To Avoid Suffering

D&C 19:16-18 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; 

But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;  

Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

As a person who would like to avoid suffering as much as possible, I feel like this is an important set of scriptures to remember. Life is hard, and life is especially hard when we hold ourselves to high standards and try to be righteous. I sometimes wonder whether the struggle is even worth it. Yet, if this righteous struggle for the few short decades we spend in mortality help us to avoid the kind of suffering Christ experienced, I think I can learn to put up with it.

I don't want to struggle or suffer any more than I have to, and I certainly don't want to suffer as much as Christ did. If I can avoid eternal torment by enduring the struggle of trying to be righteous, then that's probably worth it.