Why Does God Give Some People More Than Others?
Filed under: Finding joy within the gospel, Overcoming Adversity
When I tell the story of Joseph and the multicolored coat, from the Old Testament, to young children, they never really get the story. In fact, they never really see Joseph as the hero. Those with younger siblings immediately side with the brothers, and think it’s really unfair Joseph got a beautiful coat and the brothers didn’t. Not only do they approve of Joseph’s brothers selling him, but they express a longing to do the same to their own seemingly more favored siblings.
Preschoolers want everything fair and equal. Sometimes, even as adults, we wish everything were equal. We look around and wonder why some people don’t seem to have any trials, or why some people have more blessings than others. We then wonder if that means God loves some of us less than others. Read more
Should Mormons Offer Physical Proof of the Book of Mormon?
Filed under: Book of Mormon, Book of Mormon, D & C, Pearl of Great Price, Frequently Asked Questions, History of the Book of Mormon, Jesus Christ, The Restoration
When people attempt to argue Mormonism, they usually begin with some commentary on proof. They want proof—physical, tangible, and scientific—that it is true. When science or history discovers something that might help to “prove” an aspect of Mormonism, Mormons are generally interested, but these things don’t strengthen their testimonies. They are merely interesting.
While this might irritate some Christians, it must be remembered that much of the Bible can’t be proven, either. Science has repeatedly refused to acknowledge the possibility of God, whose existence cannot be scientifically proven. Nor has science proven the Creation. We can’t fit some historical stories into the known political leadership of the time. We don’t have the bones of Adam and Eve. We haven’t found the ark, or proven the entire world once flooded at once. There are creatures mentioned in the Bible we haven’t been able to prove just yet—no dragons or unicorns have emerged during archaeological expeditions.
Does this shake the faith of the average Christian? Of course not. Faith is not about proof. If it can be proven, it doesn’t require faith. The Bible is filled with admonitions to have faith, not to have proof.
Paul gave a powerful sermon on faith in Hebrews, chapter 11 (King James version of the Bible): “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. He reminds us of many Biblical heroes who lived their lives based on faith, not proof. Noah didn’t ask for proof of an impending flood before building the ark, Paul said, nor did Abraham ask for proof before moving to a new land or taking Isaac to be sacrificed. They trusted God and their own testimonies and acted without any proof at all that these things were necessary.
Faith is an essential element of religion. Mormons teach that faith is one of the primary reasons God sent us here to earth. Could we learn to believe in Him and trust Him when He isn’t right here, in our sight? We believed we could and agreed to come to earth to gain faith, to be tested, and to obtain families and bodies.
Most Christians accept a responsibility to develop faith in Jesus Christ, and to agree to accept Him as our Savior without any physical proof of His existence. We don’t know where He is buried. There are no official records recording His life. He never wrote a word that we have on hand, and no one painted His picture or sculpted His likeness. We don’t know what He looked like. We can only make assumptions based on historical knowledge of the time and place in which He lived, and we must trust the recorded words of others as to His existence and teachings. And yet, with all this lack of physical proof, billions of people have believed in Jesus Christ and modeled their lives on His teachings.
Mormons, like other Christians, know that testimony isn’t about physical proof. It is about learning to know and to trust God. Testimony is about faith, which is a higher law than proof. Faith is an eternal-life-giving law.
Christians, including Mormons, know that faith is a verb. A passive faith is not really faith. When we know that putting our hands into a fire will burn them, we don’t put our hands into the fire. We act on those things we truly know. Faith, then, must be an active faith. It isn’t enough to say we believe God has taught us not to kill, for instance. We must also act on that belief. A true Christian keeps the commandments of God as evidence of His faith. Just as Noah didn’t ask for proof, neither do Christians ask for proof before deciding to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
While it is possible to keep the commandments without faith, it is not possible to have true faith and refuse to keep the commandments. No one is perfect, but a person with faith is constantly striving to live as Jesus taught. James taught,“ 14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. (James 2)
These verses do not mean we can be saved by works done without faith, but simply for show. It means that a person who believes in and loves God will keep His commandments as a natural part of that love and faith.
Christians, including Mormons, keep the commandments even though they lack physical proof that rewards will come, either in this life or the next. For them, faith is enough to inspire a Christian lifestyle.
