Doubt Not, but Be Believing

I’m sure there are occasions in everyone’s life when we have moments of doubt.  I know I have had a couple of those times in my life.  They don’t necessarily even have to occur during the storms that rage in our lives.  Sometimes it can happen even when we feel we are doing what we are supposed to be doing in the gospel.  When doubts begin to creep into our minds and into our hearts, it can take us down a road of confusion and turbulence.  For myself, it can often take me a while to get back on track, but that is only when I begin to feel that something is missing in my life.  

I remember a time when I was working out at a gym.  All I wanted to do was to lose 10 pounds and get fit again.  How difficult could it have been?  After all, there are people who lose 10 pounds or more in one month!  But not me.  I remember doing all I knew how to do, and although I had lost a couple of pounds in the first couple of weeks, I had plateaued pretty quickly.  Things were going very slowly for me and it was confusing and discouraging.  Until I was told to shake things up a little.  So I changed my exercise routine a little bit and started putting more effort into the foods I would prepare for myself and my family.  It was at that time that I began to see changes happening and I felt so good as I was getting physically in shape.   

I often compare that to my spiritual workout.  Sometimes I do things out of habit, and although they are all the right things, I neglect to remember the reason why I’m doing those things.  So I shake things up a bit.  I do things a little bit differently, and guess what…IT WORKS!  Suddenly I begin to feel the Spirit in my life again and I feel good about myself and the gospel.  My faith begins to strengthen and I feel spiritually rejuvenated.    

I love this article.  It helps us to know how to “shake things up” a little bit in our spiritual workout so that we can begin to feel good about the gospel in our lives once again.  I hope you find it inspiring for you.

What should we do if we have questions about what we once knew to be true?

Many of us have had powerful moments when the Holy Ghost has borne witness to our hearts that the gospel is true, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that the Lord guides His Church through living prophets today. Those impressions from the Spirit are hard to ignore or forget.

Yet there are moments when the testimony we have gained through these experiences may be tested. When these tests arise, we can remember that it’s normal and okay to have sincere questions. The Lord loves us. As we learn to look to Him for answers to those questions, He can help us resolve our concerns and develop greater faith and testimony.

Amy (name has been changed) had been a faithful member of the Church her entire life and felt she had a strong testimony of the gospel. One day, she encountered statements that surprised her about early Church history and leaders. She struggled to reconcile this new information with the spiritual witnesses of truth she’d experienced in the past and began to have questions about her testimony. She felt guilty for having these questions, so she kept her concerns to herself. The sources she turned to for answers only increased her concerns.

Before long, Amy’s unaddressed questions grew into doubts that began to affect other parts of her life. She questioned the reality of God and Jesus Christ. Without the hope of Christ’s Atonement, she began to lose confidence in herself. She even began to wonder if she really wanted the life she had chosen as a wife and mother. What began as concern over unanswered questions became a daily struggle with guilt, confusion, anxiety, and fear.

You or someone you love may be struggling like Amy. What should we do if we encounter something that causes us to have questions about what we once knew to be true? How can we obtain a lasting testimony of Jesus Christ and His restored Church? How can we avoid allowing our questions to become doubts that threaten our faith? Here are eight principles I hope can help those who are struggling with sincere questions or doubt.

To read the eight principles, please click HERE.