“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?”
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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. Homosexuality has become a big topic in the United States and elsewhere. Proponents of homosexuality want it to be seen as socially acceptable behavior, which is a main reason for the push for state-sponsored gay marriage. If the country's law establishes that gay marriage is just as acceptable as traditional marriage, it would be one giant leap forward in the war for public opinion. To gain this victory proponents of this behavior are waging a war of words.
And they are making progress. More and more individuals are deciding that homosexual behavior is okay, and that homosexual marriage should be a guaranteed right in society. But that is wrong. Homosexual behavior is morally wrong. Homosexual marriage is wrong--it gives a societal stamp of approval for a damaging and selfish behavior. There are many, many reasons why homosexuality is wrong, and these are being constantly debated. Here are just a few: 1. Homosexuality brings sorrow. God tells us that wickedness will never lead to happiness. Proponents of gay behavior say over and over that they are just as happy, and that their lives are wonderful, but I know otherwise. Such behavior brings pain and sorrow. I trust what God says. Is this discrimination? Yes. It is discrimination against bad behavior. It is calling sin a bad thing, and I will discriminate against sin at every opportunity. Is this hate? Yes. It is hate of sin--the very acts that bring this world misery and sorrow. I do not hate homosexuals. I do hate homosexual behavior. And I hate to see the consequences of sin--it is pure anguish to see the heartache, the suffering, the utter despair. Homosexuals insist their behavior affects only themselves. If that were true, why does it destroy so many family relationships? Why does it cause mothers to weep or children to wonder why their parent has left them? Homosexuality does not exist in a vacuum. Evil behavior attracts evil behavior. I know it. They try to hide it, but they cannot hide the sorrow of those whose lives they've injured. I've seen it. I still see it. I hate it. 2. Homosexuality affects my children. My children interact with my neighbors. They learn from my neighbors. If gay marriage is state-sponsored, my neighbors will teach my children that homosexuality is morally acceptable as part of the state curriculum. If my spouse and I are suddenly killed in an accident, my kids would need to be placed in a home. If gay marriage is state-sponsored, then the state cannot discriminate against gay couples. They will be just as likely to place my children in a gay couple's home as a traditional couple's home. 3. Homosexuality affects my country. God has promised his protection on this country inasmuch as we choose His laws. His Hand has kept this country from falling into the hands of its enemies for generations, because they have not utterly forsaken Him. The more we push His teachings aside and deny Him any influence on the moral values we choose to uphold, the less protection we will receive at His Hand, until we are left to fend for ourselves, or worse. I'd rather have my Heavenly Father on my side. There are many other arguments. But undergirding and overarching all of them is faith in Christ. I believe He knows what is best. I will not vote to give sin equal status with righteousness. I will not accept the proposition that people have an inherent right to societal approval of sinful behavior. The day may come when the majority of people in this nation believe that gay marriage and therefore gay behavior is morally acceptable. This issue and other moral issues are polarizing the people of this country. More than ever before, people are leaving the fence to choose sides. As for me and my family, we will always choose the side that we know will bring peace and happiness to ourselves, our family, our country, and our world. He has proven Himself to us a thousand times over. I owe Him my life, my will, my service, my all, a thousand times over. I know His way will always be the best way, no matter the constantly raging war of words and tumult of opinions. Should all others' hearts fail, mine will remain true to Him whose servant I am. "Charity never faileth." Faith means putting our trust in God. But to what end are we trusting in Him? Some who have trusted in God have been delivered from harm, while others have suffered in cruel ways. What does God guarantee if we trust in Him? |
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