“When the pathway of life takes a cruel turn, there is the temptation to ask the question “Why me?” At times there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel, no sunrise to end the night’s darkness. We feel encompassed by the disappointment of shattered dreams and the despair of vanished hopes…. We become impatient for a solution to our problems, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required. The difficulties which come to us present us with the real test of our ability to endure. A fundamental question remains to be answered by each of us: Shall I falter, or shall I finish?”
Faith is not something that is simply obtained one day and then all is done. Just as physical fitness requires consistent effort and discipline, building strong and refined faith requires regular and consistent effort—it requires endurance training. Life is designed to be endurance training for our faith; every day we choose whether to stick with the program and how much effort we are going to put in to exercising our faith. LDS President Thomas S. Monson, whose wife died less a few months prior, had this to say about enduring during the most difficult times of life:
“When the pathway of life takes a cruel turn, there is the temptation to ask the question “Why me?” At times there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel, no sunrise to end the night’s darkness. We feel encompassed by the disappointment of shattered dreams and the despair of vanished hopes…. We become impatient for a solution to our problems, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required. The difficulties which come to us present us with the real test of our ability to endure. A fundamental question remains to be answered by each of us: Shall I falter, or shall I finish?”
0 Comments
because no one can disprove the existence of God. To believe He does not exist in spite of the evidence requires deep faith. For the atheist sect, man's own severely limited wisdom is their "god."
Why do atheists proselytize? Why do they try to convert others to their faith? For many of the same reasons every other faith proselytizes. Community, self-affirmation, even power are among the reasons. Atheists want people to believe like they do so that they can live in a society where man's own limited reason is their god, where government and policy is inspired by their god, where social norms are swayed by their god. This is a glimpse of one section of the real War. Throughout the history of mankind battles for physical power have come and gone, but the larger war for the hearts and minds of God's children has continued unabated. The most important battle is not over whether we live or die, but over who and what we will believe in. You cannot help but serve truth or error. Politics and religion cannot be fully separated. Many proposed laws and policies have religious implications. Laws respecting economic and social issues have direct impact on religion, and religious beliefs do have and should continue to have considerable impact on policies.
If a candidate is running for political office, should his religion of choice matter? Most certainly, for a man or woman's religious beliefs will influence the decisions they make. To suggest otherwise is to suggest that religion has nothing to say about policy issues such as how to help the poor and whether abortion should be legal, or that these beliefs will somehow be set aside for all decisions of national concern. The Lord instructs us to seek out "honest and wise men" for our leaders. A man or woman's religion, and more especially the extent to which he or she lives that religion are thus very important factors to consider. Capitalism is based on freedom of choice. This is in stark contrast to other forms of government where decisions on how much to charge, how much to build, how much to consume, and so forth are all made by a government. The freedom to choose for oneself is an important gospel principle. We must choose for ourselves to do what is right; if others force us to choose to be good, our own character doesn't change. Our behavior is driven by fear rather than faith.
But capitalism is not without its flaws. One of those flaws many have pointed to is an inherent inability to control immorality. Raw capitalism has built-in incentives to lie, cheat, and take advantage of others, because such acts can increase power and monetary gain. Government regulations such as required audits and standard product testing are an attempt to correct these problems and force a level of morality. But the system still isn't perfect. Greed and lust for power still find holes in and side paths around regulations. How do we increase morality in a capitalist society? Some have suggested turning to socialism, but history is replete with examples of the corruption, greed, and apathy that result from trying to force all economic decisions and redistribution of wealth. Others insist that expanding regulation is the answer, but decades of increasing regulations has likewise failed to enforce moral conduct. A third suggestion is a stronger focus on "ethics" in schools, but that has likewise failed. Educating students on what is moral without reference to God is like trying to build a house without a foundation--it is destined to fall during the first challenging wind. Morals are not a scientific or academic exercise. There isn't a universal mathematical formula that explains why we should not overcharge, misinform, or lie to others for personal gain. On the contrary, such acts can often increase wealth and worldly power. Faith in God has always been and still is the only viable answer. When individuals choose to believe in God and accept his teachings, they place a higher value on those they associate with. Caring about others becomes more important than the bottom line. Building lasting relationships enjoys a higher priority than worldly ambition. We cannot force anyone to believe in God. But we can choose to include God in our public square, rather than sponsoring atheism to the exclusion of all other religions. We can speak about God and His will often in public venues and in public addresses, rather than acting as though He doesn't exist. We can encourage faith-based behavior in schools rather than insisting that secularism is the sole source of knowledge. We can pray more often as a nation imploring God for help. Atheists find it strange when I ask them how they converted to their faith.
