helaman 12:3

I was reading the Book of Mormon a few days ago and this scripture stood out to me:

Helaman 12:3:
And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth cisit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him.

I really feel like this scripture can apply to a lot of people. People will ask why? Why would our Father let something like this happen to me? Why would he let me go through this pain? Why? And this scripture is the answer to those questions. And it's so true. If life is going good, if all your bills are paid, if you just received a promotion, it's super easy to think that you don't need anyone to help you. It's super easy to believe that you can handle things on your own, I mean, look how far you've come, right? But the only reason anyone gets that far is through our Father. The only reason anyone is HERE is because our Father. It's super easy, as soon as things start to get rough, as soon as you lose your job, or you get in a bad accident, to look towards Him. It's a little thing called the pride cycle that reaccurs a lot in the Book of Mormon and throughout history. People will be righteous and because of that, they'll prosper, and then because of that, they'll become prideful, and not look towards God, and then fall. It's a never-ending circle.

So, the reasons He gives us afflictions and hardships is because He LOVES us, not because He's punishing us. He wants us to look back to Him to gain salvation.

I'm grateful for that, that He cares enough for me to put me through these tests, to help bring me back to Him.