“When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” For the Strength of Youth, June 2024.
Come, Follow Me
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Is there anything difficult happening in your life lately? If so, you’re in good company.
Illustration by Camila Grey
Two prisoners in the Book of Mormon were treated so horribly that you might imagine—based on this treatment—that they were the very worst type of criminals.
These prisoners were tied up. They were beaten daily by their jailers. If that weren’t enough, they were even stripped of their clothes and deprived of food or water. What was their crime?
Alma and Amulek had simply been trying to preach the gospel (as you’ll learn this month in Come, Follow Me, studying Alma 8–14).
Trusting God
The scriptures are full of examples of bad things happening to good people. Of course, so is modern-day life. You probably know and love people who would fit that same description.
President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, once put it this way:
“For every infirm man healed instantly as he waits to enter the Pool of Bethesda, someone else will spend 40 years in the desert waiting to enter the promised land. For every Nephi and Lehi divinely protected by an encircling flame of fire for their faith, we have an Abinadi burned at a stake of flaming fire for his. …
“The point? The point is that faith means trusting God in good times and bad, even if that includes some suffering until we see His arm revealed in our behalf.”
Sometimes we just need to hang in there a little longer!
Balancing the Scales
In this particular scripture account, things ended up working out miraculously for Alma and Amulek. They were strengthened to break their bonds and escaped alive as the prison crashed to the ground and destroyed their jailers (see Alma 14:26–29).
Yet only a few chapters earlier we read of a righteous leader, Gideon, who was attacked and killed for defending the faith (see Alma 1:7–9). Why such different outcomes? Well, in truth, we just don’t know.
“Some unfairness cannot be explained; inexplicable unfairness is infuriating,” taught Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Even so, there is always hope! Elder Renlund added, “Jesus Christ overcame the world and ‘absorbed’ all unfairness. Because of Him, we can have peace in this world and be of good cheer. If we let Him, Jesus Christ will consecrate the unfairness for our gain.”
No matter what situation we find ourselves in, Jesus Christ is the strength—and the source of peace—for us all.