Two Reasons Why the World Is Imperfect

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf slipped slipped just a single word of a German vocabulary lesson into the last talk of the Saturday Afternoon Session of last General Conference:

There is a word in German, Weltschmerz. Loosely defined, it means a sadness that comes from brooding about how the world is inferior to how we think it ought to be.

 Considering how imperfect the world is and how much and how often that imperfection bothers us, I think that Elder Uchtdorf was right to say that "Perhaps there is a little Weltschmerz in all of us."

As a cure for Weltschmerz, Elder Uchtdorf suggested turning to "the transformative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ and in the Savior’s redemptive power to heal us of our soul-sickness," and that is probably the best solution, but I have thought of another solution that might also help: understanding why the world is the way it is.

By divine design, this world had to be imperfect. If it were perfect, with no troubles or trials of any kind, it wouldn't be a proper test for us. And in order for the world to be perfect, it couldn't have imperfect beings on it, making imperfect decisions that negatively affect the other imperfect beings. If the Earth were to be perfect and remain perfect, we couldn't live on it. In fact, now that I think about it, I'm not sure our pre-Earth life was perfect. I can't currently recall ever hearing that it was. Perhaps imperfection is all we have ever known. Certainly, imperfect is all we have ever been, so even though the world is imperfect and definitely has room for improvement, so do we.

So, the world is far from perfect, and that's partly because there are imperfect people making the world even worse, but those imperfections make this world a perfect testing ground for us. These imperfections help us test our mettle and fortitude if the face of afflictions that can't be helped. They also help us test our wisdom and goodness in avoiding and solving the problems that can be avoided and/or solved. Our trials can help us become better people, but that couldn't happen if the world were too perfect to have trials in it.

We need trials to grow, so we need the world to be imperfect so it can grant us the trials we need. So, rather than being upset about how bad the world is, let's try to remember why the world has to be that way and try to channel our negative emotions into creating positive change, even if that change is only in ourselves.

Of course, it's still a good idea to pursue Christlike qualities and try to improve the world with the guidance of the Gospel. But if following the Gospel doesn't make the world perfect (and it doesn't), just remember that if the world were perfect, we wouldn't be on it and that we need the world's imperfections to help us overcome our own.