--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Parry, Edwin F. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 7 number: 11 published: 1904-09 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Edwin F. Parry, "Some Stumbling Stones. I," *Improvement Era* 7, no. 11 (September 1904): 838–845.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0711unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera0711unse start_page: 838 end_page: 845 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1904-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0711unse publication_year: 1904 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1904, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Some Stumbling Stones. I SOME STUMBLING STONES. BY EDWIN F. PARRY, SALT LAKE CITY. Why does the Lord permit wickedness and suffering among his creatures'? If there is only one way to he saved, why does not the Lord tell everyone the way, in plain, unmistakable language? If a person lives a good, moral life, what need is there for him to ' conform to religious ordinances? My dear reader, do any such queries as these ever enter your mind? They have sprung up in the minds of some, for I have been asked regarding just such questions; and I believe they frequently occur to the minds of thoughtful young people. They are important questions, and are worthy of consideration and study; and by earnest study and inquiry we can solve some problems that confront us. Sometimes people, when perplexed by such questions, yield too readily to the conclusion that they cannot be solved, and give up the attempt. It should be remembered that some of the most valuable truths, like other less precious gems, often have to be sought diligently before they are discovered; and, unfortunately, we at times abandon the pursuit of treasures when they are nearly within our reach. Sometimes questions like the ones that appear at the head of this paper are like stumbling stones in the way of young people. When obstacles are in the way of our footsteps, the best thing to do is to remove them, that they may not hinder our progress; so, too, when our spiritual or moral pathway is beset with obstructions, the proper thing to do is to dislodge them and set them aside. In discussing these several questions, which I shall do, taking them one at a time, an appeal will be made to the reader's sense I SOME STUMBLING STONES. 83^ of reason, rather than to any scriptures or other authorities, and he may draw his own conclusions from what may be presented. To begin with, let me suggest this: In our attempt to interpret the Lord's motives with respect to his dealings with mankind, let us keep in mind that he is our Father, and that we are his children. Let us take it for granted that he possesses all power and wisdom, and that he loves us, and is ever solicitous of our welfare. For the sake of aiding our limited comprehension, let us regard him as we would a wise and good earthly parent, who has a family of children to deal with; and that we might better understand his purpose, let us try to imagine ourselves in a parent's place, and then consider what we would be led to do under like circumstances. By doing this, we will be the better able to understand the philosophy of his designs. In attempting to answer the first question — Why does the Lord permit wickedness and suffering among his creatures? — shall begin with a parable which may help us to arrive at the proper solution of the problem. There was once a wise man who had a large family of sons and daughters. They all lived together in innocence, harmony and love. Their father supplied all their simple wants and needs, and they had nothing to disturb their peace or cause them anxiety or distress of any kind. I say simple wants, because they were children without experience or extended knowledge, hence they knew but few desires. Being so well provided for, there was nothing for them to do but enjoy their parent's bounty. The father loved his children very dearly; and while he was*vealthy enough to continue to keep them as he had been doing — providing them with everything they immediately required — he well knew that such a course would not afford his children an opportunity nor an inclination to develop themselves that they might become like him —possessed of knowledge, wisdom, skill and experience. As lonjr as he looked after them and provided for them, they would never 'earn to rely upon themselves; they would never learn to govern th'^mselvesnor to govern others, when they should attain to tb? f csition their father occupied; in fact, they never could attain td such a position as long as the present conditions continued. So the wise man said to himself: "While I love my children 840 IMPROVEMENT ERA. very dearly, and am loth to part with them, for their own welfare I shall assign them a place in a distant part of my possessions, where they will be compelled to shift for themselves. There they may associate with each other, but they shall not be allowed to return to the parental home, until I call them. If they desire ad- vice or counsel from me, they may receive it by sending their petitions to me; but I will not interfere with their transactions with each other. know this arrangement when put into effect I will cause my children much suffering and sorrow. I know they will quarrel or contend among themselves. I know they will be and seek to take advantage of each other; and in their selfish, struggle for existence they will have to labor with their hands. I well know of the pain and suffering they will endure, for have I not passed through similar experience myself? But having acquired the knowledge and wisdom I possess by such a course of training, I feel that what is to be thus gained is fully worth all the trials to be endured." Reasoning from this standpoint, the wise man did not regard to his offspring, to deal with it as an act of cruelty, nor an injustice them in this manner. Indeed, he felt that it would be an injustice, if not a cruelty, to deprive them of this privilege of gaining an experience. He realized that in the acquirement of knowledge there is a pleasure, even though it be procured by bitter experience. So the wise man did according to his resolve. As his children grew to accountability, he sent them from their comfortable home to remain away ttntil he recalled them. Just as was expected, there was no end of strife and contention in this new sphere to which the children were assigned. But some of them learned in time that it was possible to enjoy a de- gree of happiness and satisfaction in that state even, if they would govern themselves according to the rules their father had given them. Other intelligence they acquired also, which would enable them to appreciate, to a far greater extent than they did before, the joys and beauties of their former home in their father's mansion; and those who were obedient to their parent's laws were happy in the assurance that when they should be called home they would be made welcome there. SOME STUMBLING STONES. 