Mormon Theodicy: A Latter-day Saint Resolution to the Problem of Evil

“If there was a God, this wouldn’t have happened.” Countless people throughout the ages have uttered this phrase, or one similar to it, in the wake of events that cause suffering. Whether it is the death of a loved one, physical or mental illness, disappointment, or one of the other myriad ways humans suffer, suffering for anyone who believes in God, to any degree, can spark very real and very legitimate concerns about the truth of the existence of Deity. “If God is good, why didn’t He save my child?” some may say. “If God has all power, why does He not feed the starving people of the world?” others inquire. These questions reflect what is known by modern philosophers and theologians as the problem of evil. How can a believer in God reconcile His goodness and omnipotence with the existence of evil? Can an all-good, all-powerful God exist and still permit evil to exist? This problem has existed as long as humans and suffering have existed. Many today feel there is not an adequate rebuttal to the problem of evil which has been at least partly responsible for declining religiosity in the world. I say that they are right. There is not a good rebuttal to the problem of evil—at least within the context of the traditional creeds of Christendom. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God’s true church on earth having been restored to fill the voids created by apostasy. This restoration, if it is all that we as members of the Church claim it to be, is a restoration not only of authority, but of doctrine, knowledge, and truth. I will show through the process of this paper how the restoration of the Gospel solves the problem of evil. We will discuss the problem of evil more in depth, the beliefs of “mainstream” Christianity and why they do not suffice, and how the problem is resolved with the restored gospel. If what we claim is true, the restored gospel will adequately answer the questions that have confused and despaired many.
So what exactly is the problem of evil? According to James Kellenberger, a philosopher of religion, the problem of evil is based on three propositions: God is all-good, God is all-powerful, and the existence of evil. It basically says that if evil exists and God is all-good, then He is not all-powerful because He would stop evil but can’t. If evil exists and God is all-powerful, then He is not all-good because He could stop evil but won’t (266). So, He either is not all-good, or is not all-powerful. One does not have to go very far to realize that evil is prevalent in this mortal world. (I must insert here that evil is considered to have two types: natural evil, which would be earthquakes, mudslides, natural diseases, etc.; and moral evil, events caused by another human being such as murder, rape, war, etc. Both types are being considered here.)Within the context of these propositions, the affirmation of evil in the world implies that God either is not worthy of our worship, or He simply does not exist. For if evil and God exist together, then God is either not interested in helping us and is therefore not worthy of our love and trust, or He cannot help us and our faith in such a being would be in vain. A rational conclusion to this dilemma is then to deny the existence of an all-good, all-powerful being, a.k.a. the God of the majority of the Judeo-Christian world. All Judeo-Christian religions have faced the challenge of successfully resolving the problem of evil. The term “theodicy” has been coined to signify the effort to explain evil and vindicate God (Kellenberger 266).
There are nearly as many ways to resolve the problem of evil as there are denominations in the Judeo-Christian world. There are, however, two main viewpoints on the subject. One says that if evil disproves God, then evil must not be real. The other says that evil does indeed exist and thus there is no hope. The official view of the Roman Catholic Church, for example, is that evil does not actually exist, but rather only the absence of good exists. This view, as honorable as the intentions may have been behind its formation, seeks to exonerate God by telling the world that the pain they may be suffering is merely a lack of goodness (Madsen, Eternal Man 54). Many people do not buy this notion. There are too many examples of evil things in this world for a rational person to deny the existence of evil. On the other hand, emphasizing the existence of evil to disprove the existence of Deity also falls short. It does not take into account some details of which I will talk a little later in this paper.
In order to understand the Latter-day Saint resolution to the problem of evil, one must understand a few truths. The loss of these truths was a result of apostasy, which has later resulted in the difficulty of many religions in resolving the problem. When, in 1820, Joseph Smith went to pray in the grove of trees near his home, he was seeking answers to life’s great questions. His appetite for truth and light could only have been satisfied by the outpouring of truths that followed that great visit from the Father and His Son to the boy Joseph. From that time until his death in 1844, many truths were revealed through Joseph Smith to help us live happily in this life and receive an eternal inheritance in the life to come. Because of the restoration of the gospel, we now understand the doctrines that serve as the background of understanding questions that without such knowledge seem so complex and difficult to answer.