Atheists insist their belief is correct even though they have no direct scientific proof. Yet they criticize those who believe in God for having no direct scientific proof. In scientific terms, this is bias. In religious terms, it is pride. Atheism is a faith and a philosophy just as religion is a faith and a philosophy. Atheists believe in the non-existence of a God even though they have no direct proof. They believe in something they cannot prove, although they have certain evidences that they think support their claim. Those who believe in the existence of God also believe in something they cannot prove, and they have certain evidences they think support their claim. Neither side can directly prove their point or even come anywhere close, so both sides must rely on faith. Why does this matter? Because atheists as a whole are pushing their faith on to everyone else. They frame atheism as a neutral position, but it is far from neutral. State sponsorship of atheism and secularism is becoming widespread. It's adoption by the state presents the same threat that state sponsorship of any other faith would present: the loss of religious liberty. Already, those who believe in having prayer in school are denied because of state sponsorship of atheism. Religious monuments in public squares are being removed because of state sponsorship of atheism. Atheists claim they only wish to avoid having religion foisted upon them. But in fact, they are foisting their religion on us. Fight for religious liberty. Fight against government sponsorship atheism. Recently I read an article where a person was defending his choice of religion. He wrote a phrase that seemed to capture the position many take when scientific thought appears to contradict religious belief:
"I do not think that any Christian faith can be accepted as true if it requires us not to believe something very established science shows to be true." This is an unfortunately common belief among people of faith. It is incorrect because it puts the understanding of men above faith in God. Early in His ministry, Christ asked an uneducated Peter who He was, and Peter replied, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." All the secular and philosophical leaders of his time denied that claim, and even tried to use their logic to show that Jesus was a fraud. Jesus taught Peter "Blessed art thou... for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven." Peter had a Source of knowledge far greater than his own reason or the simple understanding of other men. The doubting Thomas was reprimanded for requiring visual evidence before he would believe in Christ's resurrection: "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." Our time is no different. A worldwide epidemic of pride has caused us to greatly overestimate our own understanding. The distance between the collective understanding of all men and the understanding of our all-knowing God is indescribably great. Why then would we toss aside His teachings in favor of worldly logic? As a loving Father, God wants me to reason for myself. But like a worthy child, when God tells me what is true, I must be willing to act against even my own reason when necessary, because I trust my Father's wisdom more than my own. God saved Abraham from being sacrificed on an altar by his own father. He later commanded Abraham to sacrifice his own son on an altar. If we believe our own logic should trump faith in God, we will never have the faith that Abraham had. As far as we know, Christ had no birth certificate. At least, we have no official record that we can find. For some it is difficult to believe that Jesus Christ even existed. Others admit he likely existed, yet disbelieve his divine pedigree. "What is more likely?" some think, "that Jesus was truly born to a virgin, or that a woman lied about her virginity?" Others think it more likely that the accounts of Christ's divinity were wholly made up, like a legend that grows more incredible with time.
