My little Sunday School class was all a whirl Sunday morning over the sad events of last Friday in Connecticut. They asked, "Where was God?" I had prepared a Christmas lesson, but as I listened to the kids talk I felt like we needed to dive in a bit into the different ways that God responds to incidents like this. Sometimes it is hard to understand events where evil acts are imposed on others.
Not that this is an inclusive tutorial, but right then, on the fly, I could think of three ways that Heavenly Father deals with His children when bad things are happening.
First, He spares us. Through the promptings of the Holy Ghost, God can whisper direction that can protect and direct us. We can be inspired to go late,or leave a situation, or avoid a person, or take a different route, etc. The kids were able to think of lots of stories of folks who "always do this", but that day "did that instead". Or people who changed plans and it ended up keeping them safe and sound. W don't know what dangers are around us, but our Omniscient God does. And we rarely know the results of following promptings like this. Nevertheless, He does and He can spare us.
One example from our family's almanac: The summer of 1998, we started our drive home from Salt Lake to to Minneapolis. We had a most inconvenient car disruption in Green River, Wyoming that delayed us eight hours from getting back to Minnesota. We didn't know that there was a storm brewing in the Midwest, but June 29, 1998 was the great "Corn Belt Derecco"-- a tornado that swept through Iowa.
From a local source:"The Des Moines area was particularly hard-hit. Although the evidence remains somewhat inconclusive, it appears that the large, fast-moving mesocyclone of one supercell was nearly in contact with the ground as it moved from southwest Boone County east-southeast across the northern and eastern parts of the Des Moines metro area. This feature appears to have been responsible for the most intense damage along this corridor. In Des Moines, Polk County, roofs were lifted off stores and homes, planes were flipped at an air field just north of the city, and heavy construction equipment and semi-trailer trucks were overturned on Interstate 35-80. Up to 100,000 homes lost power, and power to some parts of Des Moines was not restored for nearly a week. The damage, totalling an estimated $100 million in Polk County alone, was consistent with wind speeds of 110-155 mph (F2 strength)."
When we finally got on the road from a day of hanging out at the ski shop and walking the Green River with our three tiny boys, we didn't even know that we had been spared this terrible storm. But, as we drove through Des Moines, Iowa and saw the shocking damage along the freeway, we calculated that our delay had kept us from driving straight through the heart of tornado some hours before.
Second, He shows His power-- He rescues us miraculously. God is Omnipotent and can do marvelous things. Through the Priesthood, His Priesthood holders can access His power, too. Can He move mountains, close lions mouths, save disciples in pits of fire, open seas to dry ground, send manna, change water to wine, send 40 days of rain, prepare mountain sides of chariots of angels? yes. He is a God of miracles and in marvelous ways he protects and cares for us.
The kids and I read the story of missionaries, Alma and Amulek, and of being bound and jailed. With the strength of God, they broke the bands that held them and the prison walls fell down. Their enemies left in fear and the men were free. (Alma 14)
Third, He holds wicked men accountable for their wickedness. Herein may lie the answer to tragedy like 9-11, Connecticut or Columbine. Could God change the course of planes? Yes. Could He make bad things never come to bear? Yes. But--
Tucked in the middle of the miraculous rescue of Alma and Amulek is the story of their converts and Church friends. The missionaries were brought to a place where they could witness women and children and their scriptures being thrown into a pit of fire. This was gut-wrenching to see and Amulek asked, "How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God (the priesthood) which is in us, and save them from the flames." (Alma 14:10)
Alma's response teaches the third point, "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." (Alma 14:11)
So, if God always "spared" and/or "showed His power", then the wicked would never be able to be judged according to their works of darkness.
We ended by talking about D&C 122:7 "...know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." No matter the ill, God will bring good to pass. I couldn't help by pointing out that Robbie Parker (father of the deceased Emily, who died in the incident last Friday), was the first parent out there. He stood like a priesthood man would, in suit and tie and in front of our Church. He spoke of forgiveness, compassion and love. He set the tone for the world.
