The Hidden Cost of Normalizing Doubt

The following was originally published at Public Square Magazine. To visit their website, CLICK HERE.

Faith is hard. One of my favorite writers is Flannery O’Connor, an American Southern Gothic novelist and short story writer. O’Connor was a devout Catholic, and her published prayer journals and letters give us a glimpse into her life of faith. In a letter to a lifelong friend and pen pal, Louise Abbot, O’Connor responds to what must have been Abbot describing a trial of faith, saying:

I think there is no suffering greater than what is caused by the doubts of those who want to believe. I know what torment this is, but I can only see it, in myself anyway, as the process by which faith is deepened. A faith that just accepts is a child’s faith and all right for children, but eventually you have to grow religiously, as [in] every other way, though some never do.

What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross. It is much harder to believe than not to believe. If you feel you can’t believe, you must at least do this: keep an open mind. Keep it open toward faith, keep wanting it, keep asking for it, and leave the rest to God.

It is interesting that she both acknowledges that for some, faith can be excruciating—the cross itself—but also the way by which faith is deepened. In other words, this is how it is supposed to work.

And yet, despite O’Connor’s own doubts, her writing on faith has had a profound influence on millions, including her dear friend Louise, in their dark nights of the soul. In my own such dark nights, I have likewise relied on the wisdom of great writers and friends.

Many I know who have struggled with faith are unsure how to initiate these kinds of conversations with friends or seek out literature that will help them find the truth. Perhaps they have reached out to loved ones about their doubts, and have received dismissive or surface-level answers like “just read your scriptures more” or “It sounds like you’ve been reading anti-material.” Often they have been convinced by nonbelievers or former believers that any faith-positive source is biased or deceptive, or that once the “shelf is broken,” there is no going back.

Too often, we treat church meetings as the place where every spiritual concern must be resolved. But not every question belongs in the chapel pew. Some conversations about faith are sacred—and require a different setting, a different pace, and a different kind of attention.

Faith is hard, and we should normalize the challenges, and ebbs and flows, and questions that come along with a life of devotion. No believer goes through mortality without crying out to God in agony of a great loss, or feeling silence from the heavens, or seeking out greater meaning or understanding of God’s plan. After all, this is part of the process. 

But how we go about normalizing these struggles matters.  In our efforts to normalize any challenge, we risk romanticizing it—or worse, reinforcing it. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the movement to normalize mental health challenges.

Mental health has become the lens through which we view nearly everything. Diagnoses appear in social media bios. Therapyspeak—words like “toxic,” “trauma,” and “boundaries”—has seeped into casual conversation, often stripped of clinical meaning. Employers hand out mental health toolkits, colleges offer petting zoos during finals, and celebrities tout the virtues of therapy for every relationship hurdle.

But things aren’t getting better. Symptoms of anxiety and depression continue to rise, especially among adolescent girls. Even emotionally stable teens now pathologize normal ups and downs, often self-diagnosing via TikTok. Gallup reports that Americans’ self-assessed mental health is the worst it’s been in over two decades. Suicide rates have increased by 30% in the last 20 years. Parents are more fearful than ever—reluctant to let their children roam the neighborhood, convinced that every stranger at Target might be a kidnapper.

We are more anxious, more fragile, and more volatile. This culture of constant rumination and performative validation is not serving us well. Bringing in “faith crisis” to every church meeting risks creating the same culture of unhealthy navel-gazing in our spiritual lives.

Does this mean that we should not seek support for mental health or faith issues, but instead struggle in silence? Of course not. In the right setting, with the right attitude, and the right people who have the right knowledge and training, treatment and recovery for mental health issues are completely possible. Likewise, we must seek out the right setting, the right attitude, the right people, and the right information to find answers and comfort for gospel questions.

First, the right setting: In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are often taught that the most important part of church attendance is taking the sacrament and renewing our baptismal covenants. President Dallin H. Oaks has taught that we attend church to serve (not to be served) and teaching manuals such as Preach My Gospel for missionaries and Teaching, No Greater Call for general membership emphasize that our primary purpose should be to invite others to come unto Christ. I would humbly suggest that the right setting for a deep dive into questions and doubts is probably not in our regular Sunday meetings.

This is somewhat tricky. Avoiding hard questions might leave struggling members isolated—or lead them to those who’ve left the covenant path and want others to follow.

On the other hand, among the members and visitors at church each week are likely widows, those who are caring for elderly parents, have sick or disabled children, have lost jobs, have mental health issues, and myriad other challenges. These people come to church for the balm of Gilead that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our niche Joseph Smith historical questions, while they may feel immediate and pressing to us, can detract from that important purpose.

Next, the right attitude. Like a mental health crisis, you may not have asked for a faith crisis—but you are in control of how you respond to it. Elder Neil L. Anderson has taught, “Faith is not only a feeling; it is a decision.” This is an empowering truth. We are not at the mercy of our doubts or emotions. One of the meanings of faith that we often forget about is loyalty—just as we should stay loyal to our spouse even when we experience a rough patch in the relationship, so should we also remain loyal to God even when He feels distant. When belief doesn’t come easily, we can still choose to act in faith.

Flannery O’Connor chose faith, even when it didn’t feel effortless. During her graduate school years, she attended Mass daily. She journaled about the tension between her desire for God and her sense of distance from Him. “My thoughts are all elsewhere,” she confessed. But she showed up anyway. She didn’t wait for certainty before practicing devotion. When prayer felt elusive, she turned to writing, pouring out her longings, her doubts, and her imperfect love into beautifully wrought prayers. She didn’t pretend to be more faithful than she was—she simply brought her full self to God and asked for help.

We can do the same. In times of spiritual struggle, our offering may be small—a prayer uttered in hope rather than confidence, a Sunday School comment made despite nagging doubt, a verse of scripture read with an open, aching heart. But small offerings matter. They are expressions of our desire to stay in a relationship with God. And that desire, acted on, can become the seed of faith.

The right people and the right sources also matter. When we’re struggling with mental health, we’re careful—ideally—not to rely on unqualified influencers or unreliable forums for advice. The same care should apply when we’re facing serious gospel questions. Not every voice online—or even in our social circles—is equipped to help. President Russell M. Nelson has warned us against “increasing (our) doubts by rehearsing them with other doubters.”

For some, the right person might be a trusted family member, a close friend, a ministering sister or brother—someone who can listen without panic and respond without platitudes. For others, it might be a mentor, a bishop, or someone with experience navigating similar questions. But we also have to prepare to be that kind of person for others—to receive their questions with love and patience rather than fear or defensiveness.

The Church provides a helpful resource called Helping Others with Questions in the Gospel Topics Library, which outlines practical ways to support loved ones in faith crises. Outside of official church resources, organizations like Mormonr or FAIR Latter-day Saints offer thoughtful, research-based responses to common questions and criticisms. These sources won’t perfectly answer every question—but they are striving to be both spiritually grounded and intellectually responsible.

It’s not wrong to hear out questions or criticisms. But we shouldn’t let them monopolize the conversation in our hearts and minds. Doubt may be a part of our path—but we get to choose who we walk with, and who we let guide us, and how much space we want to give to those doubts.

It’s also okay to take our time. Sometimes the answers come slowly. Sometimes, they don’t come at all in the way we hoped. But in the waiting, we can learn to walk with God—even in darkness.