All this could be cleared up if Jesus Christ would simply release His birth certificate, signed and sealed by His Father and mother. Or would it? How would doubters know that the signatures were authentic? If witnesses were produced, how would skeptics know whether the witnesses were not deceiving or being deceived themselves? If disbelievers could travel back in time, and shadow Mary and Joseph 24 hours a day for the year prior to Jesus' birth, would that be enough to convince them, or would there always be room for alternative explanations? If there is always potential for alternative explanations, how then can we certify Jesus' birth? We can't. But His Father can. Heavenly Father is omniscient, so he knows every possible alternative, and knows the truth beyond the possibility of doubt. And he has the unique ability to put His assurance directly into our hearts. Because the logic and reason of man is limited to what is already known, there is no way to know the truth with certainty unless, like Peter the Apostle, we gain our knowledge from One who knows all. To those who want certification of birth, I invite you to ask for it. At a basic level, temptation is enticement to put faith in something that is not true. Because all action is driven by faith, Satan does not have to force us to act to get us to sin, he only has to convince us to believe in sin. In fact, even if he could force us to act improperly, it wouldn't necessarily change our hearts, and therefore his power over us would be limited.
The greatest power over a person can be gained not by force of action, but by persuasion of belief. The more a person believes in a deception, the more they will use their own free will to sponsor that belief. Thus, the battle over hearts and minds has more potential for power than any other battle. Heavenly Father also battles for our hearts and minds through persuasion. But if we are persuaded to believe truth, our choices are guided by correct knowledge, making us truly free. Contrarily, when our choices are guided by incorrect knowledge, we are simply being used by the Deceiver. Faith is the driver of our actions. Beliefs that a particular outcome will result from our actions motivate us to action. There are many outcomes we seek, but all of them ultimately boil down to our desire for happiness. We may seek for happiness in money, thrill, service, or making others miserable. We may think happiness comes from self-pity, self-serving actions, or power. Though we may believe happiness will come from these various sources, it often does not, and even resulting pleasure is fleeting, leaving us unsatisfied.
God created this world, provided a Savior for us, gives us commandments and guides, even allows us to experience hardships for the express purpose of helping us find happiness. The entire Gospel is a blueprint for obtaining lasting happiness. Our desire for happiness ultimately drives all our actions. There are many who, in spite of failing to find happiness is wealth, power, and prestige, continue to believe that a little bit more of those things will bring the happiness they seek. But the road to true happiness is strait and narrow--if we believe strongly enough to follow that path, true, lasting, continual joy will be our reward. Such joy cannot be obtained in any other way. At times we feel we've reached our capacity to love a person--a family member or a friend for instance. We feel our hearts are full; we could not love this person any more than we do. Years later, we reflect on that love and realize it has grown by leaps and bounds. It wasn't that we didn't love before, it was that our capacity to love has increased. The amount of love we can feel and give has grown.
Faith works in a similar manner. We may feel that we could not believe any more strongly than we do. But as we live our faith over time, our faith grows even more. It isn't that we didn't believe with all our hearts and minds before, it is that our ability to believe has grown. Peter seems a good example of this principle. From the beginning, he was willing to leave his life and livelihood, to sacrifice everything simply to follow his Savior. When others questioned the Savior's divinity, he unequivocally stated "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Such strength of faith is a rare thing. Yet, in spite of this strength, he wavered when he tried to walk on the water to Jesus. He denied association with Christ three times during the Savior's final trials. After our Lord's resurrection, he returned to fishing for fish rather than men. Though Peter may have felt he had complete faith, his faith still seemed to grow with time. Shortly after Christ's ascension, he rejoiced that we was beaten and imprisoned for preaching of Christ. He immediately acted on a controversial revelation he received on the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles. It seems clear that Peter's faith wasn't weak in his own eyes when he left his nets to follow Christ. Yet it seems clear his faith grew with time. Peter's capacity for faith seemed to grow with experience. His ability to believe ever more strongly--to be ever more convinced of the truthfulness of the Gospel--seemed to grow with time. |
What is this site?
This is a website where short thoughts on gospel topics are regularly posted. If you'd like to have new thoughts come to you rather than having to check the site regularly, you may want to use the RSS Feed.
|