Have you ever heard somebody say, “If God truly existed, he wouldn’t allow people to suffer”? Many times, this sentiment is expressed by those who have tasted of suffering in their life. Losing a loved one, living through extreme hardship, or experiencing severe disappointment has made them feel abandoned, or even punished. They have wondered, “WHY?”

They ask: Why do people suffer? What good does it do anyway? How can God allow it? Is he not merciful? If he truly loved us, wouldn’t he help?

They are desperate pleas. The sufferings we feel are sometimes so exquisite that we see nothing but the pain. And sometimes that pain makes us bitter. We even begin to think that our lot in life cannot be expressed in words, because surely, we are the only ones to have ever experienced such a tragedy.

From the New Testament, 1 Peter 4:12 — “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.”

Every. Single. Person… WILL EXPERIENCE SUFFERING in this life. I have. You have. If we haven’t yet, we will. The types of suffering may be different. But we will all experience it.

Is there a reason for the suffering? Is it because God doesn’t love us? Is it because we are being punished? As human beings we need things to make sense. We need answers.

There has been a huge outcry recently about statements made by the TV Evangelist, Pat Robertson. He claimed on his show, The 700 Club, that the horrible earthquake in Haiti was because of a pact with the Devil, and is just one more example of a curse upon that land. Shepard Smith of Fox News called him out on it. I agree with Shepard.

Other folks looking for answers to the destruction have cited the extreme corruption in the Haitian government, reminding us that much of the aid in past days never made it to the citizens who needed it because of their greed.

Perhaps, then, we can say at least they deserved it? Certainly they were the wicked people who lost their lives in the earthquake. But what of the innocents who lost their lives? Are there survivors who suffer now through no fault of their own?

Let me take you somewhere else for a moment. Fast forward to events predicted by The Revelation of Saint John in the New Testament.

Revelation 8:18 “By these three was the third part of men killed…”

There are plenty of bible scholars who say that this means 1/3 of the entire population of earth. Calculated loosely, that is more than 2 billion souls. How big is the number 2 billion? That is 10,000 times more than the number of people who died in the horrible 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. More than 230,000 perished. With current totals and predictions by at least one news outlet, the death toll for the earthquake in Haiti could almost match it.

I am not trying to diminish the heart breaking tragedy of Haiti. Or the tsunami of 2004. I am trying to make a point about sheer numbers. Can you even imagine having a global disaster where 1/3 of the earth’s population is destroyed? It is terrible and frightening.

Tell me: What will be the state of mind for many people on the day in which that particular massive destruction takes place? Will God cease to exist for those who survive? Will there be those who will finally give up, saying, “God is dead, otherwise this would not have happened“?

Will all of those who die deserve it because they are counted among the wicked? What about the innocents? Will they all be spared?

I want to share my own personal belief with you on these matters. Whereas I am sure there were those who were in no way prepared to meet their God on Tuesday, January 12th, there were also many, many people who were blessed by that reunion. God loves His children. The poor who have struggled, the hungry, the oppressed–all have found rest in His arms. Even the most wicked men and women–those who were not following His commandments–experienced a taste of mercy by leaving this difficult existence, if nothing else by being prevented from sinning further.

As time goes on, there will be further tragedies. Both the wicked and the righteous will suffer in them. Why? Because God wants our hearts. He also wants us to be prepared for whatever may come. If we are obedient, and we love the Lord, does it really matter if we are called home to our Heavenly Father?

What matters is what we have become.

1 Peter 4:19 – Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Let us become like Christ. Like Him, let us aid the poor. Let us love our fellowman. Let us also repent of all our uncleanness. Then let us worship our God, and never turn our back on him, even in those times when we don’t readily see His loving hand directing our lives.

And then, if we are taken, we will still find ourselves in the loving embrace of a Father who will say: “Welcome home. Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

That is the type of homecoming which I look forward to. May I live in such a way that I will be counted among those worthy of such a heavenly reception.

—

If you would like to donate to a charity in which 100% of the funds are used for aid to the people of Haiti (not a cent is used for administration or proselyting), please consider donating to the LDS Church Humanitarian Relief Efforts fund.

—
Photo courtesy of Logan Abassi, posted on Wikipedia, (Creative Commons license)

My heart is warmed when I see a lit menorah during Hanukkah. Called “The Festival of Lights” it speaks of a great miracle at the time when the Maccabees regained control of the Temple in Jerusalem and only had one-days worth of oil for the menorah in the temple. They lit it anyway, and miraculously, the menorah stayed lit and burning for 8 days. Hanukkah means “dedication”. It is a festival of hope and joy.

I feel those same feelings of hope and joy at Christmas time. For me, Christmas is a time of miracles.