Flannery O’Connor was not only a gospel seeker, but also a guide. Her own wrestling made her a compassionate companion to others in their searching. She never claimed to have perfect faith—only a determined one. Her writing continues to offer a kind of spiritual hospitality to those who want to believe but aren’t sure how.

In that way, O’Connor mirrors the very work of the gospel: inviting the wounded, the weary, and the wondering to come unto Christ, even when we ourselves are prone to wander. If we can become the kind of believers who sit with others in that space—without panic, without platitudes, but with patience and love—then our faith, however imperfect, becomes not only our anchor but someone else’s lifeline.

Faith is hard. But as with most hard things, it is transformative, refining us in the very hardest of times to become who only God can see in us. That is the work of a disciple—not to have all the answers, but to keep walking with God, and help others do the same.

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The Power of Unless

Kathryn Olsen is a guest contributor to Meridian Magazine.

One of my defining characteristics is that I am a Bostonian musician.  I rode the T to rehearsals at New England Conservatory on most Saturdays, took viola lessons, sang in choirs and when I wasn’t in a musical, I was often in the pit orchestra.  Friends knew when I had recitals or auditions and my mother talked me out of joining the varsity softball team because I couldn’t afford to risk breaking fingers months before my senior recital.  I took my musical habits as seriously as I took my church callings.

In September 1997, I was required to play a seating audition before my orchestra conductor.  I walked into a small practice room in New England Conservatory and found not only Mrs. Sandberg, but also the conductor of the Youth Symphony.  He was a man I admired immensely whose orchestra I would have given my sanity to join and he was apparently helping with the seating choices for the Youth Repertory Orchestra that year.

Before I could say a single word or play a single note, my conductor turned to this renowned musician and said, “This is Kathryn Olsen, one of our violists.  She will either be flawless or hopeless.”

I tell this story to illustrate a topic that I would rather I had never heard of:  cognitive distortion.  You may have heard of it in association with mental illness, but that is certainly not the only place where it can have an effect.  I have run into it in school, in sports, even in the repentance process.  The “flawless or hopeless” line of thinking is one of the distortions described as an all-or-nothing mentality.

Before discussing how this applies to our everyday lives, I’ll share another example of an all-or-nothing idea.  As a Gospel Principles teacher, I often broke our class into discussion groups.  On one occasion, the Bishop arrived late and I took him on as my discussion partner.  The question was, “What do you think the Second Coming will be like?”

“Christ came to this world in humble circumstances with nothiing and grew up despised and rejected of men,” the Bishop pointed out.  “At his Second Coming, he will receive all the power and glory he deserves as the risen Messiah and Savior of the World.”

Impressed by this perspective, I asked what mankind deserved at the Second Coming.

“Damnation.”  After a moment in which I must have looked alarmed, he added, “which is why we are all in need of the Atonement.”

An Enemy to God

Let me cite a few scriptural references that agree with the Bishop’s first response:

“The unrepentant natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

“The natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever.” (Mosiah 3:19)

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god.” (Romans 3:23)

“They that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (John 5:29)

“They must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.” (2 Nephi 9:24)

“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”  (Daniel 12:2)

All of these scriptures look upon the fallen and unworthy state of mankind.  They refer to us as an enemy to god, as blasphemers, as doers of evil.  These select phrases, egged on by cognitive distortion, tell us that our efforts are futile and we might as well give up now.

One of the best talks I’ve ever heard on the Atonement is Cree-L Kofford’s allegory, “The Ultimate Inheritance.”  He presents us as if at the judgment bar with the natural verdict and sentencing requiring damnation.  After laying out that the judge has full disclosure of your indiscretions, he utters this grim pronouncement:  “You should know that our adversary is prepared to spend such time, effort and money as is necessary to deprive you of your inheritance… Our adversary brought a motion seeking an order that some of you have already forfeited your rights to your ultimate inheritance and therefore a summary judgment should be entered against you…Citing several of you by name, he said, ‘If these defendants have lived htis long and have not yet taken serious steps to qualify for their ultimate inheritance, why should we waste further time of the court?’”

Our adversary, the great deceiver, makes his living off of convincing us that we might as well give up now.  He was the author of the original all or nothing and he took down one third of the host of heaven with him.  He would love to have as many people as possible realize their potential as an enemy to god.

To quote Elder Richard G. Scott’s talk, “To Heal the Shattering Consequences of Abuse,” “Satan…has the extraordinary capacity to lead an individual into blind alleys where the solution to extremely challenging problems cannot be found…Satan will strive to convince you that there is no solution.  Yet he knows perfectly well that there is.”

Elder Scott identifies Satan as the “author of all of the destructive outcomes.”  In other words, while not every cognitive distortion comes from the devil, he capitalizes on each and every one of them.  Elder Scott then pleads with us, “Do not let Satan convince you that you are beyond help.”

 

Unless

Elder Scott’s entire talk addresses the negative feelings that any person who has ever felt fallen and unworthy experienced.  Many of these are feelings of guilt for having committed sin, but they can also impair our ability to know when we should feel shame for being a bad person by our nature.

In each of the scriptures that I cited earlier, I left off the disclaimer.  One of my favorite gifts as a missionary was an edition of the Spanish Bible that highlighted every promise made to mankind.  That Bible was full of red passages reassuring us that salvation is neither a get-rich-quick scheme or an unattainable goal.  If we marked the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price or even the General Conference talks with an eye on the promises, I suspect we would run out of red ink very quickly.

So how do we move from enemy of god to remembering that we are children of God?  By going back to the crucial word in Mosiah 3:19:  Unless.  I advise you to go to those earlier scriptures and find the fine print that saves your eternal life.  Returning to Elder Kofford’s talk for a moment, he describes our defense attorney:  “Humbly, softly, meaningfully, and compellingly, he pled your case…I do remember him saying that man is a little lower than the angels and that the worth of souls is great.  In one of his most majestic moments, his eyes filled with compassion and his voice quivering with indignation, he admonished, ‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.”

No matter what guilt or shame you feel, either for sins committed or flaws detected, your soul is redeemed with only a few conditions by the same man who thinks of you as a little lower than the angels.  That is the single greatest argument in your favor that can be presented.

Conclusion

I hope that when doubts, depression and despair accost you, you will remember that defense on your behalf.  I hope that you will take time to remember the unless in every scriptural description of the unatoned man.  I will leave you with my favorite Biblical promise:

“When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.”  (Deuteronomy 4:30-31)

Kaki Olsen may currently live in Utah Valley, but she will never stop being a Bostonian Mormon.  She has been a semi-finalist and finalist in the Mormon Lit Blitz, served a full-time mission in California, published her debut novel in 2016 and will visit her 18th country this year.  More information can be found at www.kakiolsenbooks.com.

The Promise of Spiritual Rejuvenation

You have felt “fire in your bones”, have experienced “exceeding great joy” and have entered high levels of the spirit, but how are you feeling today?

Why is it that we often find ourselves in valleys of shadow? The truth is, when we feel less than alive and joyful inside, it can almost ALWAYS be traced to our thoughts.

If you are in this situation, ask yourself, “What HAVE I been thinking? (The details of a recent movie or TV program? Sentiments about political figure exploits? Recent uncomfortable conversations with family members? Things that you think others are thinking about you? Etc.)