841 When they did return, the father, too, rejoiced to know that they were educated to the degree that they could appreciate more fully, and more like he himself did, the pleasure of existence, and the g;lories of his beautiful habitation; and his joy with theirs was made complete by this fact. At the time of parting, there was grief on both sides, but when they were reunited in a condition where they could better appreciate each other's association, owing to their being the more nearly equal in intelligence, the period of separation was but a recollection of the past. Its sorrows were lost sight of in the happiness of the present, and the bright anticipations and hopes of the glorious future. But there \yere some of the children who, sad to contemplate, continued to be rebellious during their sojourn in the temporary abode to which they had been sent. Unwilling to make the sacrifice of their own pleasures and comforts, fleeting though they were, for the good of their brothers and sisters, they failed to learn the lesson that their condition and surroundings were intended to impart. Having their own free will to do as they chose, they elected to grasp every immediate advantage, and to indulge in every passing pleasure, regardless of the future. Severe as was the ordeal through which they passed there, they overlooked the object for which they were sent to this new sphere of action, and when the time came for them to return to their father's home, they were unprepared to enter his presence. They themselves felt this very keenly, and were ashamed to meet their parent, while in such a condition. They could not return and share the blissful state of their more faithful brothers and sisters, nor could they enjoy the innocent condition which they did previous to their departure from their parental abode. They were not now in that innocent primeval condition; so it was an act of love and mercy on the part of their father to shut them out of his presence, as he did, and give them further opportunity to prepare themselves for a place of happiness such as they were capable of appreciating. Now, was there anything unmerciful or unjust in the dealing of this man with his children? Was it cruel for him to send them away for a season that they might get an experience that would enable them to become like their father — capable of appreciating to a greater degree the benefits and happiness of existence? Do 842 IMPROVEMENT ERA. not many parents, who are able to bear the expense, send their children, whom they love, away to school in distant places, where they are separate from dear ones at home, and where they have to endure the pangs of separation, and often undergo privations and disappointments, and where they are compelled to submit to rigorous discipline that may be distasteful and even painful to them? This is not because the parents take a delight in seeing ' their children suffer. It is because they want them to be prepared for the duties of life — that they may be accomplished in every- thing that is good and elevating. It is their extreme love and so- licitude for the welfare of their children that prompts the parents to do this; and often they make many sacrifices themselves in order to give their offspring such advantages and privileges. Sometimes those children who are sent away to school fail to accomplish that for which they are sent. They neglect their opportunities, for which they have to suffer remorse and shame. But do they charge their parents with cruelty for sending them out and thereby giving them opportunity to thus disgrace them- selves? If they possess the least amount of gratitude, not even those who make a failure of their life feel to censure their parents. They blame themselves only; and what adds to their suffering is the regret they feel because they have disappointed their parents in their hopes and expectations. Man's agency to act at will, it may be assumed, gives rise to the wickedness that exists in the world, and suffering is the result of wrong doing. In order to develop good qualities within him- self a man must be in a position to experience good and evil, and be free to do either the one or the other. He cannot choose the good and reject the evil, if only one is within his power. If he is permitted only to do good, he has no choice in the matter, and there is no virtue in doing good when he cannot do otherwise. On the other hand, if he be compelled to do evil, he is not to ba held accountable for that evil, because he does not act on his own volition.These facts must be apparent to every mind; therefore, itmust be admitted there is wisdom as well as justice in giving^ man freedom of will to act as he may elect. The free agency of man involves physical and mental suffer- ing. Man is capable of enduring as well as inflicting pain. If SOME STUMBLING STONES. 