Marie Hafen wrote:
The Gospel of Jesus Christ was not given us to prevent our pain. That is the promise of the scriptures: Atonement cannot only heal us but it can sanctify our trying experiences to our growth. . . .
This healing, strengthening power is not a vague abstraction of distant hope. This power flows from the fully developed theology of the Atonement. Our most fundamental doctrine truly does speak to our most fundamental problems. Listen to the Lord’s words from Isaiah, noting that his promises flow from his atonement: “O Israel, fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned: neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isaiah 43:1-2).
The Lord can and will sanctify our experience for our growth and development. . . . [But] the doctrine is not just that adversity can help us learn and grow; rather, it is that Christ, because of what flows from the redemption, gives us the power to make weak things strong, to sift beauty from the ashes of our fires. ~Marie Hafen, The Gift of the Atonement (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2002). 99