“Faith in Jesus Christ and a testimony of Him and His universal Atonement is not just a doctrine with great theological value. Such faith is a universal gift, glorious for all cultural regions of this earth, irrespective of race, color, language, nationality, or socioeconomic circumstance. The powers of reason may be used to try to understand this gift, but those who feel its effects most deeply are those who are willing to accept its blessings, which come from a pure and clean life of following the path of true repentance and living the commandments of God” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Precious Fruits of the First Vision,” Ensign, Feb 2009, 4–8).
Physical proof that Mormonism is true is no more essential to a Mormon than is physical proof of God, Jesus, or the Bible to any other Christian. Faith and testimony isn’t brought about by proof, but by a personal knowledge of God, and the willingness to turn to Him as the source of all truth. Science is constantly changing its mind about proof, but God never changes His mind. It comes down to this question: Who is our God—God, or science? Mormons, while respecting the role of science, choose God.
How Do Mormons Know the Prophet is Telling the Truth?
Mormons teach that God’s prophets today, like those we read of in the Bible, are authorized to speak on God’s behalf for the entire church. Often, people who are not LDS find this concept amazing or even alarming. They wonder how we know if they’re telling us the truth. We are often asked silly questions like, “If your prophet told you to only wear blue, would you?”
Brigham Young had an answer for this question. He’s said to have told people his greatest fear was that people in the church would start to take what he said as the will of God and not take the time to go to God personally to receive confirmation of it.
Although Mormons are taught to honor their prophets and to follow them, it’s not a blind following. Only God can be completely trusted to always tell you the truth, and only God knows the truth of all things. Mormons are taught even before they join the church to pray and ask God if the current prophet really is God’s prophet. Then, afterwards, at any time, th
ey can return to God and ask about specific teachings the prophet has given.
In the case of the hypothetical situations Mormons are always being asked about, a member who reads an article by a church leader will generally follow the following pattern:
Before reading or listening, they pray for the spirit. This will often tell them what is true while they’re receiving the information. Once they received the counsel, they place it in context of other teachings they’ve received. For instance, if the prophet said to store food away so you’ll have enough to eat if you lose your job, a member would say, “Oh, I’ve heard that many times before and already know it’s true.” He wouldn’t likely take time to pray about this, since it’s repeated often.
If it’s new counsel, he might compare it to see if it fits in with previous teachings. For instance, prophets often tell us to store wheat. If this were the first time we’d been told to store wheat, we might think to ourselves, “Well, that’s the first time wheat’s been mentioned, but we’ve often been told to store food in general, so I’ll just add that to it.” It fits into previously given counsel.
However, if a member heard entirely new counsel, and just couldn’t quite feel comfortable with it-maybe because it would require him to stop doing something he loved-he could then take it to God in prayer. Following the established pattern for prayer, he would study the problem in his mind, come to a decision, probably based on what he already knows about God and the gospel, and then come to a conclusion. He’d then kneel in prayer and ask God if he’s made the right choice.
Spencer W. Kimball, a past prophet, spoke on the subject of blind faith. “When men obey commands of a creator, it is not blind obedience….God’s every command is righteous, every directive purposeful, and all for the good of the governed. …
Is it blind obedience when one regards the sign “High Voltage-Keep Away” or is it the obedience of faith in the judgment of experts who know the hazard?
Is it blind obedience when the air traveler fastens his seat belt as that sign flashes or is it confidence in the experience and wisdom of those who know more of hazards and dangers?
Is it blind obedience when the little child gleefully jumps from the table into the strong arms of its smiling father, or is this implicit trust in a loving parent who feels sure of his catch and who loves the child better than life itself? …
Is it then blind obedience when we, with our limited vision, elementary knowledge, selfish desires, ulterior motives, and carnal urges, accept and follow the guidance and obey the commands of our loving Father who … created a world for us, loves us, and has planned a constructive program for us, wholly without ulterior motive, whose greatest joy and glory is to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life” of all his children? [See Moses 1:39.]
