Elder Dale G. Renlund on God's eternal fairness to His children

Elder Dale G. Renlund (born November 13, 1952) served in the First Quorum of Seventy starting in 2009, until his call to the Quorum of Twelve in October 2015.

"Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are the ultimate Givers. The more we distance ourselves from Them, the more entitled we feel. We begin to think that we deserve grace and are owed blessings. We are more prone to look around, identify inequities, and feel aggrieved—even offended—by the unfairness we perceive. While the unfairness can range from trivial to gut-wrenching, when we are distant from God, even small inequities loom large. We feel that God has an obligation to fix things—and fix them right now! ...

"The sacrament truly helps us know our Savior. It also reminds us of His innocent suffering. If life were truly fair, you and I would never be resurrected; you and I would never be able to stand clean before God. In this respect, I am grateful that life is not fair.

"At the same time, I can emphatically state that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, ultimately, in the eternal scheme of things, there will be no unfairness. 'All that is unfair about life can be made right' (Preach My Gospel, 52). Our present circumstances may not change, but through God’s compassion, kindness, and love, we will all receive more than we deserve, more than we can ever earn, and more than we can ever hope for. We are promised that 'God shall wipe away all tears from [our] eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away' (Revelation 21:4)."

- Dale G. Renlund, "That I Might Draw All Men unto Me," General Conference, April 2016, Saturday morning session
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Life is unfair. Neither blessings nor challenges are distributed equally. From our perspective, at least, it often doesn't "make sense" when we face inequity or unfairness. Elder Renlund points out the irony that those who are furthest from God are often the ones who seem to expect blessings and protection from God and are offended or caused to doubt further when He doesn't respond as they expect.

But through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we are assured that ultimately, all unfairness will be erased:

As the "former things pass away," we have that beautiful assurance that through "God's compassion, kindness, and love," we will be blessed not only beyond what we deserve but also beyond all that we could hope for. Truly, as Paul testified, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Cor 2:9).

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2017)