Finding Hope, Comfort in a Time of Despair

Published January 3, 1985. The date: May 30, 1971. The place: The Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. The speaker: Harold B. Lee, president of the LDS Church. The occasion: A special Memorial Day service for parents, wives and family members who had lost a loved one to the Vietnam War.

Several residents of Utah and the surrounding states were distraught because a husband, a son, a brother, a father, or another loved one had recently been killed in the war in which the United States was fighting. Painful and difficult questions had arisen. Why our son? Why my husband? Why did he have to die this way? Why did he have to die so young? Did God cause the death? Why are some spared, and others taken in death?

These and other equally difficult questions had been asked, both silently and vocally. And it was the difficult task of Elder Harold B. Lee to try and give, if possible, some answers to these and other troublesome inquiries. Here are a few of his comments on that occasion:

“Another question often asked is, “Why was not my son or brother or husband or fiancé protected on the fields of battle as were others who testify that they were miraculously spared?” They may say, “Why did it have to happen to my boy (or my husband, or my brother, or my fiancé)?”

Later, he noted, “Many things occur in the world in which it seems very difficult for most of us to find a solid reason for the acknowledgement of the hand of the Lord. I have come to the belief that the only reason I have been able to discover by which we should acknowledge the hand of God in some occurrences is the fact that the thing which has occurred has been permitted of the Lord. It was not the will of the Lord, but it occurred by permission of the Lord.”

President Lee also observed; “Having gone through some similar experiences in losing loved ones in death, I speak from personal experience when I say to you who mourn, do not try to live too many days ahead. The all-important thing is not that tragedies and sorrows come into our lives but what we do with them. Death of a loved one is the most severe test that you will ever face, and if you can rise above your griefs, and if you will trust in God, then you will be able to surmount any other difficulty with which you may be faced.”

And finally, in his speech titled “From the Valley of Despair to the Mountain Peaks of Hope,” Elder Lee quoted Dr. Albert Schweitzer, a great humanitarian who had many experiences with loss and suffering. Dr. Schweitzer gave this advice:

“Don’t vex your mind by trying to explain the suffering you have to endure in this life. Don’t think that God is punishing you or disciplining you or that he has rejected you. Even in the midst of your suffering, you are in his kingdom. You are always his child, and he has his protecting arms around you. Does a child understand everything his father does? No, but he can confidently nestle in his father’s arms and feel perfect happiness, even while tears glisten in his eyes, because he is his father’s child.”

The date: December 23, 1984. The place: Orangeville, Utah. The occasion: the deaths of 27 miners in the Wilberg Mine. The questions: The same as those asked May 30, 1971. The answers: no one knows for sure.

But perhaps President Lee’s observations are still noteworthy.

Our hearts and thoughts are extended to those who lost loved ones in the Wilberg mine Disaster, Christmas 1984.