It is not blind obedience, even without total understanding, to follow a Father who has proved himself. (”Chapter 13: Obedience Born of Faith in God,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006),135-44
In the case of the hot stove, it’s likely a child touched a hot stove against the advice of a parent at some time in his childhood. Having done so, he learned first that stoves can be hot, and secondly, that parents can be trusted. Over time, as his parents continued to be right about physical danger, it’s likely he stopped feeling the need to touch every stove or try out every dangerous thing. Whereas, as a toddler, he might have heard a parent say the stove was hot, but he had to find out for himself. As an eight-year-old, if his parents told him it was too dangerous to go outside in the current weather conditions, he might obey without first testing, having learned his parents were usually right.
In the same way, Mormons learn to trust their prophets, and they learn to trust God. A new member is likely to pray about every individual doctrine, but a later member, having learned that when he does so, God always says yes, the prophet is right, no longer needs to do this. He can spend his limited life doing more important things. He saves his confirmation prayers for those situations which leave him uncertain, or which require greater sacrifice to carry out.
Being able to turn to God is one way God protects his children from unscrupulous leadership. They need never take anyone’s word for any part of the gospel, but can always go directly to the source. The prophet delivers God’s message and guides the church, but each member is individually responsible for confirming the truthfulness of what they’re being told.
Someone just learning about the church through Mormon missionaries will be taught how to pray almost immediately. Then, after each lesson, he will be asked to pray about it privately to know for himself it’s true, rather than taking the word of the missionaries. This is a critical step in the member’s progression, because someone who does this is far less likely to fall away from the church in the future. His testimony will be based on a firm foundation-God.
A Child’s Prayer
There is a beautiful children’s hymn for young Mormons called, “A Child’s Prayer.” The song is written for an adult and child to sing together. In the song, a child asks God if he’s really there, and if he’s really listening to and answering the prayers of children. The child notes that many people feel Heaven is too far off, but when he prays, he feels heaven is very close by. With that, the child remembers that Jesus Christ said to bring the children to Him, referring to the story in which the disciples tried to send away a group of children who came to see the Savior late in the day. The Savior stopped them and invited the children to come to Him to be blessed and to talk with Him. Reassured, the child in the song goes to Heavenly Father in prayer.
This is followed by an adult verse. The adult shares his testimony of God with the child, reassuring him God is listening, because the child is God’s own child, and is loved. The adult encourages the child to pray and promises he will be heard.
This is a lovely song which addresses an important issue for both adults and children. Sometimes it can be hard to keep our faith strong when times are hard.
When we left God’s presence, He created a way for us to stay in touch with Him through prayer. Prayer allows us to talk to God, but it isn’t a one-way communication. He also arranged for us to be able to “hear” his answers to us. The answers aren’t really a voice, most of the time. Usually, it’s more of a feeling, an impression in our minds, or a strong feeling of good or bad in our hearts. This comes to us through the Spirit of Christ or through the Holy Ghost.
Each person has the Spirit of Christ available to Him. We can also receive visits from the Holy Ghost, which is the only source of truth. Once we’re baptized, we can receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost from a priesthood holder with the proper authority. This gift can be with us around the clock if we live worthily.
However, it takes practice to learn to recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I first felt it when I was ten years old and was listening to a missionary at a Mormon temple visitor’s center talk about the Book of Mormon. I was not Mormon and didn’t attend church regularly, so I had no idea what I was experiencing. Over the next several years, I felt the same feeling, and gradually began to notice it always occurred in religious settings, and most often in situations where Mormons were involved. When I began to visit the local Mormon church, a friend explained to me this was the Holy Ghost.
Even then, it took time to recognize it as an answer to specific prayers. I learned to first study out the issue in my mind, and then to ask God if I had made the right choice. When I’d done my share of the process, God always did His. I learned to recognize the warm, peaceful feelings as being signs of confirmation or approval from God, and the confused, uneasy feelings as God’s way of warning me I was on the wrong track, and needed to think it through more carefully.
Every talent requires practice. No one expects to pick up a paint brush for the first time and paint a masterpiece. The same is true of prayer. If we want to recognize God’s “voice” in our lives, we need to train and to practice. When we live the way God teaches us to live, study the scriptures, and spend time praying, we are training. When we resist the temptation to pray and then leap up and run off without waiting for an answer, we’re improving our ability to receive the answer. When we trust the answers we receive and act on them, we demonstrate our faith in God. The stronger our faith, the better able we are to recognize His presence and understand how He guides us from day to day. As the song says,”Pray. He is there. Speak-He is listening.”
