It's part of Mormon theology that God's purpose in sending His children here to earth is the "immortality and eternal life of man." He intends for us to learn and grow, and that was only possible in a situation separated from Him, and in a mortal body, which enables us to experience pain, and in a mortal world where we would be forced to deal with limited time. In fact, Mormon missionaries call this "The Plan of Happiness." I love this part of Mormon theology, that we are not being punished for the sins of Adam and Eve in the Garden, that God doesn't have some grand design that is His own and has little to do with us. We aren't here only to give praise to God. In fact, on some level, God exists for us, and not we for Him.
As a parent myself, I find this makes a lot of sense to me. I want what is best for my children in the long-term. But the reality of this in day-to-day living doesn't always make them want to jump up and down and sing praises to my name. I make them do chores. I make them do their homework. I chastise them for hurting each other's feelings or for causing physical pain. I sometimes refuse to buy them something in the moment so they can save up for it. And there are a lot of times when I am tempted to "fix" things for them and know that I can't, and that to do so would be to refuse them the chance to learn and grown and experience the joy of being independent, competent adults. Likewise, God cannot step into save us from our own stupidity and He cannot protect us from pain if He is to be a good parent.
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