Thoughts on Faith

I’ve had this topic on my mind for weeks if not months. Probably ever since the Ordain Women movement became a thing. I don’t want to spend much time on that movement as I feel it has gotten a disproportionate amount of attention already.

What I want to talk about is faith and doubt and how in this mortal life of ours the ability for each will always exist. I have been working my way through “The God Who Weeps” by Terryl and Fiona Givens. I haven’t made really fast progress but they said some things in the beginning that really hit my “that is true” zone. I like the word “resound”, because truth “resounds” or “rings true” in my heart AND mind.

“The call to faith is a summons to engage the heart, to attune it to resonate in sympathy with principles and values and ideals that we devoutly hope are true and which we have reasonable but not certain grounds for believing to be true. There must be ground for doubt as well as belief, in order to render the choice more truly a choice…. An overwhelming preponderance of evidence on either side would make our choice as meaningless as would a loaded gun pointed at our heads” (From The God Who Weeps, p. 4).

In this life we will always have evidence of truth and evidence for doubts. We MUST have both in order to truly exercise faith. As the prophet Lehi stated:

“For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad” (2 Nephi 2:11).

I like how Seth Adam Smith put it: “Doubt—opposition to our faith—actually gives us the ability to strengthen our faith. So keep in mind that if Lehi’s formula of opposition is true, then opposition will grow in proportion to our faith. Ironically, the more we increase in faith, the more our faith will be tested and opposed. It’s a law of nature that must be observed” (http://sethadamsmith.com/2013/06/02/crisis-of-faith/).

So it is normal for doubts to arise, it is part of the process of exercising and strengthening our faith. My frustration with this process arises when people look to those around them, to blogs, to articles, to strengthen that faith instead of relying on the power of the Holy Ghost – which is our own personal testifier of truth. Do we realize how marvelous this gift is?

Moroni 10:5 “And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”

It is so easy to get confused in the tumult of personal opinions. But we can look to Joseph Smith’s experience with confusion for guidance.

“In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they wrong all together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?” (Joseph Smith History 1:10)

That statement could very well come from our day and for the solution I testify of the power of following Joseph’s boyhood example, (Joseph Smith History 1:11-13). We can ask of God and we can receive a witness of peace and comfort and of truth, stronger than that of any truth we will find online. So often we go online for answers to problems but we should be careful that it does not become our source for eternal truth, because it can never whisper truth and become a part of our soul like the Holy Ghost can.

“The Spirit of God speaking to the spirit of man has power to impart truth with greater effect and understanding than the truth can be imparted by personal contact even with heavenly beings. Through the Holy Ghost the truth is woven into the very fibre and sinews of the body so that it cannot be forgotten” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith –Chapter 14: The Gift of the Holy Ghost).

I don’t want this post to get too long but I just want to testify that we do have sources of truth for this confusing day. These are God Himself, the scriptures, and His servants the prophets. All of these testify to us through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Also, I want to share a couple of quotes from President Hinckley that were used in some of the Gospel Doctrine lessons from the past few months and that really stood out to me when considering some of our present circumstances.

First, speaking of the spies that were instructed by Moses to go and find out about the Canaanites:

“Ten of the spies were victims of their own doubts and fears. They gave a negative report of the numbers and stature of the Canaanites. … They compared themselves as grasshoppers to the giants they had seen in the land. …

“We see some around us who are indifferent concerning the future of this work, who are apathetic, who speak of limitations, who express fears, who spend their time digging out and writing about what they regard to be weaknesses which really are of no consequence. With doubt concerning its past, they have no vision concerning its future” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 93–94; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 71).

Secondly:

“There is no place in this work for those who believe only in the gospel of doom and gloom. The gospel is good news. It is a message of triumph. It is a cause to be embraced with enthusiasm.

“The Lord never said that there would not be troubles. Our people have known afflictions of every sort as those who have opposed this work have come upon them. But faith has shown through all their sorrows. This work has consistently moved forward and has never taken a backward step since its inception. …

“This is an age of pessimism. Ours is a mission of faith. To my brethren and sisters everywhere, I call upon you to reaffirm your faith, to move this work forward across the world. You can make it stronger by the manner in which you live” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 94–95; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 71–72).

I hope that we can move beyond spending so much time in internet forums on things that eternally are not significant, unless we make them into spiritual obstacles for ourselves. It has saddened me to see friends and family fall away from truth, unable to see it through the confusion of the world. It also has frustrated me that those proclaiming their doubts as a badge of courage and a mission of change do not understand the potentially eternal destructive impact they are having on others. What a waste of talents that could be spent proclaiming eternally significant truths, like how we have a Heavenly Father who loves and has a plan for us. Or a Savior that has suffered and died for us that we do not have to. Or how we can become like our Heavenly Parents through the Atonement and become much more than we could ever imagine. Eventually all the mysteries of God will be made known to the faithful (Doctrine & Covenants 76:7), but in this life there are still "many mysteries which are kept, that no one knoweth them save God himself" (Alma 40:3). This life is meant to be a trial of faith because that is how we grow into who God would have us be.

“My people must be tried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion; and he that will not bear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom” (Doctrine and Covenants 136:31).

I hope in this age of pessimism that we can choose faith, not doubt, and yes, in this life it will always be a choice.

Other reads that I appreciated:

-"Crisis of Faith" by Seth Adam Smith (I really recommend reading this).

-Op-ed: Changing the church: How Ordain Women gets it wrong (short and to the point)

-Feed Christ's Sheep, Not Public LDS Controversy (more brash than I might be but really what is the most important thing here?)

-Mormonism, feminism, and being snarky ("Being a woman is something special. But so is being a man.")