Skip to content

Quotes

Explore quotations on faith, family, service, and more from Latter-day Saint leaders and other writers. Search by topic or author, then open an author profile to read their quotations and sources.

LDS FLOW

Adversity Quotes

Explore inspiring words by topic and author.

All quotes Authors A–Z

22 quotes found

“A good friend, who knows whereof he speaks, has observed of trials, ‘if it is fair, it is not a true trial.’ That is, without the added presence of some inexplicableness and some irony and injustice, the experience may not stretch or lift us sufficiently. The crucifixion of Christ was clearly the greatest injustice in human history, but the Savior bore up under it with majesty and indescribable valor.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell | The Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book

Topics: Adversity, Opposition in All Things, Sacrifice, Trials, Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

One’s life . . . cannot be both faith-filled and stress-free. . . . Therefore, how can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, ”Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!” . . .Real faith . . . is required to endure this necessary but painful developmental process.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell | “Lest Ye Be Wearied and Faint in Your Minds,” Ensign, May 1991, pp. 88, 90

Topics: Adversity, Faith, Trials

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 . . . but if . . . 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.

John Taylor | (John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 5, 115-116)

Topics: Adversity, Faith, Peace, Trials

“One speaker in Church directs, “You can’t do everything. Don’t run faster than you have strength”. The next says, “Push yourself. You can always do more.” One person advises, “Don’t worry about what you can’t do” at the same time someone else says, “You can do anything you put your mind to.” In one hymn we sing, “I need thee every hour,” and in another we sing, “We will work out our salvation”. In this world of mixed messages, I never can seem to escape the nagging though, “If only I were better organized or if only I tried harder.” Satan tempted Christ with the word, ‘if.’ He often comes to me with the words, ‘if only.’”

Brad Wilcox | The Continuous Atonement

Topics: Adversity, Doubt, Patience, Temptation, Trials

Your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experience. To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it. We are like infants in our understanding of eternal matters and their impact on us here in mortality. Yet at times we act as if we knew it all. When you pass through trials for His purposes, as you trust Him, exercise faith in Him, He will help you. That support will generally come step by step, a portion at a time. While you are passing through each phase, the pain and difficulty that comes from being enlarged will continue. If all matters were immediately resolved at your first petition, you could not grow.”

Richard G. Scott | “Trust in the Lord,” Ensign, November 1995, p. 17

Topics: Adversity, Faith, Mortality, Trials

“Our needed conversions are often achieved more readily by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquillity. … Father Lehi promised his son Jacob that God would ‘consecrate [his] afflictions for [his] gain’ (2 Nephi 2:2). The Prophet Joseph was promised that ‘thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high’ (D&C 121:7–8). Most of us experience some measure of what the scriptures call ‘the furnace of affliction’ (Isaiah 48:10; 1 Nephi 20:10). Some are submerged in service to a disadvantaged family member. Others suffer the death of a loved one or the loss or postponement of a righteous goal like marriage or childbearing. Still others struggle with personal impairments or with feelings of rejection, inadequacy, or depression. Through the justice and mercy of a loving Father in Heaven, the refinement and sanctification possible through such experiences can help us achieve what God desires us to become.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks | "The Challenge to Become," Ensign, Nov. 2000, 32

Topics: Adversity, Conversion, Trials

“Healing blessings come in many ways, each suited to our individual needs, as known to Him who loves us best. Sometimes a ‘healing’ cures our illness or lifts our burden. But sometimes we are ‘healed’ by being given strength or understanding or patience to bear the burdens placed upon us. … “The healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ—whether it removes our burdens or strengthens us to endure and live with them like the Apostle Paul—is available for every affliction in mortality.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks | "He Heals the Heavy Laden," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 5–6

Topics: Adversity, Blessings, Trials

No matter how difficult the trail, and regardless of how heavy our load, we can take comfort in knowing that others before us have borne life’s most grievous trials and tragedies by looking to heaven for peace, comfort, and hopeful assurance. We can know as they knew that God is our Father, that He cares about us individually and collectively, and that as long as we continue to exercise our faith and trust in Him there is nothing to fear in the journey.

Elder M. Russell Ballard | “You Have Nothing to Fear from the Journey,” Ensign, May 1997, p. 59

Topics: Adversity, Heavenly Father, Peace, Trials

“It is not charity or kindness to endure any type of abuse or unrighteousness that may be inflicted on us by others. God’s commandment that as we love him, we must respect ourselves, suggests we must not accept disrespect from others. It is not charity to let another repeatedly deny our divine nature and agency. It is not charity to bow down in despair and helplessness. That kind of suffering should be ended.”

Aileen H. Clyde | Ensign, November 1991, p. 77

Topics: Abuse, Adversity, Charity, Trials

“We are often left to work out problems, without the dictation or specific direction of the Spirit. That is part of the experience we must have in mortality. Fortunately, we are never out of our Savior’s sight, and if our judgment leads us to actions beyond the limits of what is permissible and if we are listening to the still small voice, the Lord will restrain us by the promptings of His Spirit.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks | Teaching by the Spirit (address delivered at new mission presidents’ seminar, 22 June 1994), 8.

Topics: Adversity, Mortality, Personal Revelation

I testify that when we embark upon or continue the incredible journey that leads to God, our lives will be better. This does not mean that our lives will be free from sorrow. We all know of faithful followers of Christ who suffer tragedy and injustice–Jesus Christ Himself suffered more than anyone. Just as God makes the “sun to rise on the evil and on the good,” He also allows adversity to test the just and the unjust. In fact, sometimes it seems that our lives are more difficult because we are trying to live our faith. No, following the Savior will not remove all of your trials. However, it will remove the barriers between you and the help your Heavenly Father wants to give you. God will be with you. He will direct your steps. He will walk beside you and even carry you when your need is greatest.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf | A Yearning for Home

Topics: Adversity, Jesus Christ, Trials

© Copyright 2026, All Rights Reserved