OPPOSITION

IN ALL

THINGS
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles

I.
The purpose of mortal life for the children

Central to the
gospel of Jesus
Christ is the
Fathers plan of
salvation for the
eternal progress of
His children. That
plan, explained
in modern
revelation, helps us
understand many
things we face
in mortality. My
message focuses
on the essential
role of opposition
in that plan.

of God is to provide the experiences needed

to progress toward perfection and ultimately
realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal
life. As President Thomas S. Monson taught
us so powerfully this morning, we progress by
making choices, by which we are tested to show
that we will keep Gods commandments (see
Abraham 3:25). To be tested, we must have
the agency to choose between alternatives. To
provide alternatives on which to exercise our
agency, we must have opposition.

It must needs be, that there is an opposition

in all things. If not so, righteousness could

not be brought to pass, neither wickedness,
neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor
bad (2 Nephi 2:11; see also verse 15).

s a result, Lehi continued, the Lord God

gave unto man that he should act for himself.
Wherefore, man could not act for himself save
it should be that he was enticed by the one
or the other (verse 16). Similarly, in modern
revelation the Lord declares, It must needs be
that the devil should tempt the children of men,
or they could not be agents unto themselves
(D&C 29:39).

The rest of the plan is also essential. When we Opposition was necessary in the Garden
make wrong choicesas we inevitably will
we are soiled by sin and must be cleansed to
proceed toward our eternal destiny. The Fathers
plan provides the way to do this, the way to
satisfy the eternal demands of justice: a Savior
pays the price to redeem us from our sins.
That Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only
Begotten Son of God the Eternal Father, whose
atoning sacrificewhose sufferingpays the
price for our sins if we will repent of them.

ne of the best explanations of the planned

role of opposition is in the Book of Mormon,
in Lehis teachings to his son Jacob.

of Eden. If Adam and Eve had not made the

choice that introduced mortality, Lehi taught,
they would have remained in a state of
innocence, doing no good, for they knew no
sin (2 Nephi 2:23).

From the beginning, agency and opposition

were central to the Fathers plan and to Satans

rebellion against it. As the Lord revealed to
Moses, in the council of heaven Satan sought
to destroy the agency of man (Moses 4:3).
That destruction was inherent in the terms of
Satans offer. He came before the Father and
said, Behold, here am I, send me, I will be
thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that
one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do
it; wherefore give me thine honor
(Moses 4:1).

Thus, Satan proposed to carry out the

Fathers plan in a way that would prevent the

accomplishment of the Fathers purpose and
give Satan His glory.

Satans proposal would have ensured perfect

equality: it would redeem all mankind, that

not one soul would be lost. There would be no
agency or choice by anyone and, therefore, no
need for opposition. There would be no test,
no failure, and no success. There would be no
growth to attain the purpose the Father desired
for His children.

he scriptures record that Satans opposition

resulted in a war in heaven (Revelation 12:7),
in which two-thirds of the children of God
earned the right to experience mortal life by
choosing the Fathers plan and rejecting Satans
rebellion.

Satans purpose was to gain for himself the

Fathers honor and power (see Isaiah 14:1215;

Moses 4:1, 3). Wherefore, the Father said,
because that Satan rebelled against me, I
caused that he should be cast down (Moses
4:3) with all the spirits who had exercised their
agency to follow him (see Jude 1:6; Revelation
12:89; D&C 29:3637).

Cast down as unembodied spirits in mortality,

Satan and his followers tempt and seek to

deceive and captivate the children of God (see
Moses 4:4). So it is that the evil one, who
opposed and sought to destroy the Fathers plan,
actually facilitated it, because it is opposition
that enables choice and it is the opportunity
of making the right choices that leads to the
growth that is the purpose of the Fathers plan.

So it is that the
evil one, who
opposed and
sought to destroy
the Fathers plan,
actually facilitated
it, because it is
opposition that
enables choice and
it is the opportunity
of making the right
choices that leads
to the growth that is
the purpose of the
Fathers plan.

II.

Opposition in the form of difficult

circumstances we face in mortality is also

part of the plan that furthers our growth in
mortality.

Significantly, the temptation to sin is not the

only kind of opposition in mortality. Father

Lehi taught that if the Fall had not taken place,
Adam and Eve would have remained in a state
of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no
misery (2 Nephi 2:23).

ithout the experience of opposition

in mortality, all things must needs be a
compound in one, in which there would be
no happiness or misery (verse 11). Therefore,
Father Lehi continued, after God had created all
things, to bring about his eternal purposes in
the end of man, it must needs be that there
was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in
opposition to the tree of life; the one being
sweet and the other bitter (verse 15).

is teaching on this part of the plan of

salvation concludes with these words:

Behold, all things have been done in the

wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

Adam fell that men might be; and men are,

that they might have joy (verses 2425).
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

to bring about his

eternal purposes in the
end of man, it must
needs be that there
was an opposition...