Thoughts have a resonance to them, and they determine the feelings that we experience. How good we feel is directly proportional to what we are thinking at the time. If we’re thinking low-resonance thoughts, we’ll feel lower emotions. Low spiritual levels can only be transcended by acquiring additional light.

When we can navigate through the jungle of our thoughts into God’s realm, it’s astounding the light that can permeate our souls! He has said, “And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.” (D & C 88:67)

It is an interesting and deeply profound concept that solely by FEELING our way to God, we can be transported into His Presence! We have His promise. He said, IF we focus solely on Him, our bodies WILL be filled with light!   Negativity and low emotions simply cannot exist in that environment.

What if we took this scripture at its word and for ten minutes did nothing but focus on the Glory of God?

What does the “Glory of God” mean to you? Have you experienced it? Of course you have. It always is the backdrop of any powerful spiritual experience. These wonderful experiences are unexplainable. Your deepest most poignant spiritual experiences cannot be sufficiently conveyed to other humans, unless it is the Spirit who conveys them.   A simple example of this may be when you see a magnificent sunset. It takes your breath away!   At that moment, all thought stops, and you begin to FEEL the awe and majesty of God. You can try to explain it, but it will always fall short, because the sum of the experience is more than what you saw. It created glorious feeling within you.

In order to focus on the Glory of God, we have to monitor our thoughts. It takes a lot of awareness to notice our thoughts, and how they are trying to suck us into the vortex of some negative experience or feeling. Once we observe these thoughts, we need to consciously leave them and seek light instead.

Try this exercise to let go of your thoughts and tune in to God’s Presence. (Set a timer for 5 minutes. It aids in the concentration when you know you have a time limit.)

1. Be Physically and Mentally Still

Sit in a comfortable place where you can have private, quiet time. 

2. Allow Yourself to FEEL the GLORY of God.

Initially, you might simply ponder on D & C 88:67 over and over. That will propel you upward.   Close your eyes and imagine what the “Glory of God” means to you. Let your “eye” be “single” to Him. You might imagine God on his throne, as you enter His Presence.  You might see yourself sit by Him or embrace Him. IMAGINE YOUR BODY BEING FILLED WITH HIS LIGHT. 

3. Bear your testimony in your mind                                                        

Think of and bear your testimony in your mind. What has the Lord done for you? What knowledge has He given you personally? Feel that grateful projection going outward to Him. FEEL how much you love Him. The higher we allow ourselves to climb, and the more we feel “one” with Him, the fewer actual words we actually think. This is prayer… and beyond! These reflections seem to turn our beautiful and poignant feelings into a heightened sense of oneness with Deity more powerful than words can ever express.

4. Evaluate

When the alarm goes off, evaluate your progress.   Did you succeed in “being single minded?”   Did you notice negative or stray thoughts take over your mind? (Notice when they come. If they overtake you, simply be aware of them; let them go, refocus and try again.) If you did succeed, you will notice that you felt the energy of the Spirit flowing into your soul. Try it for another 5 minutes. This time the result will be stronger.

When we’re not feeling light in our souls on a given day, it means that we simply have walked on a lower mental path for a time.   We can correct that and again bask in grace and brilliance.   Ten minutes of intense “light” can change the direction and focus of our day. Over time, you might want to extend the time dedicated to this empowering endeavor, combining it with additional scripture and prayer.   It will open you up to joy, bliss and wisdom.

For ten+ minutes each day we can choose to have an intimate reunion with the God of the Universe. He wants to give us many things that we can only receive when we enter His presence.    “…Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Cor. 2:9)  The key to success is A: Be still enough to concentrate solely on God and His glory, and B: Don’t allow any negative thought in.

The Lord gives us His PROMISE that if we focus on Him completely, He will enlighten and rejuvenate us, until we eventually have the ability to comprehend ALL things.  Only He can put the “fire” back in our bones and the intense joy in our souls.

COMMENTS WELCOME:   an********@*****il.com

 

 

“What Should I Do If I Think I’ve Received Revelation Different from Apostles and Prophets?”

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The following was originally posted on the FairMormon Blog. To see the original post, click here. 

What ought we to do if we believe we have received revelation that differs with the united voice of the First Presidency and Twelve apostles?

One of the great strengths–and arguably one of the defining features–of LDS doctrine as a belief in on-going revelation, both to Church leaders and individuals members. Members understand that the revelation they receive is only for their areas of stewardship and responsibility.

What should we do, then, in the case where we sincerely believe we have received revelation that tells us that the highest councils of united Church leaders are mistaken?

I here suggest five important principles drawn from apostles and prophets about such situations, which have blessed my life.

1. As a first step, we ought to seriously consider whether we are mistaken or misled.

Elder Oaks taught that some things can disqualify us from revelation until we make them right:

We cannot have the companionship of the Holy Ghost—the medium of individual revelation—if we are in transgression or if we are angry or if we are in rebellion against God’s chosen authorities.[1]

Note that there is no exception that says, “Unless you are right and they are wrong.”

2. We should pray to have our heart changed if this is necessary.
Marion G. Romney, later of the First Presidency, had an experience very like this. Harold B. Lee described it:

In the political field where so much pressure is exerted on men to compromise ideals and principles for expediency, party workers early learned to admire Marion G. Romney’s intense loyalty to his own conscience as well as to the advice of his Church leaders, whose pronouncements on vital issues affecting the welfare of the nation he accepted as divinely inspired even though it frequently brought him into sharp conflict with leaders of his own political party. On one such occasion when Church leaders in a tersely worded editorial had denounced the trends of the political administration then in power, he confided in me something which it might be well if all loyal Church members in public life could emulate: “When I read that editorial,” he told me, “I knew what I should do—but that wasn’t enough. I knew that I must feel right about following the counsel of the Church leaders and know that they were right. That took a whole night on my knees to accomplish.” I submit in that statement the difference between “intelligent” and “blind” obedience. Marion G. Romney, while never disloyal to authority over him, could never be rightfully accused of being “blindly obedient.” (62-16, p. 742)[2]

Thus, it was with difficult personal experience that President Romney would later teach:

Some members assume that one can be in full harmony with the spirit of the gospel, enjoy full fellowship in the Church, and at the same time be out of harmony with the leaders of the Church and the counsel and direction they give. Such a position is wholly inconsistent. . . . Those who profess to accept the gospel and who at the same time criticize and refuse to follow the counsel of the prophets are assuming an indefensible position. Such a spirit leads to apostasy.[3]

President Romney also said:

If we are to be on the side of truth, we must have the Spirit of the Lord. To the obtaining of that spirit, prayer is an indispensable prerequisite. Praying will keep one’s vision clear on this question of loyalty as on all other questions. By praying I do not mean, however, just saying prayers. Prayers may be said in a perfunctory manner. Access to the Spirit of God, which is a directing power, cannot be so obtained. The divine injunction to pray is not to be satisfied in a casual manner nor by an effort to obtain divine approval of a predetermined course. A firm resolve to comply with the will of God must accompany the petition for knowledge as to what His will is. When one brings himself to the position that he will pursue the truth wherever it may lead, even though it may require a reversal of his former position, he can, without hypocrisy, go before the Lord in prayer. Then, when he prays with all the energy of his soul, he is entitled to and he will receive guidance. The mind and will of the Lord as to the course he should take will be made known unto him.

