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Infuriating Unfairness By Elder Renlund

“In 1994, a genocide took place in the East African country of Rwanda that was partly due to deep-seated tribal tensions. Estimates are that more than half a million people were killed.1 Remarkably, the Rwandan people have in large part reconciled,2 but these events continue to reverberate. A decade ago, while visiting Rwanda, my wife and I struck up a conversation with another passenger at the Kigali airport. He lamented the unfairness of the genocide and poignantly asked, “If there were a God, wouldn’t He have done something about it?” For this man—and for many of us—suffering and brutal unfairness can seem incompatible with the reality of a kind, loving Heavenly Father. Yet He is real, He is kind, and He loves each of His children perfectly. This dichotomy is as old as mankind and cannot be explained in a simple sound bite or on a bumper sticker.” Question: Has anyone been asked a similar question? Has anyone asked a similar question to anyone? Why is there suffering in the world? Can the righteous suffer from traumatic experiences? How did the people in Alma 62:41 react to the suffering? Scriptures: Alma 62:41

“Consider a family in which each child received a weekly monetary allowance for doing common household chores. One son, John, purchased candy; one daughter, Anna, saved her money. Eventually, Anna bought herself a bicycle. John thought it was totally unfair that Anna got a bike when he did not. But John’s choices created the inequality, not parental actions. Anna’s decision to forgo the immediate gratification of eating candy did not impose any unfairness on John, because he had the same opportunity as his sister. Our decisions can likewise yield long-term advantages or disadvantages. As the Lord revealed, “If a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.”3 When others receive benefits because of their diligent choices, we cannot rightly conclude that we have been treated unfairly when we have had the same opportunity.”

“Following the principles and commandments of the gospel of Jesus Christ day by day is the happiest and most satisfying course in life. For one thing, a person avoids a great many problems and regrets. Let me use a sports analogy. In tennis, there is something called unforced errors. These are things such as hitting a playable ball into the net or double faulting when serving. Unforced errors are considered the result of a player’s blunder rather than being caused by the opponent’s skill. Too often our problems or challenges are self-inflicted, the result of poor choices, or we could say, the result of “unforced errors.” When we are diligently pursuing the covenantpath, we quite naturally avoid many “unforced errors.” We sidestep the various forms of addiction. We do not fall into the ditch of dishonest conduct. We cross over the abyss of immorality and infidelity. We bypass the people and things that, even if popular, would jeopardize our physical and spiritual well-being. We avoid the choices that harm or disadvantage others and instead acquire the habits of selfdiscipline and service.” By Elder Christofferson Questions: Have you ever witnessed someone blaming the outcome of their own choices as some kind of unfairness or victimhood? Do we sometimes do that to ourselves without realizing it? Does anyone have a personal example from their own life to share? How can we avoid feeling like victim or enabling others to be victim? “The question is not, ‘why me, Lord?’ but ‘what now, Lord?” People experience 3 different type unfairness in their lives Self-Inflicted In equals with Unequal needs Inexplicable Unfairness...