July 28,
2013
“Lord, I believe”
In this mortal life we all experience great joy; we
experience happiness, bliss, cheerfulness, gladness and peace. There are times
of such tremendous joy that we might often feel that nothing could ever go
wrong. However, for many, these feelings can be quite rare; and unfortunately
for all of us these feelings do not usually last as long as we hope they will. This
is because this mortal life is full of challenges and difficulties that seem to
inevitably get in the way of our search for lasting happiness. Some challenges
will demand every bit of effort and perseverance that we possess. Many
difficulties we face will test and try all of our weaknesses. But if that’s not
enough we are constantly surrounded by the negativity and selfishness of
mankind. Complaints and curses are heard almost everywhere we go. There are
people who seek to rob or hurt you for their own gain, pleasure, or for no
apparent reason at all. The adversary is
constantly attacking us. He never ceases to try and tempt, beguile, belittle,
distract and ultimately destroy us. He wants us to feel like there is no hope;
that there is no help for us. He wants us to be as miserable as possible. He
pushes us until we feel like we are doomed to suffer forever. In these times of
adversity we become desperate. We seek for resolve and the very second we see a
chance for it, we go for it; whether we know for certain it will help or not.
Such was the case of a certain young father with an afflicted
child. In desperation this man carried his beloved child to the feet of Jesus
and cried:
“If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help
us.”
This man had an urgent, emphatic desire in behalf of his only
child. With no other hope remaining, this father asserts what faith he has and
pleads with the Savior “If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and
help us.” Elder Jeffery R. Holland states that the plural pronoun “us” is
obviously used intentionally. This man is saying, in effect, “Our whole family is pleading. Our struggle never ceases. We
are exhausted. Our son falls into the water. He falls into the fire. He is
continually in danger, and we are continually afraid. We don’t know where else
to turn. Can you help us? We will be grateful for anything—a partial blessing,
a glimmer of hope, some small lifting of the burden carried by this boy’s
mother every day of her life.”…
“If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help
us.”
Jesus says to him, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible
to him that believeth.”
“Straightway,” the father cries out in his unvarnished
parental pain, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” In response to new
and still partial faith from this desperate father, Jesus heals the boy, almost
literally raising him from the dead.
This man’s conviction was limited, but his urgent, emphatic
desire was good enough for a beginning. Alma chapter 32, verse 27 says, “…even
if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you even
until ye believe…”
That young father found his relief. He found the ultimate
source of all hope. It is the same source that we can all turn to for relief no
matter what situation we find ourselves in or the severity of it. That source
is The Savior, Jesus Christ who is the Redeemer of the world. But we must have
faith in Him. I repeat His words “If thou canst believe, all things are
possible to him that believeth.”
Elder Holland finds a few observations from this story. One
observation is this:
*Quote* “When facing the challenge of faith, the father
asserts his strength first and only then acknowledges his limitation. His
initial declaration is affirmative and without hesitation: “Lord, I believe.” I
would say to all who wish for more faith, remember this man! In moments of fear
or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that
ground is limited. In the growth we all have to experience in mortality, the
spiritual equivalent of this boy’s affliction or this parent’s desperation is
going to come to all of us. When those moments come and issues surface, the
resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you
already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes. It was of this
very incident, this specific miracle, that Jesus said, “If ye have faith as a
grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder
place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” *Close quote. You might wonder if you
possess enough faith to do such a thing. But the size of your faith or the
degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate
toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know.
Elder Holland counsels us to lead your quest for faith with
the belief that you do have,
not what you do not have, leading as it were with your “unbelief”. We are not
asked to pretend to have the faith that we do not have, but again, be true to
the faith we do have. That
being said, you might ask yourself “What if the faith I have isn’t enough?” To
this I would advise you to remember the young father in the story. His faith
was brand new, fragile and untested. It was more of a desire to believe rather
than actual belief. And yet, it was good enough for a beginning and his son was
healed. Use what amount of faith you have and let it grow. President Eyring
said: “Acting on even a twig of faith allows God to grow it.” In example to
that truth we can use Elder Holland, who I believe to be one of the greatest
examples of faith in these latter days. He described his own faith as a tiny
seed of belief that has grown into the tree of life. This great growth is
possible for all of us.