III.
All of us experience various kinds of

opposition that test us. Some of these tests are

temptations to sin. Some are mortal challenges
apart from personal
sin. Some are very
great. Some are
minor. Some are
continuous, and
some are mere
episodes. None of
us is exempt.

have been bewildered at the opposition to

accomplishing his divine mandate. The Lord did
not make it easy, but He did make it possible.
Josephs fifth attempt, a second approach to the
Palmyra publisher Grandin, was successful.

We are all acquainted

with other kinds of
mortal opposition not
caused by our personal
sins, including illness,
disability, and death.

pposition
permits us to grow
toward what our
Heavenly Father would have us become.

After Joseph Smith had completed translating

the Book of Mormon, he still had to find a

publisher. This was not easy. The complexity
of this lengthy manuscript and the cost of
printing and binding thousands of copies
were intimidating. Joseph first approached E.
B. Grandin, a Palmyra printer, who refused.
He then sought another printer in Palmyra,
who also turned him down. He traveled
to Rochester, 25 miles (40 km) away, and
approached the most prominent publisher in
western New York, who also turned him down.
Another Rochester publisher was willing, but
circumstances made this alternative
unacceptable.

Weeks had passed, and Joseph must

Years later, Joseph

was painfully
imprisoned in Liberty
Jail for many months.
When he prayed for
relief, the Lord told
him that all these
things shall give thee
experience, and shall
be for thy good
(D&C 122:7).

e are all acquainted with other kinds of

mortal opposition not caused by our personal
sins, including illness, disability, and death.
President Thomas S. Monson explained:

Some of you may at times have cried out in

your suffering, wondering why our Heavenly

Father would allow you to go through whatever
trials you are facing.

Our mortal life, however, was never meant to

be easy or consistently pleasant. Our Heavenly

Father knows that we learn and grow
and become refined through hard challenges,

heartbreaking sorrows, and difficult choices.

Each one of us experiences dark days when our
loved ones pass away, painful times when our
health is lost, feelings of being forsaken when
those we love seem to have abandoned us. These
and other trials present us with the real test of
our ability to endure.

ur efforts to improve our observance of

the Sabbath day pose a less stressful example of
opposition. We have the Lords commandment
to honor the Sabbath. Some of our choices may
violate that commandment, but other choices in
how to spend time on the Sabbath are simply a
question of whether we will do what is merely
good or what is better or best.5

To illustrate the opposition of temptation, the

Book of Mormon describes three methods the

devil will use in the last days. First, he will rage
in the hearts of the children of men, and stir
them up to anger against that which is good
(2 Nephi 28:20). Second, he will pacify,
and lull [members] away into carnal security,
saying Zion prospereth, all is well (verse 21).
Third, he will tell us there is no hell; and I
am no devil, for there is none (verse 22), and
therefore there is
no right and wrong.
Because of this
opposition, we are
warned not to be
at ease in Zion!
(verse 24).

The Church in its divine mission and we

in our personal lives seem to face increasing

opposition today. Perhaps as the Church grows
in strength and we members grow in faith
and obedience, Satan increases the strength
of his opposition so we will continue to have
opposition in all things.

Some of this opposition even comes from

Church members. Some who use personal

reasoning or wisdom to resist prophetic
direction give themselves a label borrowed
from elected bodiesthe loyal opposition.
However appropriate for a democracy, there is
no warrant for this concept in the government
of Gods kingdom, where questions are honored
but opposition is not (see Matthew 26:24).

As another example, there are many things in

our early Church history, such as what Joseph

Smith did or did not do in every circumstance,
that some use as a basis for opposition. To
all I say, exercise faith and put reliance on the
Saviors teaching that we should know them by
their fruits (Matthew 7:16).

Our ultimate reliance

must be on faith in the
witness we have received
from the Holy Ghost.

The Church

is making great
efforts to be
transparent with
the records we
have, but after all
we can publish,
our members are sometimes left
with basic questions that cannot be

resolved by study. That is the Church history

version of opposition in all things. Some
things can be learned only by faith (see D&C
88:118). Our ultimate reliance must be on faith
in the witness we have received from the Holy
Ghost.

God rarely infringes on the agency of any of

His children by intervening against some for the

relief of others. But He does ease the burdens
of our afflictions and strengthen us to bear
them, as He did for Almas people in the land
of Helam (see Mosiah 24:1315). He does
not prevent all disasters, but He does answer
our prayers to turn them aside, as He did with
the uniquely powerful cyclone that threatened
to prevent the dedication of the temple in Fiji;
or He does blunt their effects, as He did with
the terrorist bombing that took so many lives
in the Brussels airport but only injured our four
missionaries.

Through all mortal opposition, we have

Gods assurance that He will consecrate [our]

afflictions for [our] gain (2 Nephi 2:2). We
have also been taught to understand our mortal
experiences and His commandments in the
context of His great plan of salvation, which
tells us the purpose of life and gives us the
assurance of a Savior, in whose name I testify of
the truth of these things. In the name of Jesus
Christ, amen.

Through all mortal

opposition, we have
Gods assurance
that He will
consecrate [our]
afflictions for [our]
gain (2 Nephi 2:2).

Opposition permits us
to grow toward what
our Heavenly Father
would have us become.