readers’ own time and way. Although much ink has been spilled wrestling this vast topic, the Book of Mormon sheds light on it in unique and valuable ways.
God’s Omnipotence and Eternal Law
For millennia, believers have struggled to understand how an all-powerful and all-loving God could allow bad things, or evils, to occur. The seeming dissonance between God’s power, God’s goodness, and the existence of evil is referred to as the problem of evil.2 However, this apparent paradox ceases to be problematic when one assumes that God’s matchless power, or omnipotence, operates within moral laws, natural laws, and logic, as several passages in the Book of Mormon suggest. For example, Benjamin repeatedly refers to God as omnipotent, but Alma and Mormon indicate that God must maintain certain attributes or else “cease to be God.”3 God Himself has said that some higher law binds Him to fulfill His covenant promises when His people follow Him.4 Thus, in some cases, God may be bound, either morally or logically, to allow some suffering to occur.
Some Suffering Might Be Chance Occurrence or Arise from Natural Laws
Because God operates in accordance with eternal laws, it stands to reason that some realities may simply be the way things are in a fallen world. In that case, some bad things could truly occur by chance that God may not prevent or that He allows but does not cause.5 Aaron’s mission was more difficult than Ammon’s because “as it happened, it was their lot” (Alma 20:30). Lehi concluded that some degree of opposition is a fundamental part of any intelligible and meaningful existence.6 In fact, Lehi suggested that if evil and misery did not exist in contrast to goodness and happiness, “there [could be] no God,” so God cannot wish away all unhappiness.7 This can provide solace when tragic accidents or negative health outcomes occur by assuring those who suffer that God did not desire their suffering and eventually will make it all meaningful and purposeful, giving sufferers “beauty for ashes.”8
Eternal Self-Determination Requires Complete Agency, Choice, and Accountability
One of the moral laws that God is obligated to respect is the sacred value of human agency. In order for humankind to have an optimal self-determining experience in mortality, it seems that God had to allow the free exercise of agency, even at the cost of people committing horrors.9 After witnessing innocent deaths, Alma noted the importance of this eternal self-determination: the martyrs received glory while the executioners qualified for judgment (Alma 14:11; see also 60:12–13). Often, our own improper exercise of agency also brings avoidable calamites upon ourselves and others. This can happen through active sin, neglect, or overzealousness, but even then, God is willing to deliver those who repent, as was the case with the Zeniffites.10
It was probably well understood in the premortal realm that atrocities would come as a result of human agency, which could explain why the devil’s plan “to destroy the agency of man” was so persuasive.11 However, all individuals on earth clearly believed that God’s plan was worth the risk of suffering and chose this for themselves.12 Though God can certainly influence human will to achieve a certain end, and though He sometimes even intervenes directly, Alma notes that “whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come.”13 Because some intelligent part of all human spirits is coeternal with God, He is not solely accountable for human decisions.14 In the end, all human thoughts, words, and deeds will be judged by God and will be mercifully and justly rewarded or punished (Mosiah 4:30; Alma 12:14).
Suffering Can Connect and Educate Us
Sharing the sorrows someone else has endured allows us to connect with them and love them in a unique way others cannot. Jesus is the perfect example of this.15 Alma the Younger taught that Jesus suffered “that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities” (Alma 7:12; compare 1 Peter 2:21). Alma the Elder and his people learned this principle when God allowed them to endure the cruel leadership of Amulon so that they could testify of God’s succoring and empathize with other individuals (Mosiah 24:14).
Suffering can also fortify our resolve, bring us to closer dependence on God, refine our character with humility and obedience, and teach us to love one another (see Alma 32:13; Hebrews 5:8). The suffering we endure can turn us to Christ to seek healing and thereby develop trust in Him and form a healing relationship. Beyond improving us in this life, suffering can potentially sanctify souls and prepare them to become like our heavenly parents in the afterlife.16 In fact, Joseph Smith suggests that enduring testing, even to the extent that Abraham and others have been rigorously tried, is necessary to qualify for celestial glory.17
God Knows Reasons We Cannot Comprehend
Scripture suggests that it can be dangerous to assert why a specific trial occurs, either for ourselves or others. God chastened Job’s friends for assuming to know why Job suffered, but rather than explaining why Job suffered, God taught Job that His knowledge was far beyond human knowledge. To a certain extent, the reasons why suffering occurs will always remain unexplainable, but it is enough to know that God has accounted for it.18 The Book of Mormon repeatedly mentions the supremacy of God’s knowledge and wisdom over humankind’s to make just that point.19
Certainly, some of God’s miracles may seem to contravene natural law, but it may simply appear this way because we lack a knowledge of the laws that God abides by.20 However, the Book of Mormon also teaches us that it is acceptable for us not to know why some evils occur precisely because we know of God’s overriding and fulfilling love. Nephi was asked by an angel, “Knowest thou the condescension of God?” to which he replied, “I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things” (1 Nephi 11:16–17). Later, Nephi taught that God “doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world” (2 Nephi 26:24). Whether God causes, allows, or cannot prevent suffering, we are assured, above all, that He loves us.