I assure you, however, that the spirit of the Lord will never direct a person to take a position in opposition to the counsel of the Presidency of His Church. Such could not be….[4]

There is a very important point here—President Romney describes the necessity of being willing to be changed. This is really an act of consecration—of putting something we dearly love and value on the altar (our political convictions, our moral convictions, our deeply considered views, our social comfort, or the fact that we are going to be required to do a complete about-face on our views).

Only when we get to genuinely being willing to do this can we hope for the blessing. Faith precedes the miracle.

3. We should be patient

Brigham Young talked about the first time Joseph Smith taught something that he didn’t and couldn’t believe. It happened when Joseph taught about 3 degrees of glory in heaven. Said Brigham:

I was not prepared to say that I believed it [3 degrees of glory], and I had to wait. What did I do? I handed this over to the Lord in my feelings, and said I, ‘I will wait until the Spirit of God manifests to me, for or against.’ I did not judge the matter, I did not argue against it, not in the least. I never argued the least against anything Joseph proposed, but if I could not see or understand it, I handed it over to the Lord.[5]

Note that Brigham does not “blindly follow” Joseph. He does not start believing the doctrine simply because Joseph preached it. Brigham insisted that he have his own witness prior to believing.

Yet, Brigham did not go too far the other way either. He did not engage in learned debate, or publish an “alternative” newspaper (today such folks would probably start a blog or post on Facebook!) detailing all the reasons why he did not believe what Joseph was teaching. He conformed his outward behavior in accordance with his covenants, but he did not abdicate his inner responsibility for his sincere doubt and uncertainty. He waited for revelation, but he did not let that which he did not know destroy that which he did know.

If he had not taken this approach, he would never have gotten a revelation. Faith precedes the miracle, and this can include the faith to simply wait.

Cautioned President Packer:

There are those within the Church who are disturbed when changes are made with which they disagree or when changes they propose are not made. They point to these as evidence that the leaders are not inspired.

They write and speak to convince others that the doctrines and decisions of the Brethren are not given through inspiration.

Two things characterize them: they are always irritated by the word obedience, and always they question revelation. It has always been so.[6]

4. If, after all this, we still believe we are being told that the leaders of the Church are wrong, we are still not authorized to publicly preach or urge a different course of action or teaching.

President George Q. Cannon noted:

We could conceive of a man honestly differing in opinion from the Authorities of the Church and yet not be an apostate; but we could not conceive of a man publishing these differences of opinion and seeking by arguments, sophistry and special pleading to enforce them upon the people to produce division and strife and to place the acts and counsels of the Authorities of the Church, if possible, in a wrong light, and not be an apostate, for such conduct was apostasy as we understood the term. We further said that while a man might honestly differ in opinion from the Authorities through a want of understanding, he had to be exceedingly careful how he acted in relation to such differences, or the adversary would take advantage of him, and he would soon become imbued with the spirit of apostasy and be found fighting against God and the authority which He had placed here to govern His Church.[7]

5. We may be taught things by revelation that are true, and for our comfort, but it is still not our place to spread them publicly, or use them to advocate for change, and so forth.

• Brigham Young: “Should you receive a vision or revelation from the Almighty, one that the Lord gave you concerning yourselves, or this people, but which you are not to reveal on account of your not being the proper person, or because it ought not to be known by the people at present, you should shut it up and seal it . . . as secret as the grave. The Lord has no confidence in those who reveal secrets, for he cannot safely reveal himself to such persons.”[8]

• Joseph F. Smith: “Not even a revelation from God should be taught to his people until it has first been approved by the presiding authority—the one through whom the Lord makes known His will for the guidance of the saints. . . .The spirit of revelation may rest upon any one, and teach him or her many things for personal comfort and instruction. But these are not doctrines of the Church, and, however true, they must not be inculcated [i.e., taught and distributed/published] until proper permission is given.”[9]

• Joseph Fielding Smith: “If a man comes among the Latter-day Saints, professing to have received a vision or a revelation or a remarkable dream, and the Lord has given him such, he should keep it to himself. . . . the Lord will give his revelations in the proper way, to the one who is appointed to receive and dispense the word of God to the members of the Church.”[10]

Thus, we might say that an urge or willingness to use such supposed revelation for public consumption or advocacy is additional evidence that our revelation is not from God. Those with true revelation will be at peace, and have confidence that the Lord will respect the lines of responsibility that He has established for His Church.

Conclusion

I sympathize with those who struggle with such a situation. But, I think our duty is clear. Perhaps we have not yet been able to be convinced that what we have been asked is right. Perhaps we need, like Brigham Young, to simply wait longer. Perhaps all we can do, for the moment, is sustain the prophets and apostles with our silence. Is all this difficult? It certainly can be. But, this should not surprise us either. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell warned,

If we are serious about our discipleship, Jesus will eventually request each of us to do those very things which are most difficult for us to do.[11]

Beware of false prophets. But, beware lest you become a false prophet. Elder M. Russell Ballard taught in October 1999 general conference:

When we think of false prophets and false teachers, we tend to think of those who espouse an obviously false doctrine or presume to have authority to teach the true gospel of Christ according to their own interpretation. We often assume that such individuals are associated with small radical groups on the fringes of society. However, I reiterate: there are false prophets and false teachers who have or at least claim to have membership in the Church….

Therefore, let us beware of false prophets and false teachers, both men and women, who are self–appointed declarers of the doctrines of the Church and who seek to spread their false gospel and attract followers by sponsoring symposia, books, and journals whose contents challenge fundamental doctrines of the Church. Beware of those who speak and publish in opposition to God’s true prophets and who actively proselyte others with reckless disregard for the eternal well–being of those whom they seduce. Like Nehor and Korihor in the Book of Mormon, they rely on sophistry to deceive and entice others to their views. They “set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion” (2 Ne. 26:29).[12]

We need the prophets and apostles so desperately. I don’t think we treasure them enough. The political philosopher Leo Strauss was perhaps more right than he knew when he wrote:

True prophets, regardless of whether they predict doom or salvation, predict the unexpected, the humanly unforeseeable. What would not occur to men [or women], left to themselves, to fear or to hope.[13]

The more I study and see, the more convinced I grow that the battle of our generation is over prophets—it will be about whether God has spoken, and whether those with his authority and they keys exist or not. I am a witness that they do. And, notwithstanding any weaknesses they might have, we and this world are lost without them. God be praised that there are again apostles in the land, and a prophet in Israel.

==================================

ENDNOTES

[1] Dallin H. Oaks, “Teaching and Learning by the Spirit,” Ensign (March 1997): 14.

[2] Harold B. Lee, Teachings of Harold B. Lee, edited by Clyde J. Williams, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1996), 84.

[3] Marion G. Romney, “Conference Report (April 1983): 21; also in “Unity,” Ensign (March 1983).

[4] Marion G. Romney, “Loyalty,” Conference Report (April 1942).

[5] Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 18:247 (23 July 1874).

[6] Boyd K. Packer, “Revelation in a Changing World,” Ensign (November 1989): 16.

[7] Deseret News editorial, George Q. Cannon, editor, impression of 3 November 1869; reprinted in George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974), 493.

