Inexplicable Evil (Questions From Destiny Norton)
Posted by Tyler on July 29th, 2006
There is use, sometimes, is asking questions for which we have no answers. This can be especially important in matters of faith. The question I pose here intrigues me–it does not undermine my faith, it simply intrigues me. With King Benjamin, I acknowledge that man cannot comprehend all things God comprehends. Still, perhaps discussing this question will bring personal catharsis.
My question is anything but original–indeed, it is as old as religious philsophy: why do bad things happen to good people? Or, more pointedly still, why do bad things happen at all?
Elder Maxwell often taught an answer to this question which we might call constructive adversity. Quoting from King Benjamin’s speech, Elder Maxwell suggested that God uses adversity to teach us–or, to use Elder Maxwell’s word, God “tutors” us through our trials; hence the importance of “drinking the bitter cup without becoming bitter.” Elder Maxwell, especially as he battled cancer during the twilight of his life, exemplified his teachings on this matter.
For many types of adversity, I find this idea cogent. It seems to me that cancer, losing a loved one to illness, or dealing with difficult questions of faith can teach us valuable lessons. As Elder Maxwell suggests, the result of adversity is often determined by our reaction to the trial: submission brings learning, pride begets downfall.
There are, however, situations where I find I have to strain to accept the constructive adversity theory. One such example has been unfolding over the past few weeks. For those who do not live in Salt Lake and who may not have heard, a five year-old girl, Destiny Norton, got in a tiff with her parents about twelve days ago. As children often do, she said she was “running away” and stormed into the back yard to play. Five minutes later, her parents followed into the yard but could not find her. Their searching soon turned frantic and, within hours, the police were in on the search and, by the next morning, the girl’s face appeared all over the news.
Despite the prayers and desperate searches of hundreds or thousands of volunteers, nothing turned up for about a week. Then, about eight days after she went missing, the girl’s body was found in a basement just one hundred and fifty feet from her home. A reclusive neighbor had, the night she disappeared, lured her into his house, suffocated her, and then proceeded to do unspeakable things to the body. A quick google search will reveal the sordid details–I will not repeat them because they make me intellectually, emotionally, and physically sick to review.
The question I ask in the face of this tragedy, however, is: why? To boot, the girl’s father had been baptized (a member of the LDS Church) only days before the girl’s disappearance. What’s more, similar stories have ended in miracles (Elizabeth Smart is the obvious example). Why, then, didn’t this girl come home? How does such a terrible, sick, twisted, tragic thing happen? What could be learned from such a horrid occurence? Is this, too, tutoring?
As David Hume once observed: We cannot say God wants such things to happen–He is all loving. We cannot say he has no power to stop such things from happening–He is all powerful. What, then, do we say?
Again, please know, I know this question has an answer and the asking, the pondering, the considering of the question does not undermine my faith. It’s just that I look at my own sisters and wonder, what if… But I cannot bear the thought. It pains me to think of the poor family and I suppose pondering this question may offer me a bit of solace.
No answers here–only thoughts.
Isaiah is helpful, where the Lord says:
48:10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
55:8, 9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
In the D&C the Lord says “For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not het, but is nigh at hand.
Hamilton Wright Mabey said: “There is no way of deciding what is spiritually fortunate or unfortunate at the time; our most grevious clamities are often seen later to have borne the fruit of greatest happiness, and what appeared to be at the moment our largest prosperities have turned to ashes in our hands. The final value of every experience depends upon its spiritual result. No one can tell what seed is in the soil until the harvest is borne; the seed of apparent bittterness often brings forth the flowers of peace.”
When it comes to our mortal existence: (1) the unfettered exercise of agency is more important than we usually imagine; (2) the actual “length of time” each one of us spends in this existence is less important than we usually imagine; and (3) “the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel and he employeth no servant there” [2 Ne. 9:41]–all things will be “compensated.”
Comment # 1 left by beeshnkj on July 29th, 2006
One more thought–much love and many prayers for Destiny’s family and their suffering. We prayed for them in our LDS congregation last Sunday, and I am sure will do so again tomorrow.
Comment # 2 left by beeshnkj on July 29th, 2006
Lehi’s counsel that “all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things” (2 Nephi 2:24) has always been interesting to me. We don’t have the answers, we don’t have the eternal perspective, and we don’t know the higher purpose to what happens.
But I do agree with you that there is intrinsic value in the asking of the question. It causes me, at least, to reflect, ponder, and analyze the things of God more fully and meaningfully, in a (sometimes fruitful) attempt to figure out the “why”.
