Crises - Helpful or Harmful?

 In class we defined crises as "danger + opportunity".  No one can be lucky enough to go through life without facing the trials of crises.  But even if it were possible, would we want to?  Would we purposely choose to live without crises?  It might sound nice, but what good would it do for us?  It is like asking Heavenly Father why we couldn't all just stay in the pre-Earth life if we were already converted, what is the purpose of coming to Earth.  The purpose is to face these trials and crises and to stretch and grow.  We are given families for special purposes to teach and learn from each other, to learn how to become closer.  Experience helps us to learn how to handle crises in the future.  Crises can do one of two things - it can build a family up or it can tear it apart.  It is all in how a family chooses to handle the crises.  Losing loved ones, finding out about a terminal illness, etc.  those are all difficult scenarios to handle.  But do we stick our head in the sand and pretend nothing is happening - limiting our growth from the crisis - OR do we choose to pull together as a family, depend on each other, comfort one another?  The right choice is obvious, but it is not always easy to accomplish.  It is my sincerest hope that every person chooses the right way of handling crises, that our future families will be stronger than our generation of families were.  Hold your families close and dear, go to them before anyone else when you are going through a difficult time, and cherish those moments of unity.  A happier, healthier cohesive family handles conflict better than those families who are more centrifugal or "off-balanced" families.