[8] Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 4:288 (15 March 1857); reprinted in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 41

[9] Joseph F. Smith Correspondence, Personal Letterbooks, 93–94, Film Reel 9, Ms. F271; cited in Dennis B. Horne (ed.), Determining Doctrine: A Reference Guide for Evaluation Doctrinal Truth (Roy, Utah: Eborn Books, 2005), 221–222. Also in Statements of the LDS First Presidency, compiled by Gary James Bergera (Signature, 2007), 121.  Bergera indicates it is a letter from JFS to Lillian Golsan, 16 July 1902.

[10] Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report (April 1938): 65–67; see also Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954–56), 1:288.

[11] Neal A. Maxwell, A Time to Choose (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1975), 46.

[12] M. Russell Ballard, “Beware of False Prophets and False Teachers,” Ensign (November 1999): 62, emphasis added.

[13] Studies in Platonic Political Philosophies; cited in Henry B. Eyring, “Faith, Authority, and Scholarship,” in On Becoming a Disciple–Scholar, edited by Henry B. Eying, (Bookcraft, Salt Lake, 1995), 64.

 

Never-Before-Seen Letter on Doubt By Hugh B. Brown

To see the original post on Lds.net, click here. 

Hugh B. Brown served as an apostle, and later, as a member of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before that, he worked for a short time as a professor of religion at Brigham Young University. While there, he received a letter from a close friend who was experiencing what is now commonly called a “crisis of faith.” The advice he gave nearly seventy years ago has never been published, but is still pertinent to us today as we all struggle to “keep the faith.”

 

November 8, 1946

My dear—-:

I was really glad to get your letter of October 25, and I appreciate your confidence. The revelation of your mental and spiritual struggles does not come as a surprise, as I had felt for some time that the waters of your usually placid soul had become somewhat roiled and disturbed.

Would you be surprised if I should tell you that I, too, have had periods of perplexity, uncertainty, and doubt; that I, too, have known the darkness, fogginess, and chill of the valley which lies between illuminated peaks of faith and confidence, and that only the memory of the hilltops along the road over which I have come coupled with the somewhat misty vision of others still ahead has given me the courage to plod on when I was tempted to “chuck it all,” to wrap myself in the comfortless blanket of doubt and self-commiseration and just quit the field. Well I have had that experience. But this I can say positively, that each peak which I have climbed has seemed higher and more inspiring than the last, due at least in part, I think, to the dark background of the valley through which I came. Sharp contrasts are sometimes most revealing.

In view of the above admission, you will not expect an argument or a brief on faith in God and immortality. However, and I hope it may be so, a relating of some personal experiences and observations may give you a fellow-feeling and bring comfort, courage, hope, and faith, may renew in you the spirit of adventure, of zest for the quest of truth.

First, I have found that periods of doubt and skepticism, of negative reactions and disbelief have always been characterized by darkness, refrigeration of spirit, pettiness, cynicism, and general misery, even to a point of wishing for oblivion. Whereas, periods of faith, hope, and positive reactions have been times of buoyancy and cheerfulness filled with a desire to be and to become, to lift and encourage, and to point with confidence to something even more about to be. Here, life had cadence and lilt and zest and value, and I gloried in the thought that I could extend these benefits and joys and possibilities to my children.

From the selfish standpoint of personal satisfaction then, I have chosen to swim in the clear, cool stream of faith rather than wallow in the turbid, enervating, stagnant swamp of doubt and cynicism. In other words, faith pays dividends of joy as we go along.

I like Fosdick’s definition of faith: “Faith is vision to believe what as yet one cannot demonstrate and valor to act on the basis of that insight.”

At times I have had to take myself in hand and command my knees to bend, my head to bow, my spirit to become contrite. But of this I bear witness, that I have beheld more distant vistas when on my knees than when standing upright. Somehow the bending of the knee has seemed to open the shutters of the soul and to bring the lens of faith into focus.

Many more before you and I have wondered if praying were not merely a soliloquy and its only answer the echo of its sound. On the other hand, however, prayer has been a vital principle–the central faith of millions of noble men and women. The fact that it has been an age-long rapture certainly attests its value–it endures. It’s faithfully recurrent like the sunrise. It’s not a private vagary nor is it mere wishful thinking or rationalizations. I have come through my own experiences with the conviction that prayer is comradeship with God; indeed, I doubt if I could have endured some recent experiences if I had not had that refuge.

As to whether there is in fact a God, I shall not argue. But I, like you, have looked about me and seen the myriad evidence of plan and purpose and design and have chided myself for ever doubting the existence of the Designer.

I am told, and there seems to be ample evidence to support it, that matter is indestructible, that it is eternal. As a youth, if I had been told by my teacher in school that the desk on which I wrote was indestructible, and then when the schoolhouse burned had seen the mocking ashes where my desk had been, I doubtless would have lost faith in my teacher. Clearly, and before me, was the evidence of his folly. But later in High School and University, where in the laboratory, I learned how to catch and weigh the gases, oils, and ashes that resulted from burning wood and found that the process of burning had not in fact destroyed anything, I concluded that my youthful skepticism was but evidence of the narrow limits of my knowledge. From then on, humility bade me hesitate before questioning the truths which witnesses of research and observation had established. My questing soul still questions, but my questions had to do with ways and means of deciphering and getting at the truth and finding the relationship between observation and intuition, between knowledge and faith.

There are many things I cannot explain, there are many things I cannot understand, but of this one thing I am positively sure, that God does live, that death will not end my conscious existence. I cannot bring myself to believe that while my desk, mere inanimate matter as it is, is indestructible, that far more valuable, in fact the most valuable thing I know, human personality and love, is but transitory and temporary and must be destroyed and come to an end when I cease to react physically to my surroundings in this world.

The little logic I have mastered, what little knowledge I have gained forbids me to accept the hypothesis that individuality will entirely be wiped out.

Just why God does not move closer to me or enable me to come closer to him, that through my physical senses I may apprehend him, I do not know. But this I know, He has so tuned my spirit that I am sensitive to and respond when certain impulses emanate from Him.

I assume that if the unborn babe could speak, he would rebel at the prospect of birth; he would say, “I cannot live if you take me out of my present environment beneath my mother’s heart. My life is so definitely a part of her life that if you separate us I am sure I will die and cease to be.” And yet, that babe, when born, finds himself in an environment suited to his undeveloped organs and functions. He finds that someone has made provision for his coming, that there is water and food and air to satisfy his stomach and lungs which, though present, were not needed in his pre-natal state.

I wonder if when we die, we are in fact just born into another sphere. Personally, I am quite content to leave the outcome with the same good God who made provisions for my coming here, and personally I believe that I might have certain spiritual organs which will function fully only when I am born into an environment suited to them.

Well, this letter is already much too long. I promised at the beginning that I would not argue, and yet I fear that I have verged at least onto the edge of argument. I want you to know, my dear son and brother, that I am intensely interested in your future. I believe that the violent attacks that have been made on your faith, upon your reasoning powers, upon the hope you have held in the past were made as a test. I firmly believe that you have an unusual future, and that because of your possibilities, the Adversary, and I think there is an Adversary, is making a determined attack upon you. I know you too well to feel that you will give up and quit the field while that attack is on. I counsel you to assume the positive attitude in your talks to others, that you undertake to convince them of the reality of the things in which you have believed, that you search for evidence to support that faith, and I think you will be surprised to find that there is far more evidence in support of faith than can be marshalled to support the negative side.

I look forward to the time when we can visit again, and hope it may be possible to get together often, as I have appreciated your comradeship and association in the past. My love to your wife and baby and to you, and may God bless you to see through the fog and glimpse the sunshine.

