Power in Simplicity

          After studying the same principles of the Gospel over and over again for years, it is sometimes easy to get distracted from what is truly important by a lack of interest in the basic,  seemingly ever-present doctrines that are the foundations of spiritual safety.  If you're like me, it's natural to try to push the borders of your understanding into the unknown rather than rehash something so familiar.  There is danger in doing that, however.  The danger is forgetfulness.

          When we recognize the need to repent we can make appropriate course corrections and move toward the Savior.  If we forget our duty, however, the commandments can slip away from us without our knowledge until by and by we find ourselves in serious trouble.  Focusing on the old can seem frustrating at times, but it is the only path to true safety.

          True perspective is finding beauty in familiar and simple things.  Isn't it better to be happy with what we have rather than to be constantly looking for something more?  Normal may sound boring, but maybe we just lack appreciation for something earth-shattering that is exceptionally readily available to us.  Normal, basic, Primary truths with change a person's life more surely than the study of behavior will change behavior.

          There are many things that I do not understand, including things that seem fundamental.  It is difficult to accept at times that, as a human, we live in a sea of imperfect knowledge.  But that is significantly easier than what we try to do, which is profess certainty about things that we don't know anything about.  That is when it is time to be quiet and to listen.

          Sometimes a person accepts something to be true, not because they really believe it, but because they want perfect certainty so bad that they put their confidence into something they don't have complete evidence for.  They act as though they have a perfect knowledge of something, even though perfect knowledge doesn't exist in this world except for a few rare cases.  Accepting that there are limitations to what we know and understand is not unbelief or faithlessness.  It is honesty.  It is remembering that there may be things that we think and feel that are off the mark.  Real faith is trusting that God will help us.  It is not convincing ourselves that we know the world nearly as well as He does.

          "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them" (Ether 12:27).

          If we humble ourselves, repent, and come unto the Savior, He will show us the weakness of our understanding of things.  He gives us that limited capacity that we may be humble.  Truly His grace is sufficient for us as we humbly acknowledge what Elder Holland once called our "very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things" and have faith in God. 

          In many ways we are spiritually blind, acquiring our somewhat vague sense of direction from running into a wall here or stumbling up a step there.  But how arrogant we would have to be to loudly proclaim a detailed floor plan to those around us, loud enough to drown out the voice of the One person in our entire civilization who has eyes to see!  Well did the Savior say, "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth" (John 9:41).

          Are you man enough to accept that?

"Flower" by Sunny_mjx
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"Blindfold game 1" by Lee Carson
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Faith and Uncertainty II

          The Prophet Joseph Smith once declared that doubt and faith cannot exist in the same person at the same time.  The statement almost makes it sound like God wants us to live in a state of absolute certainty.  Paradoxically, though, uncertainty is a critical element of faith, without which our testimonies cannot grow.

          Uncertainty can take many forms.  Often it casts a dark cloud over our distant future.  Sometimes it confounds difficult decisions, causing us to worry if we are really on the right path.  We may exert every-increasing effort towards a desirable objective without knowing for sure how much progress is being made.  Personal insecurity is particularly troubling because our uncertainty is directed towards ourselves.  Whatever the source of uncertainty, it is bound to make us uncomfortable, especially when that uncertainty continues for long periods of time.

          Uncertainty is not altogether undesirable, however.  Alma explained, "there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe.  Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it."  Faith is a principle of power, but it cannot exist without uncertainty.  If we were never exposed to uncertainty, would we still benefit from the power of faith? 

          Great peace can come during uncertain times.  During the midst of war, one group of disciples of Christ recounted that, "it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith."

          In contrast, doubt breaks down our faith and causes us to despair.  It debilitates our ability to act and diminishes our sensitivity to the Spirit.  While acting the midst of uncertainty can call down miracles, the only thing faith calls down is our spirits.

          The choice between faith and doubt is a decision of where we will place our beliefs.  We can choose to believe that God is at the helm in this situation, just as He has been in so many others, or we can choose to believe that the outcome depends solely on our own efforts and chance.

          There is a common difficulty of  internal uncertainty that society has labeled "low self-esteem."  Personally, I believe that this perspective misses some key points because "self-esteem" lumps pride, individual worth, certainty, and confidence into the same concept, each of which is completely distinct and not necessarily compatible with the others.  While individual worth and  confidence are critical to a person's well-being, I believe that people who worry about low self esteem can neglect a more important problem:  a focus on one's personal difficulties and needs rather than on the needs of others. 

          When a person turns the focus of their life onto other people, they will be able to accept the uncertainty and insecurities that they feel, including those pointed at themselves, and will be able to keep moving forward.  They will also understand their own identity more deeply because of the promise that those that lose themselves in God's work will find themselves.  God will take care of the things that they choose to set aside in order to serve.  He will help them feel their worth and build their confidence far more effectively than what they could do for themselves.  It just takes faith.

          I know that we can find great happiness and peace, even when life is a whirlwind of uncertainty.  When we choose to believe in faith instead of doubt and turn the focus of our lives outward instead of inward, we become more like the Savior and can conquer our inner difficulties.  I know that all things are possible to them that believe.