This is a General Conference Odyssey post:

I am continually amazed at how easy it is to get caught up in the daily injustices of life. The times my kids screamed “It’s not fair!” are too numerous to count. Being accountable for all my choices too is overwhelming, especially when it’s much more convenient to rope someone else into my reasoning. President Spencer W. Kimball’s talk, “The Davids and the Goliaths”–one of the classic talks ever given in General Conference–is where he retells the story of how David fought an unfair fight to overcome the odds against him. It’s an invitation for us all to see how God really deals with unfairness.

All of us face trials. And all of these trials feel unfair. This earth life was never meant to be fair. Why would we ever feel the need to call upon the Lord, if it was fair?

This subject comes up from time to time, and every time it does, I immediately think about those people who blame the church for their problems. It’s as if they refuse to understand the most important part of The Plan of Salvation.

David was a young, skinny kid who had figured out how to kill Goliath long before he faced him. Like David, we too must figure things out before it’s too late. This is what David knew:

1. He knew the Lord was there.
2. He knew the Lord would help him.
3. He knew the Lord would give him the power to overcome.
4. He knew the Lord would save him.

The mindset of our Heavenly Father’s plan was that we would have to face our own Goliaths in an unfair world. And the very heart of the plan was that we would need to call upon our Savior to come and rescue us. Without pain, we would never feel the need for a Savior. And without the Savior, we will never be free from pain. Once we understand that Jesus Christ can take away our pain–any and all pain, no matter what it is–we will be completely free and victorious.

In the Book of Mormon, we are told that pride was the downfall of the Nephites. They could not bow down to the Lord and His will. They thought they knew better. They loved wickedness more than righteousness. Today, pride is slowly eating our willingness to obey the Lord. There are many who think they know better. We cannot insist upon our will and be obedient to the Lord’s will at the same time. Humility and voluntarily offering our broken hearts to the Lord are necessary to receiving the power to overcome whatever pain we are feeling. It is the only way.

Pain comes to all of us because this earth life was meant to test us. God wants to see what we’re made of; not that we are strong and can take it, but that we are humble and can release it, to Him.