“A news account quoted two different persons who had suffered the same tragedy and received the same blessing: each of their homes had been totally destroyed, but each of their family members had been spared death or injury. One said that this tragedy had destroyed his faith; how, he asked, could God allow this to happen? The other said that the experience had strengthened his faith. God had been good to him, he said. Though the family’s home and possessions were lost, their lives were spared and they could rebuild the home. … The gift of moral agency empowers each of us to choose how we will act when we suffer adversity” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Adversity,” Ensign, July 1998, 8).
“The same testing in troubled times can have quite opposite effects on individuals. …
“Surely you know some whose lives have been filled with adversity who have been mellowed and strengthened and refined by it, while others have come away from the same test bitter and blistered and unhappy” (Boyd K. Packer, “The Mystery of Life,” Ensign, Nov. 1983, 18).
“Surely these great adversities are not without some eternal purpose or effect. They can turn our hearts to God. … Even as adversities inflict mortal hardships, they can also be the means of leading men and women to eternal blessings.
“Such large-scale adversities as natural disasters and wars seem to be inherent in the mortal experience. We cannot entirely prevent them, but we can determine how we will react to them. For example, the adversities of war and military service, which have been the spiritual destruction of some, have been the spiritual awakening of others” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Adversity,” Ensign, July 1998, 7–8).