One might ponder to themself whether or not they have any
faith at all. To you I say that you do have faith. “Furthermore, you have more
faith than you think you do because of what the Book of Mormon calls “the greatness of the evidences.” “Ye
shall know them by their fruits,” Jesus said, and the fruit of living the
gospel is evident in the lives of Latter-day Saints everywhere.” a notable
miracle hath been done in the lives of millions of members of this Church. That
cannot be denied! The evidence of the gospel being true is everywhere. 14.7 million people living today and
counting, have willingly accepted it as the true gospel of Christ. The church is growing substantially because
the spirit of the Lord is testifying to people all around the world of the
truthfulness of the gospel. Even prideful, stiff-necked teenagers, at a most pivotal
time in their lives leave their homes, families, friends, jobs, relationships,
school and more to share this gospel with people whom they have never met. They
do this because they love The Lord and His gospel. The blessings that come to
those who live the gospel are obvious. Church members are happy. They are
pleasant. They are optimistic. “There’s just something about them.” That
“something” isn’t something that can be explained. It just has to be
experienced. If you haven’t experienced that “something” for yourself or
haven’t felt it in a while, then I invite you to try it for yourself. Come unto
Christ in faith. Use His atonement; repent, you can be forgiven! Be baptized
and receive the Holy Ghost. Endure to the end. I promise you will notice a
change. Your life will be better. Not necessarily easier. But better. That
“something” will become your reality. And if ye do these things and keep His
commandments, ye shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest gift of
God. So if you do not trust yourself to use the faith that you do have, then
you are invited to use the faith of those faithful members around you until you
can say for yourself, “Lord, I believe.” It is never too late to start
believing. Just put some effort in your desire, and He will help you. If we are
trying to follow His teachings and paying attention, we can almost feel the
Savior’s arms around us and feel those assurances as the Spirit whispers of The
Saviors love for us: ‘I love you. Trust me.’ And if we do trust Him, he can
help us, whispering through the spirit: ‘Okay, now attend sacrament meeting.
Very good. Now accept a call to serve.’ And so we begin to make progress and
our faith increases. This is the same for any commandment we struggle with.
A quorum advisor or a Sunday school teacher or even a bishop might make a
mistake. None of us are perfect; we are all a work in progress; all of us make
mistakes, so please don’t hyperventilate if from time to time issues arise that
need to be examined, understood, and resolved. They do and they will. In this Church,
what we know will trump what we do not know for now. And remember, in this
world, everyone is to walk by faith. Elder Holland goes on to say: Quote* “Be
kind regarding human frailty—your own as well as that of those who serve with
you in a Church led by volunteer, mortal men and women. Except in the case of
His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to
work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So
should we. And when you see imperfection, remember that the limitation is not
in the divinity of the work.” *Close quote… “The limitation is not in the
divinity of the work.”… To help you understand that phrase I’d like you to imagine
the work of the gospel in the image of a most delicious, refreshing, and
precious drink. Now imagine that drink is being poured into cups so that
everyone can have an equal share of this most delightful drink. But as the
drink is being poured into a certain cup, some of it spills onto the floor
creating a small mess. One cannot blame the divine beverage for spilling to the
floor. It was the mistake of the one pouring it into the cup for missing even
though they did not intend to do it. However, messes can be cleaned up, and
they can be cleaned up better and faster if people work together. Failing to
separate the mistakes of man from the divinity of the work of God will only
impede your belief and will put you in danger of not receiving the glorious
blessings and miracles that having faith in Christ brings. Do not let your
doubt and/or questions about people or even the gospel stand in the way of
faith working its miracle!
Another observation made by Elder Holland is this: “When
doubt or difficulties come, do not be afraid to ask for help. If we want it as
humbly and honestly as this father did, we can get it. The scriptures phrase
such earnest desire as being of “real intent,” pursued “with full purpose of
heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God” In response to that
kind of importuning, God will send help from both sides of the veil to
strengthen our belief.”
There are those of us who are here, and everywhere, who do
believe in Christ and do believe the church is true, but aren’t sure for
themselves if they know it is true and therefore might feel inferior or
even uncomfortable in a setting like this. Brothers and sisters, belief is a
precious word, and an even more precious act. We need never feel bad for “only
believing.” Christ Himself said, “Be not afraid, only believe,” Belief is
always the first step toward conviction and surety. The definitive articles of
our collective faith forcefully reiterate the phrase “We believe.” And frankly,
we are all merely new believers who are striving to build more and more upon
the rock of faith that we do have. Do not feel bad because you don’t know for
sure yet, for we all fall short with the relatively small amount of faith that
we all have. Act on the belief that you have, fan the flame of your faith, and
God will let it grow. A testimony is a gift that is granted to us after
we exercise some faith in God. There is no reason to wait for a testimony of
Christ, for the blessings He offers are so great and we need them every day. He
is “the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and Believeth in me shall never
die.” He is the bread of life: he that cometh to Him shall never hunger; and he
that believeth on Him shall never thirst.
Many have said, “Seeing is believing.” But even seeing things
requires faith, for without faith not even seeing is believing. First have
faith, then you will see. A more accurate phrase would be this: Believing is
seeing.
I would strongly
advise you not to compare your testimony to the testimony of others. This
allows Satan to place doubt and despair in your heart concerning all of your
characteristics, making you feel inadequate. But when the Lord looks at us, He
measures us against ourselves. He works with everyone individually. His
expectations are based on our abilities. He simply asks, ‘Are you doing
all that you can do at this time?’ Consider the principle of tithing. The man
with ten million dollars is expected to pay one million dollars in tithing. The
child with ten cents is expected to pay one penny. Both offerings are a full
tithing in the eyes of God. Everyone walks at their own pace. God knows this.
