I have heard people speak, in and out of the church and primarily at funerals, as if Heavenly Father had a hand in the death of the individual being eulogized. Many people attribute things to God, such as tragic events or even illness afflicting an individual. Events that Heavenly Father, most probably, had nothing to do with. I, believe, that Heavenly Father seldom intervenes or interferes in the lives of His children in mortality. If He did, then the churches of the world would be correct in their doctrine of predestination, meaning that God has His hand in all aspects of our lives. He decides who dies and when, who contracts cancer and who doesn’t. That is a diabolical doctrine that makes God out to be a cruel and unpredictable despot. The restored Gospel enlightens us to know that Heavenly Father is a loving, merciful God, who gave us a plan and the light of Christ to guide us through mortality. We agreed to a plan that the Father presented to us, in our pre-earth existence. As His spirit children we have what is referred to as our agency. During our sojourn on earth we must make choices and we agreed to accept the consequences of those choices whether good or bad.
He told us that we would experience life’s trials and tribulations and that they would be for our good. We learn from our trials and earthly experiences. His latter-day scriptures inform us that without them we would never know good from evil, nor feel the joy that comes from obedience to His laws. If, while exercising our agency, we do things contrary to His law we will suffer the consequences of our actions. We cause the consequences, not God. When our consequences are mostly positive, obviously, we have learned to be obedient and faithful servants. Our whole purpose in life is to one day experience a fullness of joy, knowing that we overcame all things, at least all the hurdles mortality has posed for us.
Does God ever intercede? Yes, but only when prayers of faith have been demonstrated and the causes are just. Faith is a power that seems to disregard earthly law and when appropriate provides some relief for the faithful. When we ask God to intercede in our behalf we in a sense are allowing, or giving Him the right to override our agency.
However, it stands to reason, that if God determined our fate, and we could do nothing to change our destinies, then whom would we blame for the ills that befall us? Of course, we would blame Him. Many people have lost their faith in a merciful God because they have been taught to understand that He determines everything, and so they blame Him for all their earthly ills. We, as humans, often, look for a scapegoat to blame for our problems. We must always praise God for this life, this school, as harsh as it may seem at times. Yes, curse our misfortunes, if we must, but not God, and know that we would not be as strong as we are or be progressing, as we should, if we had not had our trials and misfortunes. This life is a part of His great plan for His children, to give us experience and to prepare us for future progress in the eternities.