Sincerely your friend and brother,

Hugh B. Brown

A note from Steve Densley, Jr. regarding provenance: I received this letter from my grandmother. She was Hugh B. Brown’s secretary when he was a professor at BYU. She was asked to transcribe the letter and send it to the original recipient. She loved the letter so much that she asked if she could make a copy for herself. Hugh B. Brown agreed to let her keep a copy on the condition that the name of the person be removed. A scanned copy of that letter is posted here at the link below. Readers will see that after the signature line, it indicates that it was transcribed by ‘mld’, which stands for Mary Lou Dixon, the maiden name of my grandmother, Mary Lou Taylor. Readers will also see that there is handwriting on the first page. That is from my grandmother. It says, “Lost Faith in God Immortality and ready to chuck it all.” Minor corrections have been made within this article to improve readability.

Download a copy of the original letter

Faith When Our Spiritual Lives Are In Jeopardy

(This article is adapted from Darla’s book Trust God No Matter What! Follow this link to learn more.) 

Author note: For as long as I can remember I have been puzzling about faith: what it is and is not, where it comes from and how to get more of it, why some people seem to have unending supplies while others don’t. I’m excited to share some of the uplifting things I’ve learned.

I see clearly that faith builds the foundation for our trust in God. And, as author Larry Barkdull says, “Trust in God is the ongoing theme in mortality. We never can escape it. . . Trust in God is redemptive trust — trust in His goodness; trust in His power; trust in His knowledge; trust in His love. . . Trusting God is to trust God’s timing. Because He is perfect, His timing is perfect, and for us to urge Him to change his timing is to ask Him to cease to be perfect. Moreover, God’s timing is an act of mercy.” [i] 

That perspective has comforted me. I wrote the following article that I later revised to become a chapter in my book Trust God No Matter What! soon after my son died, in December of 2004. It was my attempt to summarize the most important things I’d learned about faith at a crossroads in my life when faith in Christ was my lifeline to sanity: 

For me this is the perfect time to explore the subject of faith in Christ. It has now been over two months since my son’s death, and I have become perfectly aware that faith is my lifeline.

Faith . . . In What? 

The first principle of the gospel is not just “faith” or “faith that things will turn out the way I want them if I do my part” but “faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” (4th Article of Faith, P of G P, 60).

Faith or hope that the weather will be favorable for the family reunion, that my child will choose good friends, that I will have good health, or even that a loved one will be healed is very different from solid, sure faith in Christ. Although I don’t spell it out every time, all subsequent uses of the word “faith” refer to faith in Christ, his gospel, and God’s plan.

When Faith is Tried 

In the movie Charly, when Sam is about to lose his young wife, in dialogue with his father, he says, “I keep thinking it’s me. Maybe if I just had more faith, or maybe it’s a test; maybe if we had more time–”

His father interrupts: “And maybe not. Maybe you’ve got to face the fact that your faith may not fix this.”

“Then what’s it good for? What? Why have faith if it’s only good for Bible stories and fairy tales and talks in Sacrament meeting. Then when it really counts – “

His father interrupts again and sums up the substance of faith, “When it really counts it won’t abandon you. The pain may block everything for a while … But if you keep your faith in all those answers you’ve been carrying around for a lifetime, then the pain won’t give way to emptiness – and neither will you.”[ii]

My pain is not giving way to emptiness, although I’ve wondered with Sam if my faith is sufficient. For years I prayed with all the faith I could muster for my son’s protection and return to the fold, yet he never returned to activity in the Church – and now he’s gone. He did come back to the “family fold” the last seven years of his life, but he never returned to the safety of faith in Christ—and then he died. Many of my friends, faced with similar challenges, prayed as I did, and their children have returned to full activity, and are now making wonderful progress in their lives. Does that mean their faith was greater than mine? That their prayers were more effective?

Surely the early Saints sometimes wondered “what their faith was good for” when they prayed repeatedly with great faith for protection from the mobs, yet time and again were molested and driven from their homes. In the audio version of The Work and the Glory by Gerald N. Lund, during the horrendous persecutions in Missouri, the character Benjamin Steed asks Joseph Smith, “Why are all these things happening to us?”

The messages I gleaned from Joseph’s reply are these:

• The Lord said He would have a pure people and that the Church must be sanctified.
• Church membership is not for those looking just for the benefits, or for an easy way of life.
• Trials of faith are a weeding out process; the Kingdom of God on earth must be comprised only of the pure in heart who have sufficient faith to sacrifice all without losing heart.

Joseph said that the Saints would need an “iron faith” to make it through all that was coming (and the persecutions in Far West were only a type of what was to come).

I believe we are in that same weeding out process; I believe we too will need an iron faith to make it through the Last Days’ tribulations. Trials of our faith, when we turn to the Lord, help us develop that kind of faith as we dig our roots deep in gospel soil, clear down to the Rock of our Redeemer.

Faith Is an Inside Job 

I’ve concluded that faith cannot depend on outside circumstances at all; it is instead an inner choice based on belief in eternal promises and trust in God and His plan. Faith must be based on His truth. It’s a myth that if I follow Christ and keep my covenants then all will work out as I plan or wish – that I can receive some guarantee through good behavior. Look at the life of the prophets!

Faith grows only as I make His will my will and trust God with whatever comes in the meantime. Dante, in The Divine Comedy, wrote: “In His will is our peace.”

Hoping for the Right Things

Moroni 7:40-41 says, “How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope? And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.”

Hoping for the wrong things can weaken my faith—hoping that years of prayers will pre-empt someone else’s agency, for example. I did that in my first marriage and in regard to sons coming back to church. It is wishful thinking, not faith that led me to believe God’s law of agency could be overturned for my comfort. My hope and faith must be reserved for eternal unchangeable truths that never fail.

The Saving Power of Faith

Keeping faith and trust in God no matter what happens … Isn’t that what the tests of life are all about? While I can see clearly in my current situation that faith is my lifeline, in reality it always has been: Either the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all the scriptural promises are true, or I have nothing of substance to hope for. Either the Atonement is real, or I am lost. Either the Resurrection is literal, or I have nothing to look forward to in the hereafter. Either God and Jesus are loving, merciful and able to cleanse and heal, or very little in my life makes any sense.

I choose faith. I choose hope; the alternative of emptiness is unbearable. Besides, I have a lifetime of evidences to look back on. Why should I now doubt the witness of all the prophets whose words I’ve read and listened to, all the other people I’ve heard testimonies from? Why should I doubt all the spiritual experiences I’ve had my whole life through, all the scriptural promises that have always given me hope? The truth of those witnesses has not changed!

One of the great hopes I have for my son Brian is that there is a record in his heart of everything he saw and heard and experienced here. On that record of Brian’s life there would be many evidences of the Savior and His love and Atonement. In the spirit world I believe he will remember all the testimonies he heard borne during his first sixteen years on earth, when he was immersed in gospel teachings. I believe he will remember all the scriptures, all the sacrament songs, all the Book of Mormon story tapes he listened to every night for years. I believe Brian will now grasp hold of those, and cry out to the Lord to have part in the Savior’s sacrifice. I choose faith over despair in regard to my son.

Saying the words, “I choose faith” is not enough, however. I must know what faith is and how a person behaves and thinks and feels differently if he has faith in Christ than if he does not.