Someday All Suffering Will Be Compensated or Transformed in Glorious Ways
If we believed our mortal lives were the extent of our existence, we would see “only the middle act of a three-act play [and] struggle and strain to make sense out of act two” and the suffering that occurs here.21 However, the Book of Mormon and other scripture teach us many comforting truths about the afterlife that help to make sense of suffering.
One of the most encouraging messages in the Book of Mormon is the promise of never-ending happiness for righteous sufferers who “have gone to dwell with their God” (Mosiah 2:41; Alma 24:22). However, scripture promises compensation not only for the good a person actively does but also for the evil they forcibly endure.22 Book of Mormon prophets teach that innocent individuals who do not have moral knowledge sufficient to learn from their suffering are treated as righteous and are saved by Christ (Mosiah 3:16–21; Moroni 8:5–23). Rather than simply being the victims of the greater good, those who experience unproductive suffering on earth will have a chance to make meaning of their suffering and be compensated for it eternally.23
The Book of Mormon confirms that punishment for sin is just, but it also teaches that a merciful and glorious resurrection will ultimately come to everyone and that all souls, except for very few, will reside in a realm of glory where they are happiest and most comfortable.24 Further revelations teach that the spirit world spoken of by Alma is a place of rehabilitation, consolation, and education to prepare spirits for the Resurrection and that all of God’s children who desire so will be saved in a heavenly kingdom of glory.25 Yet some preliminary compensation may also come in this world. The Book of Mormon prophesies of a millennium of peaceful living, which is brought about by the gathering of God’s faithful people and during which Jesus will reign over Zion upon the earth. 26
The Why
The teachings in the Book of Mormon and other Restoration scripture can provide unique and valuable answers to the classic and difficult question of why evil occurs. Yet as helpful as it is to understand the logical reasons, “the problem you and I face is not simply the problem of exonerating God, but of coping with actual evils,” as Truman G. Madsen notes.27 Fortunately, as David L. Paulsen and Blake T. Ostler have testified, “Joseph Smith’s revealed worldview not only dissolves the logical problem of evil, but it also throws light upon the experience of evil as mortal beings actually encounter it.”28
Understanding the reasons why some suffering occurs does not make the pain disappear; we still need to cope with life’s trials.29 While the scriptures encourage joyful and happy living, they also contain many accounts of individuals lamenting and acknowledge that there is “a time to weep” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Psalms of lament, which involve recounting trials to God, were expressed by David, Jeremiah, and Nephi, and Jesus even referenced one on the cross.30 Thus, scriptural precedent suggests that it is acceptable and healthy to acknowledge our suffering and even frustration to God as part of the healing process.31 Yet even in the midst of our deepest and most profound sorrows, Paul reminds us to “be not overcome of evil” but to maintain hope through Jesus Christ.32
Ultimately, a danger inherent in all explanations of pain and evil is a tendency to grow casual about the suffering of others simply because we are confident that things will work together eventually for our good.33 In contrast, the Book of Mormon calls to us, “Let us resist evil” (Alma 61:14). Benjamin teaches us to serve the poor, Alma teaches that church members must “mourn with those who mourn,” and Amulek teaches that prayer without relieving suffering is vain.34 Understanding these Book of Mormon teachings helps readers to go forth, decisively striving to minimize the suffering in the world by emulating Christ. In that resolution resides the real solution to the problem of evil.
David L. Paulsen and Blake T. Ostler, “Sin, Suffering, and Soul-Making: Joseph Smith on the Problem of Evil,” in Revelation, Reason, and Faith: Essays in Honor of Truman G. Madsen, ed. Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and Stephen D. Ricks (FARMS, 2002), 237–284.
John Cobb Jr. and Truman G. Madsen, “Theodicy,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (Macmillan, 1992), 4:1473–1474.
Blake T. Ostler, Exploring Mormon Thought: God’s Plan to Heal Evil (Kofford Books, 2020).
Truman G. Madsen, “Evil and Suffering,” Instructor 99, no. 11 (1964): 450–454.
- 1. 2 Nephi 2:25. For destruction of the Nephites and Jaredites, see Ether 14–15; Mormon 6; and Moroni 9.