One of those miracles occurred in my own heart, many years ago as a youth when I saw the short movie, “Mr. Krueger’s Christmas” with James Stewart and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Scenes of the season, snow, shoppers, giving, music–I remember them all. I also remember feelings of sorrow for this kindly old man who kept being ignored. And then feelings of joy when he found friends.

Most of all I remember the feelings I had at the manger scene. Tears welled up in my own eyes as Mr. Krueger thanked the Babe of Bethlehem for all of his blessings, especially for the comfort he felt at the time he lost his dear wife Martha. My favorite line, “I’m Willie Krueger . . .  but you know that.”

I knew. I knew for myself that Christ knew me by name, and had also blessed me. And I loved Him. I longed to be there in that cave with Mr. Krueger so that I could give my own thanks.

To me, that is Christmas. A time of miracles when hearts are touched, as mine was.

For those who have never seen it, or those of you who have forgotten what it was about, I share it with you here. Merry Christmas!

I am very grateful today for all of the blessings I have. As I think about each of the privileges which I enjoy, my mind keeps coming back to the meaning of this holiday–why it was instituted and by whom.

It is a national holiday, one which finds its roots in the hopes and desires of men and women willing to sacrifice all, even what very, very little they had, in order to come to a free land so that they might live out their dreams. They dreamed to be free from oppressive government, to be free to worship according to the dictates of their own conscience, and to own property so that they might have the freedom to live in peace.

This is how the great United States of America started. Explorers came. Then the oppressed followed. I believe with all my heart that they were brought here by the hand of an Almighty God who loved them. That truth was brought home to me as I watched a special on the history channel yesterday about the Mayflower. They were preserved and protected.

As I contemplate who these people were and what they did, I realize that they were not perfect. Some of them did not treat the native peoples as they should have. But many did. Many tried to live in peace with the American Indians. In the 1800’s, the Mormons did. And they were not the only ones who tried.

I know that this land is preserved by the hand of God for His own purposes. I know that if we serve Him according to the commandments which he has given us, it will always remain a land of liberty to those who are here. It will never be brought into captivity.

But this I also know: It is our duty to remain faithful to God and his commandments. Contrary to what Barack Obama might say, this nation IS a Judeo-Christian nation. It was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. The founding fathers were believing men. They leaned on the power of God to preserve them.

I was thoroughly impressed by President Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation read by Glenn Beck yesterday. The full text can be found here:

Thanksgiving Proclamation – Abraham Lincoln

I wonder, when was the last time as a nation that we prayed to God, in “humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience” as Lincoln said? This nation has gone far astray from the pure fount from which our roots drew strength and nourishment when it was young.

It is my prayer, a prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude for the great privileges which I personally enjoy, that this nation will be preserved because of the efforts, even the very lives, lived by the righteous among us. Let us not be like Sodom which would have been spared had there been but ten righteous found. Let our voices be heard among the people. Let our voices reach the heavens in supplication for mercy. And may we always be thankful–grateful for the men and women who gave all so that this nation would be born during days of revolution, unified during days of civil war, and protected during days of world wars.

God Bless America!

Happy Thanksgiving

I am sorry about the lighting in this video, but the sound turned out pretty good, considering. This is a double-quartet that I participated in this evening. We assembled at 6pm to do a warmup/practice before our Stake General Priesthood Meeting at 7pm. My friend Rob Robertson brought his Flip camera.

I am the 4th from the left, in the back. We were in a semi-circle so it looks like I am really short.  Whereas I am a Baritone and usually sing Tenor in a SATB arrangement, this arrangement is actually a men’s 4 part, so I am singing the melody. I hope you enjoy it!

Picture from NASA: Farthest galaxy cluster ever imaged.

This is a follow-up to my last post “Can a Mormon write Christian Fiction”. Because of comments posted there, I would like to know if Christians of various faiths believe that there are other planets which have people on them.

Do you believe that God created other solar systems in this vast universe which have inhabited planets with humans, plants, and animals on them?

Or do you believe that God only peopled this one? In other words, do you believe that all of the other galaxies and planets out there (science is quickly proving that there are planets around other suns which could support life) are merely creations of beauty for our own wonder and discovery, and that we will never find other people out there?

What do you think?

I just have to ask this question… because I am a nerd. Do you like Star Trek?

Credits: Picture is from the NASA “Astronomy Picture of the Day“.  I love that site!

Those of you who follow this blog know that I have a book being released in March with Valor Publishing. The book is categorized as Speculative Fiction because of the setting and subject matter. But in my mind, the book also touches an area which book sellers call Christian Fiction. There are references to Jesus Christ in the book. Lots of them. In fact, the entire premise of the story is that there is a world peopled with believing souls, most of which recognize that there will be a Savior born, and that in time He will come to them as their King–much like what we are expecting in a Second Coming here on earth, but for them, it will be a first coming–and they know He will be born, and suffer, and die, and rise again. Just not on their planet. 

