There are at least two responses to adversity. One is to turn to God. The other is to “curse God, and wish to die.” Of course Mormon had hoped for the former. He witnessed the latter. What does it mean to want to “curse God, and die?” There are two parts of the expression that describe what happens in the person who suffers adversity. The first is that they have come upon a reversal of their expectations. Bruce Hafen describes this process for the House of Israel:
“Throughout much of Old Testament history, Jehovah was thought to be a jealous God whose protection depended upon the obedience of his people. If the people were faithful, they felt assured of his protection against any adverse force. Therefore, when trouble came it was natural to assume that the cause was personal unrighteousness, either for an individual or for Israel as a nation.” (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart: Applying the Atonement to Life’s Experiences [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1989], 57.)
The expectation of many is that believing in and following God is a guarantee of shelter from the storms of life. This is an extension of the ancient practice of sacrifices to pagan gods, where the sacrifice was an exchange for services to be rendered in the future. For the pagan, the offering was to ensure some good outcome. If the god did not perform, then they promised that they would withhold further sacrifices to the god. This bartering with the gods feeds our underlying attempts to see ourselves in a similar privileged position because of our attempts to follow God. If we assume that because we pay tithing and attend Sacrament meetings that we will be spared adversity, then when adversity comes we see in it the betrayal of the bargain we made with God. Of course this isn’t the relationship we have with God, and it certainly isn’t an accurate description of the overarching principle of Agency. Nevertheless, there are those who profess to believe in agency, but are still angry with God when he does not fulfill his end of our “bargain.”
This was the state of the ancient Nephites. Somehow they made the leap from sacrifice as commitment to sacrifice as bargain, and they sold their souls for that bargain. When all was well, it worked perfectly, and even proved their case. If they were prosperous, it was because they had performed as God has wanted them to perform. When it failed, there was no depth to their performances, and rather than Godly sorrow to repentance, the same conditions generated anger. That anger is what causes them to “curse God.” Of course they would curse God if they expected that He had failed in his part of a bargain.
The second condition is to “wish to die.” This is the very negation of the plan of life. What God promises is life everlasting. This particular wishing to die is not simply a desire for cessation of moral function. It is a negation of the plan of the Redeemer. To want to die is the opposite of wanting to live. In the gospel terms, living is eternal; death is the antithesis. By electing the antithesis, they are doing more than cursing God, they are denying that there is a God, and denying His entire purpose.
Reference: the phrase “curse God, and wish to die,” borrows its underlying form and vocabulary from Job:
Job 2:9
9 ¶ Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
In both cases, we see this as a possible response to adversity. In the case of Job, it was recommended to him as a natural response. It is Job’s conquering of that natural desire that is his spiritual strength, and the highlighted characteristic of the story. In Mormon’s usage, the phrase fits into the context of a common response to adversity. Unfortunately, there is no positive countering response. The ultimate message of Job is positive. Mormon’s description is painfully negative.