Comment # 3 left by Connor Boyack on July 29th, 2006
A key point of doctrine that is helpful to the perspective is that God did not place us in our current conditions. He did not force us to come to earth. We knew of the hazards and the exposure to evil (at least in a theorhetical way). We chose to undergo the testing and trials.
And now a question of my own: Is it possible that we could have chosen not to progess into human intelligences; could we have stayed in an inferior position and path and been able to avoid the emotional and intellectual suspense involved in earth life?
Comment # 4 left by Wade on July 29th, 2006
A child get lost or kidnapped - always a miracle? Or just the results of agency allowid to happen.
A child gets lost or kidnapped and never returns - a punishment or lesson? Or just the results of agency allowed to happen.
A Tsunami, or hurricane, or similar event kills thousands or more - An act directly caused by God? Or just the laws of nature doing their thing.
Is it unwise to try and attribute every event to the will of God? We are told that we should acknowledge his hand in all things, but must every event have a purpose? I thought this was one of those things we avoid by understanding that God did not ultimately create the world, or individuals out of nothing. He is not necessarily the source of every event- is he?
Comment # 5 left by Eric Nielson on July 31st, 2006
Bad things happen to people because they have commited a sin that caused it… Whoa, sorry, i was channeling a puritan there for a minute…
“A Tsunami, or hurricane, or similar event kills thousands or more - An act directly caused by God? Or just the laws of nature doing their thing.”
I don’t have a problem with this question, nor your conclusion. I just don’t think it was thought out all of the way. If say 100,000 radom people are killed in a radom event of nature just “Doing it’s thing” do you honestly believe that God is sitting there finding out that he radomly might have lost a future apostle, temple president, or missionary extrodinaire? Someone who might effect His plan to a point where he says to himself “Great, now I have to raise up another in his place” Or “Didn’t see that coming” People die in random ways everyday. It’s all part of his plan.
Comment # 6 left by OKIE on July 31st, 2006
Well, Okie, of course it is not thought all the way through. As much as it might surprise some, I do not have everything all figured out!
In general, I would favor a ‘bad things just happen, not necessarily caused by God’ than to say, ’something bad happened, God must be angry or evil’.
I feel certain that there are times when God intervens. But I think it takes revelation to know that. Otherwise I think we are better off blaming evil acts on the people who comitted them, and treating natural disasters as acts of nature until we have revelation letting us know otherwise.
The alternative seems to lead to attributing evil to God with possible negative effects on testimony and other things.
Comment # 7 left by Eric Nielson on July 31st, 2006
It is such a sad story.
Comment # 8 left by Stephen on July 31st, 2006
Sorry it has taken me so long to respond.
I think I agree with everyone’s comments: we do not believe in creation ex nihilo and therefore are not compelled to blame God for every act of evil in the world. Further, agency playing the important role it does in the plan of salvation, I am ok with making agents, not God, culpable for much suffering. Beyond that, though, I still find malicious, black, wolf-faced, intentional, pre-planned evil difficult to understand. I wonder, on the one hand, what distant circumstances could motivate a divorced father of one to kill and then sexually abuse an innocent little girl. On the other hand, I also wonder why such things are allowed to happen. I suppose it is, in the end, something we must simply accept–the price of agency, unfettered and pure, must be paid, no matter how steep.
It’s just that, as Stephen says, the story is so sad.
Incidentally, Wade, I really don’t even know how to begin to answer your question–I don’t even know what we were, or if we were, before intelligences–let alone whether some beings staid there (:
Comment # 9 left by tyler on August 2nd, 2006
I wonder sometimes if some of the interplay of agency and God not intervening might come into play in the whole just punishment thing.
Al. 14:8-11
8 And they brought their wives and children together, and whosoever believed or had been taught to believe in the word of God they caused that they should be acast into the fire; and they also brought forth their records which contained the holy scriptures, and cast them into the fire also, that they might be bburned and destroyed by fire.
9 And it came to pass that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried them forth to the place of amartyrdom, that they might witness the destruction of those who were consumed by fire.
10 And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the apower of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.
11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.
It’s hard to stomach…that innocent women and children were burned so a just punishment would come upon the evil ones who committed the crimes. But I think this scripture reminds us that we just don’t understand that bad things in this life are limited in their scope and effect (unless we look at bad choices we make). I’m talking about tragedy.
I recently had to go through this mental/spiritual exercise when a father of four 1/2 died suddenly during a triathalon. I knew him and his wife. There is nothing about justice there…just trial. But again, all we can really go to is faith that God knows the end from the beginning and that all things work together for our good if we love God (Rom. 8:28)….and also from Rom. 8:18
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.
Comment # 10 left by mullingandmusing on August 2nd, 2006