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trials (John Taylor)


So far as I am concerned, I say, let everything come as God has ordained it. I do not desire trials; I do not desire affliction: I would pray to God to “leave me not in temptation, and deliver me from evil; for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.” But if the earthquake bellows, the lightnings flash, the thunders roll, and the powers of darkness are let loose, and the spirit of evil is permitted to rage, and an evil influence is brought to bear on the Saints, and my life, with theirs, is put to the test; let it come, for we are the Saints of the most High God, and all is well, all is peace, all is right, and will be, both in time and in eternity...
I used to think, if I were the Lord, I would not suffer people to be tried as they are; but I have changed my mind on that subject. Now I think I would if I were the Lord, because it purges out the meanness and corruption that stick around the Saints, like flies around molasses.
John Taylor, Journal of Discourses 5:114-15
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