What Faith IS

• Paul says in Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Ether 12:6 says, “Faith is to hope for things not seen which are true.” Other scriptures liken faith to a shield and a breastplate; I see that the shield of faith is the only protection I have from devastating discouragement. Many scriptures tell us that our faith must be in Christ, who is mighty to save – and this is the faith I cling to.

• Faith is listed in two different scriptures as a “gift,” but on page 670 of the Bible Dictionary it explains that although faith is a gift, it must be cultured and sought after. Only then can it grow from a tiny seed to a great tree. Alma 32 gives a beautiful explanation of this process. Faith is asking, and being willing to recognize the gift, then to care for it, nurture it, cultivate it.

• The same page of the Bible Dictionary also reminds us that faith is a principle of action and of power. The test of true faith is: does it move me to some kind of physical and mental action such as repentance? Indeed, faith unto repentance is a common phrase in scripture. It is only by faith that we obtain a remission of sins so that we can eventually stand in the presence of God, clean and forgiven. Faith seems to open the way for the gifts of the Atonement to reach us.

• “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:14-17). Faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith. To me that means faith is sharable. In the second Lecture on Faith we learn that we pass faith down through the generations by the word of testimony, written and spoken. I believe that every faith-filled word spoken or written by the power of the Spirit swells the seed of faith in the hearts of anyone who hears or reads them with an open heart. We are the bearers of faith to each other.

• Faith seems to be the path the Atonement must travel to transform and uplift our lives. Faith opens divine channels—of communication, of blessing, of guidance and direction. Fear closes those channels.

• Early Christian writer Hannah Whitall Smith said, “Faith is nothing more nor less than just believing God when He says He either has done something for us, or will do it; and then trusting Him to keep His word.” [iii] She talks of how our daily lives are full of trusting our fellow men in this way, then suggests we ask ourselves if it is possible to trust them and not God, believe their witness not the witness of God, believe man’s records, but not God’s record. She found it strange that people can commit their dearest earthly interests to weak, failing fellow mortals, yet are afraid to commit their spiritual interests to the Savior who laid down His life for them. [iv]

Her words remind me of 2 Nephi 8: 12-13: “Who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of man, who shall die, and of the son of man, who shall be made like unto grass? And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth.”

Hannah implores us to “Let your faith, then ‘throw its arms around all God has told you,’ and in every dark hour remember that … the sun has not ceased shining because the traveler through the tunnel has ceased to see it; and the Sun of righteousness is still shining although you in your dark tunnel do not see Him. Be patient and trustful, and wait.” [v]

What Faith Is NOT

• Faith is not just a feeling, but also a choice of the soul, a choice to receive the gift offered. No matter how I feel, I can choose from my soul to affirm faith.

• Faith is not achieved by a one-time event, but is a moment by moment choice to focus on belief and hope; to reassert our belief in God, in Jesus, in Their faithful keeping of Their promises.

• On page 669 of the Bible Dictionary, we are reminded that miracles do not produce faith, although they often confirm and strengthen the faith we already have. Obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ and personal righteousness are the precursors to developing strong faith.

• Faith cannot be based on externals anymore than happiness can. For example, our faith cannot be based on divine intervention to stabilize the economy. Even if God were willing to rescue us financially from the consequences of poor decisions, it wouldn’t solve the more insidious problems of the moral decline of this nation. In retrospect, when we look back on this decade, we may well consider the economic problems as minor irritants compared to the moral issues. Faith is not a result of financial ease. Faith in Jesus Christ is a belief that regardless of outward circumstance, God is in charge. True faith keeps us steady even when jobs and retirement accounts are lost, even when governments make decisions that shake the very foundations of our security. Faith is not tied to other people’s decisions.

• Cliff Jones, in the last chapter of his fine manuscript, said: “Faith isn’t knowing how everything will work out. Faith isn’t always basking in the warmth of a knowledge that eternal riches are ours. Faith is a belief that carries us onward during periods of very bleak uncertainty. Without uncertainty, there can’t be faith. The fact that we’re not confident how things will go doesn’t mean we have no faith. As we continue to hold onto the iron rod in the midst of tempting mists of darkness that obscure the tree of life from our view and almost convince us to let go, we’re exercising tremendous faith (see 1 Nephi 8). Faith is doing the Lord’s will and moving onward, trusting Him to eventually give us the promised blessings … Our faith moves us onward despite the uncertainties that plague us.” [vi]

Faith in my own ability to exercise and utilize my faith cannot be separated from my faith in Christ. I used to say, “I don’t doubt God, I doubt me; I doubt my own worthiness, my own ability to access the Atonement, to overcome family patterns, to overcome the world.” I’ve had to learn that I cannot harbor self-doubt if my faith in Christ is intact. To paraphrase author Colleen Harrison: self-doubt is saying something like, “I’m more powerful to mess up than the Savior is to redeem. I’m a special case – too difficult for the Lord.” But nothing is too difficult for the Lord, and the power of the redemption reaches out to every willing soul.

“As a Man Thinketh …” 

I am now compelled to conduct the experiment of faith in a new and vital way; I recognize that my current level of faith is up to me. It is determined by what I choose to focus on, what I choose to think about. 2 Nephi chapter 4 gives us a vivid scriptural pattern of changing focus from the trial of the moment to past spiritual experiences. Nephi admitted his discouragement and his own weakness, then said, “Nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted,” and went on to list many evidences of the Lord’s power in his life.

I can do the same. I can be very honest about the challenges, then rehearse to myself the times the Lord has proven that He is my God and can be trusted.

I have learned that my choice of focus is clear cut: I can fill my mind with faith thoughts, or I can stay focused on the problems and leave myself open to doubt, fear, discouragement – which the adversary instantly provides. Or I can be like Nephi, and quickly decide to change the focus to faith thoughts. Hannah Whitall Smith said, “Doubts and discouragement are, I believe, inlets by which evil enters, while faith is an impregnable wall against all evil.” [vii]

The Savior stands at the door and knocks, waiting for an invitation to enter, but the adversary is the great intruder. The instant my mind is not fastened on spiritually edifying thoughts, the enemy of my soul bombards it with doubt, fear, negativity, and discouragement. However, I need not claim those thoughts as my own or feel guilty for them unless I invite them in to stay awhile! I can choose to meet them at the door and send them packing, replacing them with welcome, invited guests – thoughts of faith in Christ and His promises.

Whenever I am assaulted by doubt or fear or discouragement, I can lift up my shield of faith against it. I can refuse to entertain doubt. I can replace the doubtful thought, not with arguments, but with assertions of faith. I am convinced that all fearful, discouraging or doubtful thoughts are attacks from the adversary, my enemy. The Holy Ghost never introduces them into my mind. Never. This member of the Godhead is my Comforter, not my accuser, my very help in trouble. He helps me look steadfastly toward the Savior and away from doubt and fear. He helps me hold fast to my faith without wavering because “He is faithful who hath promised.” I will rely on the Lord’s faithfulness, not my own. I will believe actively and persistently.