He is willing to help you at whatever pace you need. He loves you no matter how
strong your testimony is. And remember, it is always okay to ask for help.
If you find yourself
to be on the other side of the testimonial scale and you believe that you have
a strong testimony, it is still just as important that you do not compare
yourself and your testimony to those who YOU THINK are struggling. This invites
a poison known as pride to enter your heart, and it easily goes to your head
and it will tear you away from the presence of God and His spirit. It is your
reverent responsibility to be a humble, Christ-like example, as well as to love
and encourage those around you. Assist those in need of help when you are asked
or prompted to. But always love and encourage! Also, I might add, if you have
discovered for yourself that the church is true and you come to church each
week to hear the teachings of the gospel, it is important to show your faith.
“Be you doers or the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” We
cannot simply say we believe and then expect to be saved. Faith is a principle
of action, and faith without works is nothing.
I have one more observation from the young father in the
story, only this observation is my own. It is something that is not only evident
in the young father, but also evident in the lives of all those who remain
faithful in adversity. This man was at the lowest point of his life. He was
constantly suffering from deep sadness and depression. He didn’t understand why
he and his family had to go through such a hard trial that none of them
deserved. He could ask himself, “Why is this happening to me? What did I do to
deserve this? Am I meant to suffer with this forever?” He hadn’t felt
stress-free or peaceful in years. That stress was only building and he was
tired of it; he was almost ready to give up. But it was in this time of great
sorrow that he became closer to The Lord than he ever would have had he not had
that burden cast on him and his family. This is the same for all of us. We all
go through these depressing times that make us feel like we have been
completely abandoned. Even Christ, the perfect Son of God, who had never done
wrong or spoken evil, nor touched an unclean thing, went through such a time
when He suffered on the cross in Gethsemane for many hours, having already felt
every burden of every soul. It was at this time that the Spirit of God left The
Savior, leaving Him utterly helpless and alone. But there was a reason for
this. The reason that the Savior had to suffer that was so the Atonement could
be complete; so that He would know exactly how we would feel at the times when
we feel utterly and completely alone. So He could help us.
Now, the reason God allows us to be placed in adversity,
despair, and utter loneliness is for our growth. That may sound very simple,
but in truth, it is quite profound and most important for us because the growth
that is promised to us is growth of our testimonies and growth in our
relationship with Christ and our Heavenly Father. It is in our darkest hours
and the times when we feel like God has never been further from us that He is
actually closest. He gives us trials in hopes that we will turn to Him. (Open
scriptures) Matthew 11:28-30 says… He is there helping us, lifting us up. All
we must do is trust Him and put our faith in Him that He knows what He is
doing. He trusts you to be able to go through any trial you face. He will not
make you do anything too hard. And as it says in Doctrine and Covenants section
121, “thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And if
thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high…” The Lord loves us and only
wishes to bless us as much as possible. Being faithful in adversity allows Him
to bless us the most. He compensates the faithful for every loss. What is taken
away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While
it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear
today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and
gratitude. I know this is true. It was in my hardest, darkest times that I have
come closer to Christ. I know I have a great relationship with Christ, and it
is because of my trials that that growth in relationship and testimony was
possible. My advice to anyone facing a trial in their life right now would be
to trust in The Lord and believe in Him.
It is my fervent prayer that we will accept Christ, for
unless we accept Him, He cannot accept us into His presence, which has been our
goal since before we came to this earth. (Open scriptures: Mosiah 26:23-24) Christ
said… Believe in Christ and be steadfast in your belief in Him and not be
ashamed. Do not let this discouraging world or the evils of the adversary make
you doubt or abandon the faith that you have. I pray that we will all strive to
increase our faith in Christ and in His gospel; that we will put all our trust
in Him; that we will stand strong in His ways; that we will put behind us all
of our doubts, uncertainties, questions and pride, and instead, rely upon The
Lord and put all our trust in Him for He is the way of light and of truth. He
is one with The Father and He is The Fathers only begotten son. He is the only
thing in the universe that we can trust with a certainty. He is perfect and He
knows all. He is the ultimate source of hope, peace, comfort, help and love. He
loves us dearly and wants to help us. If we humble ourselves and pray earnestly
with pure intent then He will help us. He knows what we need most in our lives
at all times. He will allow you to go through rough times. He does this because
he knows you can handle it. It is not
until you experience adversity that you learn and grow the most. It is through
adversity that we become closer to Christ, but only if we endure it with faith
in Him. I pray that we will be kind, forgiving and understanding with everyone
we associate with; in doing so we will be greatly blessed from on high. In any
situation of life may we follow the profound counsel of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin,
when he said: “Come what may, and love it.” And in the times when our faith is
tested, I pray that we will be able turn to God and say with a certainty,
‘Lord, I believe. Yea, Lord, I know!’…
…continue with testimony.
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