- 2. In philosophy, a response to the problem of evil is called a theodicy, literally meaning “justification of God.” Many theodicies have been formulated throughout history, some of which align with Restoration doctrine and will be noted later. For helpful treatments of Latter-day Saint doctrine and the problem of evil, see Truman G. Madsen, Eternal Man (Deseret Book, 1966), 53–62; John Cobb Jr. and Truman G. Madsen, “Theodicy,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, (Macmillan, 1992), 4:1473–1474; David L. Paulsen, “Evil,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 2:477–478; David L. Paulsen, “Omnipotent God; Omnipresence of God; Omniscience of God,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 3:1030; David L. Paulsen and Blake T. Ostler, “Sin, Suffering, and Soul-Making: Joseph Smith on the Problem of Evil,” in Revelation, Reason, and Faith: Essays in Honor of Truman G. Madsen, ed. Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and Stephen D. Ricks (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies [FARMS], 2002), 237–284; Blake T. Ostler, Exploring Mormon Thought, vol. 4, God’s Plan to Heal Evil (Kofford Books, 2020).
- 3. For Benjamin’s discussion of omnipotence, see Mosiah 3:5, 17–18, 21; 5:2, 15. For God’s divine status being in some sense bounded or conditional, see Alma 42:13, 22, 25; Moroni 9:19. Compare 2 Nephi 2:14.
- 4. Doctrine and Covenants 82:10. Church leaders have held varying opinions about whether or not God is the author of all laws, based upon passages like Doctrine and Covenants 88:42. For a summary of these varying opinions, see James McLachlan, “Is God Subject to or the Creator of Eternal Law?,” BYU Studies Quarterly 60, no. 3 (2021): 49–63. For a discussion of qualified omnipotence, see Paulsen and Ostler, “Sin, Suffering, and Soul-Making,” 258–267.
- 5. A few theodicies are compatible with Latter-day Saint theology, including a finitist theodicy and process theodicy that suggest that God allows certain evils because He is unable to prevent them. However, they require further tinkering to explain how God performs miracles. See Ostler, God’s Plan to Heal Evil, 61–112.
- 6. 2 Nephi 2:10–13; Val Larsen, “A Mormon Theodicy: Jacob and the Problem of Evil,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 15 (2015): 242–247.
- 7. 2 Nephi 2:13. For a discussion of the idea that at least the possibility of extreme evil is necessary in order for maximum goodness to exist, see Ostler, God’s Plan to Heal Evil, 173–183.
- 8. Isaiah 61:3. “Terryl and Fiona Givens aptly describe this Mormon God as one who ‘will extend the maximum mercy He can, and impose the minimum justice He must,’ ‘who prevents all the pain He can, assumes all the suffering He can, and weeps over the misery He can neither prevent nor assume.’” Larsen, “A Mormon Theodicy,” 258n30, quoting from Terryl Givens and Fiona Givens, The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life (Ensign Peak, 2012), 18, 25.
- 9. This explanation is sometimes called the free will defense; it can explain why moral evils occur where an individual harms another, but alone it does not explain natural evils that are not brought about by other people. Paulsen and Ostler, “Sin, Suffering, and Soul-Making,” 246–251, 254–255, 268–267; Ostler, God’s Plan to Heal Evil, 37–46; Larsen, “Mormon Theodicy,” 256–257n27.
- 10. Mosiah 7:21, 33; 3 Nephi 8:24–25; Alma 60:5.
- 11. Moses 4:3. The Givenses opined, “More must have been involved than simple choice between freedom and coercion. Depriving the human family of agency and accountability could only have been tempting to sons and daughters of God if the alternative were unthinkably terrible.” Terryl Givens and Fiona Givens, The Crucible of Doubt: Reflections on the Quest for Faith (Deseret Book, 2014), 112.
- 12. For a discussion of a premortal consent theodicy, see Ostler, God’s Plan to Heal Evil, 155–171.
- 13. Alma 42:27; see also 2 Nephi 2:26–27; Helaman 14:30–31. This stands in contradiction to the view of compatibilism in determinist traditions, which teaches that possessing free will is compatible with God’s complete control of humans. Ostler, God’s Plan to Heal Evil, 39.
- 14. The Book of Mormon asserts the premortal existence of souls, but the claim that intelligences are coeternal with God derives from later revelations given to Joseph Smith. See Doctrine and Covenants 93:29; Paulsen and Ostler, “Sin, Suffering, and Soul-Making,” 258–261.
- 15. The most effective theodicies emphasize how a world with suffering provides an opportunity for us to love and build relationships with God and our neighbor. See Ostler. God’s Plan to Heal Evil, 113–154.
- 16. A popular Christian response to the problem of evil is the soul-making theodicy, which suggests that suffering is allowed because God has a larger goal of making souls refined for the eternities. Paulsen and Ostler, “Sin, Suffering, and Soul-Making,” 251–258.
- 17. Some trials of the educational sort seem to be either allowed or even caused by God. John Taylor reports that Joseph Smith taught, “You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God. . . . God will feel after you, and he will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God.” John Taylor, in Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. (London, 1854–1886), 24:197, quoted in Larry E. Dahl, “The Abrahamic Test,” in Sperry Symposium Classics: The Old Testament, ed. Paul Y. Hoskisson (Deseret Book; Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2005), 83.
