“I want to suffer and be purified by suffering!”

“Suffering often draws us closer to God. Instead of being a sign of God's punishment or distance, suffering can purify us, lead us into the heart of God, and transform our souls.”

“Suffering is universal; how we react to suffering is individual. Suffering can...be a strengthening and purifying experience combined with faith, or it can be a destructive force in our lives if we do not have the faith in the Lord’s atoning sacrifice. The purpose of suffering... is to build and strengthen us. We learn... obedience by the things we suffer. We should be humbled and drawn to the Lord.”

“I wanta go to Tangiers, I want girls, Iwanta write the biggest book in the world,I want spring to come, I want, I want--Wanting, I get; getting, I lose; losing, Isuffer; suffering, I die--NOT WANTING, I DON'T GETNOT GETTING, I DON'T LOSENOT LOSING, I DON'T SUFFERNOT SUFFERING, I DON'T DIE SUFFERING.”

“I want to suffer so that I may love.”

“I have met people who have lost all hope. Repentance, they feel, is beyond their reach and forgiveness outside their grasp. Such do not understand the cleansing power of the Atonement. Or, if they do understand, they have not internalized the meaning of Jesus Christ’s suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross. For any of us to give up hope for the purifying of our lives is to disavow the depth, power, and extent of His suffering in our behalf.”