The first truth that one must understand is the correct nature of God. God is a loving Heavenly Father who loves all of us, His spirit children, and has sent us here as part of a great plan to achieve happiness. God is literally an exalted man who, by progress in similar circumstances to what we experience here, overcame the world and evil and has now received all power over all things. We achieve greater amounts of happiness by becoming more like Him. It is through our faithfulness under all conditions that we may receive the heavenly gift of exaltation. This truth is distorted by the creeds of Christendom. The belief in something unidentifiable and indescribable leads one to abandon hope in time of need.
The second truth that one must understand is of the nature of evil. Truman G. Madsen, a well known LDS philosopher, apologist, and historian said, “Evil is not a created quality. It has always existed as the background of good. It is as eternal as goodness; it is as eternal as law; it is as eternal as the agency of intelligences” (Meaning of Christ). While many denominations assert that God is responsible for all because He is all-powerful, this quotation helps us to understand that He is not responsible for all; some things are eternal. Because of the Fall, evil was introduced into the world. It is by overcoming the effects of the Fall that we can become exalted; thus, evil is necessary. The various Christian schools of thought vary on this subject. Some say evil does not exist. Some say it does exist but was created by God. To attribute evil to God lessens His character. To deny the existence of evil only weakens one’s credibility.
Another truth to embrace is that of our own true nature. Many people who have considered the problem of evil have also asked themselves, “Why didn’t God create people and a world in which evil did not exist?” We learn in the Doctrine and Covenants that, “Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be” (D&C 93:29). We lived before this earth-life and will continue to live after. We then learn that God did not create our innermost, agency bearing self. We also are eternal. Because we were not created, there are varying levels of character. Our Heavenly Father created this world and designed a plan whereby we may all progress to achieve exaltation like Him. We chose to come here to this earth to gain experience and to be tested in all things. Most Christians say we began existence at birth. If we were created with a fallen nature, then God has created beings in His own image that are evil.
The last truth that must be understood is the true nature of suffering. We believe that because of the suffering of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane and on Calvary, all mankind may be saved. This means for us that because of the Atonement of Christ, our suffering can have purpose. That suffering may have purpose might sound weird at first, but let me give you an example. If you exercised your arms resulting in a deep pain in your biceps but experienced no subsequent muscle growth, you might feel that you suffered in vain. If, however, after your workout you felt the pain but did experience muscle growth, would you not agree that the pain was made worth it by the growth? Because of Christ, all of our suffering on this earth can serve a purpose—to help us to grow and progress. We must work, but the growth comes from the Atonement. This is another doctrine that many denominations dispute. Some say it is entirely by works one may be saved, some say salvation is by grace alone.
Understanding these restored truths helps one to realize that if one has a correct knowledge of God, eternal law, our own nature, and the purpose of suffering, the problem of evil does not even exist. Evil “is a necessary and eternal part of ‘the dramatic whole’ and the kingdom of righteousness wherein dwelleth peace--the beatific vision and hope of the faithful--is the kingdom to be won by the conquest over evil” (Madsen, Meaning of Christ).
Is there a problem of evil? Yes—if truths are misunderstood. The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ has been given in these latter days to provide us with not only an organization that can provide authoritative baptisms and the like, but also to provide the answers to life’s deepest questions.






Bibliography
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981
Kellenberger, James. Introduction to Philosophy of Religion Readings. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2007
Madsen, Truman G. Eternal Man. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1970
Madsen, Truman G. The Meaning of Christ--the Truth, the Way, the Life: an Analysis of B. H. Roberts' Unpublished Masterwork. Provo: BYU Studies, vol. 15 (1974-1975)