Faith Saves Our Lives – Physically and Spiritually

In his book The Fire of Faith, Elder John Groberg tells a story that illuminates and summarizes the whole subject of faith for me. He and his wife and children were onboard a ship named Faifekau, returning from a trip to Ha’apai. The seas were extremely rough. Suddenly the engines stopped. The crew tried everything to restart the engines, but to no avail. They were in grave danger, and the Captain told Elder Groberg he would follow any directions he gave. Elder Groberg struggled much of the night for the faith he needed. He knew they would all die if they could not get the engines started. When a calmness finally came to him he called for the captain and told him to simply go through the regular routine for starting the engines—the one that had failed so many times before. That was a test of faith for the captain and crew—but they passed! They followed Elder Groberg’s instructions, and much to everyone’s amazement and joy, the engines started. They were saved!

He indicated that life gives us many difficult opportunities to put forth necessary effort to increase our faith, and that as we exercise faith in Christ we tap into the power of the One who has all power. I learned from his story that even if life overwhelms us with high waves and furious storms; even if the engines of our lives are stalled, His power can save us and get our lives moving again—moving toward the safe shores of His love.

Elder Groberg said, “I came to know that fearful night that faith is a real power, not just a great motivator and revealer and strengthener and guide. It is all of those things, but it is also much more. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is an eternal, endless power as great as any power in the whole universe.”

Elder Groberg assures us that God blesses all the willing with adequate opportunities to increase faith. The circumstances could involve many things, such as danger, illness, death, disaffection of a loved one. There are many ways the boat we are traveling in may be temporarily stopped. However, the faith we develop through such hard times can be sufficient to give us the power to continue our journey home through the night. [viii]

Faith in the Fulfillment of God’s Purposes

Elder Groberg said, “I know that there is total and complete justice in eternity. God’s dealings with man have no tinge of partiality, favoritism, capriciousness, or anything less than complete consistency, balance, and perfectness.” [ix] Consequently I can have perfect faith in His words, in His power to fulfill them, in the inevitability of the fulfillment of His purposes. Only He knows what my destination should be. Only lack of faith can keep me from it.

An e-mail from a thoughtful reader said, “Oh yes, there are days when doubt and pain try to rear their ugly heads again, but that sweet, simple, little word faith has to take on the strength, character, and courage to knock down those negative feelings. One truly has to ‘be still and know that I am God’ … I know that you will find peace of heart as your armor of faith girds you up … God has the plan and it has not all been revealed to us. Our job is to trust in Him. It is a journey in learning how to trust and accept that all will be well.”

Rest and Hope

Faith in Christ is my shield and protection from Satan’s efforts to destroy me with discouragement and depression. Faith is believing that Christ is mighty to redeem—no matter what my problem. Faith is remembering previous evidences I’ve received of God’s loving care and intervention in my life when I’m not feeling it. Faith is knowing God is there loving me even when I feel forsaken. Faith is knowing my hope is in Christ, His Atonement and resurrection, not having things “turn out.” Faith is recognizing any indication of the growth of a celestial character as success regardless of all the pain it may have taken to motivate that growth. Faith means believing in myself – in my ability to reach out to the Savior, knowing that I am part of every scriptural promise and that all God’s promises and purposes will be ultimately be fulfilled.

“Trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5) is a scripture that has new meaning for me. Trust, faith, hope, peace . . . what beautiful words, what beautiful thought choices, what a beautiful anchor for my life! When my faith is based on truth from God, on belief in Christ and His Atonement, I can rest in Him.

May faith in Christ fill our thoughts and feelings and help us trust God no matter what!

 

[i] Larry Barkdull, Rescuing Wayward Children, soon to be published by Covenant Communications.

[ii] Jack Weyland and Excel Entertainment

[iii] Hannah Whitall Smith, The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, Fleming H Revell, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1952, 71.

[iv] Christian’s Secret, 73.

[v] Christian’s Secret, 78.

[vi] Cliff Jones, Upward Inward Outward Onward: Four Gospel Lessons that Bring Love Home, unpublished manuscript.

[vii] Christian’s Secret, 120.

[viii] See John H. Groberg, The Fire of Faith, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1996, 114-115.

[ix] The Fire of Faith, p. 183)

 

Author Note:

Check out the following link for my newest interview with Nick Galieti, host and producer of the “The Good Word” podcast.

 

https://www.radiogoldproductions.com/thegoodword/darla-isackson-interview-episode-3-3/

 

Don’t Let Your Children Confuse Jesus with Santa

Note: This article is adopted from a Familyshare.com article by the Eyres

Have you, as a parent or grandparent, ever worried that believing in Santa and then gradually growing out of that belief could prompt a similar belief-to-doubt sequence in your children?

Let’s face it, Christmas can be a confusing time for kids. When they are little, they believe in Santa and the North Pole and the elves; and they also believe in the Christ Child and the manger and the shepherds and the star.

As they grow older, they begin to understand that Santa is a myth. How do we be sure that they do not connect or confuse the two beliefs and begin to think that perhaps Christ might also be a myth?

And here is a second, connected Christmas dilemma for parents: We want our kids to be excited about making their list and writing their Santa letters and anticipating and getting their gifts; but we also want them to feel the spirit of giving, and to be equally excited about finding or making or buying gifts for others.

The best way we have ever come across to solve these two conundrums is to clearly separate the Santa myth and the Christ reality in the minds of your children and to also separate the getting part of Christmas from the giving part. Here’s how:

1. When kids begin to ask about whether or not Santa is real, tell them that he is “real-imaginary.” In other words, he is a real and wonderful myth or story that helps us feel the spirit and mystery of Christmas. Santa represents happiness and goodness and sharing and helps us develop our imaginations even as he symbolizes the feeling of being good and deserving of gifts. Explain that Santa is “real-imaginary,” like the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny, and that it is fun to have those North Pole stories and to enjoy those myths.

Jesus Christ on the other hand, is very, very different than that because He is “real-real” in that He actually was born on earth to Mary and Joseph and gave us the greatest gift of all time. His story, with the innkeeper and the manger and with the star and the wise men is the truest and most important story of all time. Make sure your kids know that it is OK to think of both Santa and Jesus at Christmastime but that they are NOT the same—that one is a fun story in our imaginations and the other is the greatest true story of all time and the most real thing there ever was. (To see the results of this kind of discussion with a ten year old, watch the accompanying video.)

2. Since it is so hard to integrate the very different Christmas joys of getting and of giving into the same Christmas morning ritual, separate them! On Christmas Eve, put all of the focus on giving and on the Christ story. Have a “Bethlehem Supper” where you dress as shepherds and wise men and have a Mary and a Joseph. Serve only fish and flatbread and figs and other things that Mary’s family might have had to eat on the night before she and Joseph left on their journey to Bethlehem. Turn off the lights and use only candles. Sit around a table and take the roles of Mary and her family as you eat together. With “Joseph” there as a guest, talk about the long journey. Will the donkey make it? Do they have reservations at a hotel or inn? How long will it take? Why do they have to go so far to pay taxes anyway? Then after dinner act out the manger scene, complete with angels and shepherds and wise men.

Then gather around the Christmas tree and open only the gifts from the children. Focus entirely on the giver. “Oh, just what I wanted, how did you know?” “Wow, did you make this?” “You found such perfect gifts.” Let each child have a turn where he or she gives out the gifts he or she made or chose and let the child feel and revel in the joy of giving.

Having focused entirely on Jesus and on the joy of giving during Christmas Eve, you can then shift to Santa and stockings and the joy of getting on Christmas morning!

There is indeed room for both Jesus and Santa at Christmastime, but parents have to be careful to separate the two in the minds of their children!