843 there were no suffering in the world, the object of mortality would be defeated, for it is through suffering that man is enabled to distinguish between right and wrong. We all know that bodily pain is what restrains us when we break the laws of our physical existence; and were it not for this, we would in our ignorance destroy all our limbs and organs before we had opportunity to educate or develop them. The experience of mental pain is what serves to guide us in observing the laws of our moral life. When we injure our fellow-beings, we endure the sting of conscience. We can understand, therefore, that suffering plays an important part in our earthly career. It is ever reminding us of our duties to ourselves and to our fellows. It is charged by some that the Lord's providences are unjust because the innocent are permitted to suffer through the wrongdoing of the wicked; the weak are oppressed by the strong; and children suffer as a result of sins committed by their parents. While this is all true, it is impossible to conceive how it could be otherwise, and man retain his agency to do good or evil. If man is given the power to do evil, he will of necessity cause suffering when he exercises that power, otherwise his actions would not be evil, for an act can only be evil when it causes suffering, either directly or indirectly. The Lord, however, has so ordained that pain of the character mentioned — where the innocent suffer by the acts of the wicked — not without is its good effects. Take for illustration the suffering of a child as a result of its parents' disregard for law. Does it not impress a lesson for the good of mankind? The physical suffering of the child causes its parents to suffer mentally through sympathy, and thereby they are impressed with a lesson which their own suffering failed to teach. To make my meaning clear, let us suppose a case. A man has contracted a habit of drinking intoxicating liquors. When he first commenced that practice, nature warned him of the evil by causing him to suffer, but he disregarded the warning and continued on in the injurious practice, and through doing so his children are found to be weak, physically and mentally, or perhaps both, and suffer as a consequence of their parent's wrong-doing. The parent reminded and warned more forcibly realizes this fact, for he is than ever of his wrong conduct; and not only is he warned, but g44 IMPROVEMENT ERA. those acquainted with the circumstances are also warned of the evil consequences of disregarding the laws of nature. So it appears that on account of the perverseness of human nature, there is a necessity for such suffering. If a man will not take warn- ing from his own bodily suffering, he is forced to suffer mentally on account of the wrong he has done to others. In olden times, withsome nations, the laws inflicted punishment for crime not only upon the offender himself, but upon his family as well. Men guilty of certain acts were put to death with their wives and children. Do you think the creation of such laws was due to the cruelty of the framers, or through a desire for revenge? I think not. One object sought, no doubt, was to restrain crime. Men sometimes become so reckless that they will disregard their own lives, and the most severe penalties will not hold them in check. We have evidence of this in our own day. But when people are given to understand that when they disregard the laws, their loved ones who are innocent will share the penalty of their evil deeds, there is a greater restraint upon them. Of course, I do not contend that the more desperate characters, who seemingly have no respect for anyone, would be held back even by such a provision as the one mentioned, but it would serve as a restraint upon those inclined to wrong- doing, before they reached such a degree of abandonment to wickedness. It may not be necessary to mention any more instances of this character to show that there is virtue in suffering. Frequently it happens that a man, perhaps through an evil inclination, injures or inflicts pain upon an innocent person, and then, by witnessing the result of his wrong-doing, is brought to repentance. The wrong he has perpetrated has taught him a lesson he perhaps could learn in no other way. He is benefited "by the experience at the expense of the one injured. But if the one who suffers has benefited his fellow-being by his suffering, then he is partially rewarded, at least, by the satisfaction that he is a benefactor to the erring one. And so it is, every martyr who has suffered at the hands of the wicked has helped to make the world better by his sufferings. It might be asked. Is not the Lord cruel and unjust, at times, in directly interposing in the affairs of mankind by summarily — SOME STUMBLING STONES. 845 destroying communities? We read in the scriptures of the Lord taking vengeance upon nations and wiping them from the earth sparing not even the helpless children. If fully understood, such acts would be regarded as evidences of the Lord's extreme mercy. Such people as were so visited were so corrupt that to permit them to exist would only result in continued suffering most intolerable to bear, as a consequence of their own conduct, and to save them and their offspring from such a dreadful fate, he, as an act of divine mercy, swept them from the earth. Persons who suffer through accident, through sickness or misfortune, do not endure their afflictions in vain. Can we not see some good resulting from their sufferings? Are not such ones endeared to their families and friends by their very condition? And when such persons bear their troubles patiently, do they not teach us a beautiful and impressive lesson in patience and gratitude? Then, again, consider the love that is engendered human in the heart by mutual suffering! What other agency is so potent in creating fellowship and tender regard one for another? Why, then, should anyone wish that it be removed from the world? It was through the suffering of the Savior that redemption was brought to mankind. Jesus said that if he should be lifted up, (on the cross) he would draw all men unto him; and is it not reasonable to believe that the knowledge that he suffered and died for their sakes will help to draw all men unto him? Let us not look upon the Lord as being cruel or unjust in permitting suffering to exist in the world, while it is a means of teaching us so many valuable lessons. With all the suffering he permits to exist, he is merciful, for he has placed a limit to mortal pain, and when that limit is reached, the sufferer is relieved. (to be concluded).