God allows temptations so that they might rouse us to remember Him. When
we call upon Him, He acts as though He does not hear us so that we multiply
our supplications and cry out His holy name, in fear of the various passions.
Then, through the pain of the entreaties, our heart is sanctified, and through
experience we learn the weakness of our lame nature. Thus we realize in
practice that without God's help we are not able to do anything.
If there were no temptations, pride and other passions would have
turned us into other lucifers. But our good Father, God, allows afflictions
to come upon us so that we may be guarded by humility, which will lighten
the burden of our sins.
Counsels from the Holy Mountain, Elder Ephraim +