If you would like to read the book back-liner for the story, click on BOOKS when you get to my website:  http://daronfraley.com

Curiosity about how the Christian market will receive this book–one that has a unique but almost Old Testament feel to it–has been on my mind almost constantly since I got my publishing contract with Valor Publishing. It is hard to tell what will be said about it until the book is actually released. I suspect that there will be those Christians out there who will automatically reject the book on the grounds that I am LDS (Mormon). That much I can expect.

But for those who do not automatically reject it, I wonder: Are Christian Fiction readers going to be willing to entertain a captivating story which celebrates the purpose and mission of Jesus Christ as an underlying theme, if the author is Mormon?

What do you think?

I am looking for honest, straight-forward conversation here. Please be kind. I respect the beliefs of others, so I would appreciate it if comments are given in such a way that people of all faiths are comfortable and not offended by those comments.

One last item. If you have any doubts as to how I might feel about Christ as my Savior, please read my short story “WATER”.  I wrote that story as a personal, worshipful expression. It can be found here under the subject “Short Stories”, or you can find it on my website under “READ”.  I hope you enjoy it.

Mission accomplished. The book is done.

At about 1 a.m. this morning, I sent the final pages back to my editor (Tristi Pinkston at Valor Publishing) for review and inclusion in the master copy of the manuscript. Changes were accepted. I can finally say, the book is done!

Copy editing is the next step to get it ready for typesetting, but those changes are expected to be minor. During the edit, Tristi mentioned that I must really like water because of some of the imagery in my book. Yep, I do. It is calming to me. I have spent some of my best thinking moments on the banks of a stream or river. So, the image above of a peaceful lake seemed appropriate for this post.

And if I must say so myself, the book is quite good, better than I had ever imagined when I started out on this writing journey. I look forward to seeing comments from my readers when the ARCs are sent out!

Oh. I almost forgot. If you want to experience the satisfaction one can only experience through the creative process, sign up for NaNoWriMo. It starts tomorrow!

Happy Halloween, everybody. I’m going to go celebrate by robbing candy from my children this evening.

Note: The photo was taken by a friend of mine, or rather, adopted daughter, Stephanie Haven. She now has a website: http://stephaniehaven.com 

OH! ONE MORE THING!!! Don’t go yet!

Valor Publishing is having a HUGE book launch party for Mark Shurtleff at the Barnes & Noble in the Gateway Mall, Salt Lake City, on Tuesday evening. For details, please click on the Valor link above. Everybody who is anybody is going to be there. Even some who are nobody (like me) will be there. Come say hi!

I am not sure why I woke up at 4:30 this morning. May have had something to do with the noisy truck which went by.

Yesterday was a fun day. I took the family up American Fork Canyon for a picnic. Of course that means a car load of noisy kids. And teenagers can be SO LOUD.

In reflection I realized that there are some great calming influences available in the world. I was much calmer after I got out of the car.

Here are some of my favorites:

What are your favorites?

And to my wife, because it is her birthday today, and we will eat ice-cream-cake after we go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Utah State Attorney General Mark Shurtleff’s ground-breaking new novel, “Am I Not A Man: The Dred Scott Story” is now available for preorder at a reduced price.

An illiterate slave, Dred Scott trusted in an all-white, slave-owning jury to declare him free. But after briefly experiencing the glory of freedom and manhood, a new state Supreme Court ordered the cold steel of the shackles to be closed again around his wrists and ankles. Falling to his knees, Dred cried, “Ain’t I a man?” Dred answered his own question by rising and taking his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dred ultimately lost his epic battle when the Chief Justice declared that a black man was so inferior that he had “no rights a white man was bound to respect.”

Dred died not knowing that his undying courage led directly to the election of President Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation proclamation.

Dred Scott’s inspiring and compelling true story of adventure, courage, love, hatred, and friendship parallels the history of this nation from the long night of slavery to the narrow crack in the door that would ultimately lead to freedom and equality for all men.

You can order your sale-priced, signed and numbered limited edition copy of “Am I Not a Man” by visiting http://www.valorpublishinggroup.com before Labor Day. There are only 5,000 copies of this special edition being printed and once they’re gone, they’re gone … and the sale price ends on Labor Day. You can request that Mark personalize your inscription, and your book will be mailed to you before the stores even get their copies. For more information, visit http://www.valorpublishinggroup.com

***

I am very excited to get my hands on a copy of this book. In our day where judicial activism seems to be rampant and the Constitution of the United States is frequently trampled by those grasping for power, I think the subject matter of this book is very timely. After you read the book, swing back by here later and tell me what you thought of it.