Reading about Joseph Smith's experience with afflictions, and about afflictions in general, I was reminded of a thought I had a while back that I haven't blogged about yet: "Easiest" is not always "best."
It would have been easier for Joseph Smith if he hadn't been imprisoned, but that doesn't mean that that would have been best for him and for the rest of the world. Perhaps he needed to have that affliction in order to strengthen him, just as Zion's Camp served to strengthen the men who went on to become the first restored Quorum of the Twelve. Or perhaps God, knowing that the world would need the comforting words He would reveal to Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail, put Joseph Smith into a position where he would ask for them.
The easiest paths and the easiest choices are not always the best ones. Often, God asks us to follow difficult paths because they're ultimately better for us than the easier paths we would rather have followed. Without His guidance (and occasional interference), many of us would follow the path of least resistance, the easiest path, and miss out on the growth that we came to Earth to experience. Much of the purpose of life would be frustrated if we never faced much affliction, making it imperative that we don't always just do whatever is easiest.
We need to face challenges, adversity, and afflictions. We need to struggle. In order to achieve our eternal potential, we need life not to be easy.
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