- 18. The idea that God has a reason for evil that humanity does not know and may never know is referred to as skeptical theism. It asserts that if we believe there could be a reason and it is known to God, then we do not need to know what the reason is. This seems to be the argument in the poetry of Job, in which God implicitly teaches that “human beings lack the perspective necessary to understand the delicate chain of cause and effect connecting material circumstances to moral behavior.” Michael Austin, Re-reading Job: Understanding the Ancient World’s Greatest Poem (Kofford Books, 2014), 91; Ostler, God’s Plan to Heal, 10–18.
- 19. Nephi and his family endured the trial of acquiring Laban’s brass plates because it was “wisdom in God.” 1 Nephi 3:19. Lehi, in explaining the consequences of the Fall, noted, “All things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.” 2 Nephi 2:24. Jacob noted, “Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God” Jacob 4:8. Mormon suggests that God works with His own mysterious calculus. Alma 24:21–27.
- 20. This has been affirmed throughout history by Church leaders such as B. H. Roberts, James E. Talmage, and John Widtsoe; see McLachlan, “Is God Subject to or the Creator of Eternal Law?,” 49, 51–55.
- 21. Neal A. Maxwell, “The Wondrous Restoration,” Ensign, April 2003.
- 22. Much of scripture deals with divine compensation for our own actions, but less of it deals with compensation for suffering that occurs because of external factors. The New Testament in particular deals with this topic repeatedly. See Luke 6:20–23; 16:19–31; Romans 5:3; Colossians 1:24; 2 Corinthians 11:23–30; 1 Peter 4:12–13. Not only are blessings compensated, but we are also blessed to a much greater extent than we suffered, especially if we endure it well: “If so be that we suffer with [Christ] . . . we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. . . . And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” Romans 8:17–18, 28; see also 1 Corinthians 2:9; 2 Corinthians 4:17.
- 23. Thus, the individuals who experience unproductive suffering are not treated as a means to an end to test others because arrangements are made for them. Arguments suggesting that an individual must unproductively suffer or die for the greater good but will not be individually compensated for what they endure are less convincing. Ostler, God’s Plan to Heal, 148–153.
- 24. Mormon 9:4. With how difficult life is for any given individual, some have thought it cruel for God to punish anyone in the afterlife. See Alma 42:1. This complaint is known as the soteriological problem of evil, but it is easily answered with Restoration scripture. Paulsen and Ostler, “Sin, Suffering, and Soul-Making,” 268–273.
- 25. Alma 40; Doctrine and Covenants 76; 137; 138.
- 26. The Book of Mormon explores the problem of evil not only on an individual level but also on a societal level. The underlying message is deeply profound: God’s redemption for us will not be isolated in nature but will instead happen through integration and reconciliation into God’s covenant people. The Zion, or New Jerusalem, prophesied of in the Book of Mormon is the answer to the scattering of Israel and the general social ills of our world. See Ether 13. This may be why Book of Mormon authors are so interested in Isaiah, who prophesied extensively about the Millennium and who wrote, “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 25:8; compare Revelation 7:17; 21:4. See Isaiah 49; 54:8–10.
- 27. Truman G. Madsen, “The Problem of Evil,” lecture, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, October 17, 1966, cited in Paulsen and Ostler, “Sin, Suffering, and Soul-Making,” 273.
- 28. Paulsen and Ostler, “Sin, Suffering, and Soul-Making,” 267.
- 29. The struggle of dealing with evil rather than explaining evil is sometimes referred to as the existential problem of evil. Paulsen and Ostler, “Sin, Suffering, and Soul-Making,” 273–278.
- 30. Scripture Central, “Why Do Biblical Psalms of Lament Show Up in the Book of Mormon? (1 Nephi 8:8),” KnoWhy 438 (February 6, 2024).
- 31. For a devotional treatment of this topic, see Michael Huston, Even in the Darkest Hour: Lament as a Path to God (Deseret Book, 2024).
- 32. Romans 12:12, 21; Givens and Givens, Crucible of Doubt, 113: “Paul’s fear may have been, not that we as disciples would fall prey to the allure of evil, but that as compassionate spectators we would fall prey to the weight of evil, and turn to despair, hopelessness, or bitterness.”
- 33. See Doctrine and Covenants 98:3. This phenomenon is referred to as moral quietude and especially occurs when everything that happens on earth is seen as what God most desired to happen rather than simply allowed or had to allow. However, when one realizes that God cannot create the best possible world without the cooperation of the free beings in that world (known as Leibniz’ Lapse), it provides strong motivation to improve the world and build Zion. Ostler, God’s Plan to Heal, 15–28, 39–40.
- 34. Mosiah 4:16–30; 18:9; Alma 15:18; 34:28.