"And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth."
Mormon 9:25
If we doubt nothing, everything will be confirmed. But what if we do doubt? What if we can't figure it out? Stuff won't be confirmed, but we're looking for a confirmation. Seems very difficult to figure out. I think actually that it is a good question. Sometimes we wonder why God makes it all so hard... why doesn't he just TELL us he is real, make it obvious, and then of course we would believe.
Let's think about that for a minute though. God is about freedom and teaching and agency. If he made it obvious to everyone that he was there (and personally I think it is already fairly obvious... but stay with me)... if he took away all of the distractions and self-blinders that we wear... what kind of choices would we have left? What kind of education would we be missing? If God just gave us the answers, we wouldn't be able to learn it for ourselves, and we'd never learn to stand on our own and make our own independent choices. We'd always be leaning on him... not out of choice, but out of necessity. His own plan, where we get the chance to grow up to be like him, would be ruined. We'd always be less... guided to everything, never able to figure it our ourselves and discern truth from error. Just like if my mom always tied my shoes for me, or walked me across the street every time. I wouldn't learn to do it myself. She had to let me try it on my own at some point. And although of course some of the choices that we face are more complex, God can't do it for us. He is there, we can talk to him, get his advice, read his words, get overwhelming help... but we still have to do it. We still have to go out, face the fears, face the doubts, and make the choice. It's not called a leap of faith for nothing. :) It takes trust, and belief in the often intangible reality of God. Who is so much more real than most of the tangible things out there... but it's not always easy to trust what we can't see. :) Today, let's try. Let's believe... let's take that step, whether we start out acting like we believe, or wanting to believe, or just getting on our knees and having trust enough in God to ask him if he exists. Whatever we can do. The smallest attempt. Faith to move mountains doesn't come instantly. But if we practice, soon we'll be able to feel God letting us know that he is there. And our small attempts will grow together until we have action and belief both going at the same time. And one day, we'll realize that we don't doubt anymore. It starts small, just like so many things in life... but if we start today, we'll be building our own faith, and figuring it out rather than just not knowing.
Mormon 9:25
If we doubt nothing, everything will be confirmed. But what if we do doubt? What if we can't figure it out? Stuff won't be confirmed, but we're looking for a confirmation. Seems very difficult to figure out. I think actually that it is a good question. Sometimes we wonder why God makes it all so hard... why doesn't he just TELL us he is real, make it obvious, and then of course we would believe.
Let's think about that for a minute though. God is about freedom and teaching and agency. If he made it obvious to everyone that he was there (and personally I think it is already fairly obvious... but stay with me)... if he took away all of the distractions and self-blinders that we wear... what kind of choices would we have left? What kind of education would we be missing? If God just gave us the answers, we wouldn't be able to learn it for ourselves, and we'd never learn to stand on our own and make our own independent choices. We'd always be leaning on him... not out of choice, but out of necessity. His own plan, where we get the chance to grow up to be like him, would be ruined. We'd always be less... guided to everything, never able to figure it our ourselves and discern truth from error. Just like if my mom always tied my shoes for me, or walked me across the street every time. I wouldn't learn to do it myself. She had to let me try it on my own at some point. And although of course some of the choices that we face are more complex, God can't do it for us. He is there, we can talk to him, get his advice, read his words, get overwhelming help... but we still have to do it. We still have to go out, face the fears, face the doubts, and make the choice. It's not called a leap of faith for nothing. :) It takes trust, and belief in the often intangible reality of God. Who is so much more real than most of the tangible things out there... but it's not always easy to trust what we can't see. :) Today, let's try. Let's believe... let's take that step, whether we start out acting like we believe, or wanting to believe, or just getting on our knees and having trust enough in God to ask him if he exists. Whatever we can do. The smallest attempt. Faith to move mountains doesn't come instantly. But if we practice, soon we'll be able to feel God letting us know that he is there. And our small attempts will grow together until we have action and belief both going at the same time. And one day, we'll realize that we don't doubt anymore. It starts small, just like so many things in life... but if we start today, we'll be building our own faith, and figuring it out rather than just not knowing.
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