Gerald N. Lund wrote:
One of the things I learned as a bishop was that not all suffering and sorrow comes from transgression or violation of the laws of God. . . . I think of a newspaper account of a young mother who, as she was driving along the freeway, turned to look to a crying child in the back seat. She lost control of the car. There was a terrible accident and lives were lost. That was not a sin. It was a mistake. But the consequences were tragic for her and her family.
In other cases, we may face suffering and tragedy that are part of this fallen, mortal world in which we live. Some of that tragedy comes when people sin against others. The sinner is not the only one who suffers; so do the innocent. And there is also suffering of illness, handicaps, natural disaster, and loss. . . .
. . . Here is a principle to comfort every soul. Not only did Christ suffer for our sins but he also took upon himself other things—-, and our pains and afflictions, and temptations of every kind—and suffered for them as well (see 2 Nephi 9:21; Alma 7:11) . . . .
. . . The finite human mind cannot comprehend how this is possible or what suffering the Savior took upon himself to pay the consequences of all the sins of the fallen world but also all the suffering, all the sickness, all the pain, all the infirmities that mankind has suffered through thousands of years of living in a fallen world. Yet, if this were not so, then there would not be perfect justice for all. In no other way could justice ever be done. ~Gerald N. Lund, The Gift of the Atonement (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2002), p.100