Listen to A Child’s Prayer.
Abish and Spiritual Strength
Filed under: Book of Mormon Stories, People in the Book of Mormon
Abish was a woman who worked in the palace where Ammon, a popular Book of Mormon missionary, was temporarily serving the king as a shepherd. She had been converted but no one else in her community believed in the church and she had to keep her own testimony private. Despite having no friends who were members of the church, despite not having scriptures to read or a congregation to attend, she held on to her testimony and grew it. One day, after Ammon had saved the king’s flocks, the king called Ammon to him, and after being taught the gospel he was so overcome by the spirit he lost consciousness for several days. It was believed by everyone but his wife that he was dead and must be buried. The queen called Ammon to her and told him she believed her husband was still alive.
Ammon went to see the king and then told the wife her husband would rise the next day. He asked her if she believed him. Despite the fact that she’d not been a member of the church, she did believe, gaining an instant testimony. Ammon praised her great faith. The spirit was so strong, the queen and Ammon also lost consciousness. This was Abish’s great moment in history. She knew what was happening. She knew the Holy Ghost was present and that miracles were about to happen. Having so much faith, she wanted others to witness the miracle, so they would also be converted, so she ran to spread the word.
Things didn’t go quite as she planned, however. The people who gathered began to shout horrible things about Ammon, calling him a Nephite monster. Abish’s heart was broken and she cried. She went to the queen and took her hand. As she hoped, the queen awakened. The queen immediately began to call on the Savior to have mercy on her people, who were wicked. Then she took her husband’s hand and he awakened, and began to teach the gospel to the people. Then the real miracles began. Some people stopped shouting and listened. Some were converted and those who weren’t left the palace. Ammon eventually rose and also began teaching the gospel. Those who had stayed to hear the preaching asked to be baptized.
Many, many people were converted that day because a servant girl had maintained her testimony under difficult circumstances and had had enough faith to gather a crowd for the miracles she knew were to come. Abish, although not considered one of the major heroes of the Book of Mormon, is an amazing example of what can happen when only one person has faith and spiritual courage.
God Has the Bigger Picture: A Mormon Message of Comfort in Troubled Times
(This is Part I of a reproduction of a fireside presentation to Mormon Youth on October 21, 2001.)
We lifted my eight-year old daughter, Talia and held her up over the retaining wall in the back yard where she glimpsed the world from a few feet higher than her usual vantage point, observing a creamsicle-colored full moon and the twinkling of many lights of a nearby development. In retelling her experience, she remarked, “Wow, Mom! I gasped! I didn’t know it could look like that. I just wanted to stay there for an hour—! I felt her spirit capture the joy of “things as they really are” from a loftier perspective.
Perspective gives us patience, purpose, and a place for our emotions—even transforming them. Let’s increase ours together–look up, step back a few feet. What might life events look like from God’s view?
Take a peek with me into the divine geometry of nature. All things, say Nephi and Alma, typify (that is, teach or denote) something about God. Now here is a stunning reality.
This image is called a fractal; it’s part of what is known as the Mandelbrot series—Mandelbrot is the name of the scientist who discovered it. It’s a design that has been generated on the computer through an equation. We won’t get into mathematical technicalities here, but for now, observe what happens as we magnify just the small rectangular portion marked on the image. Read more
Why Can’t Everyone Go into the Temple?
When I was in high school, some placement tests gave the school the idea that I should be in classes for gifted students in every subject. While I was quite advanced in some areas, such as English or history, I had very little background information in science. The class syllabus was based on the presumption that you loved science and knew a lot about it, so the basics were never taught. The class started right out with advanced concepts, and I quickly found myself floundering. Possibly because of that traumatic experience, I ended up hating science and spent as little time in science classes as possible.
Temples, for Mormons (the nickname for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), are like the advanced class. While the information learned isn’t really new, it’s taught at a higher level, so you begin to understand the information better.
In addition, members are asked to make covenants. Covenants are two-way promises with God. If we do our part, God will always do His. These covenants involve caring for our families and keeping God’s commandments, the same commandments any church member or person learning about the church learns in church meetings or by studying the church’s websites. Similar covenants were made at baptism, but now they are much more serious, with greater consequences for not keeping the covenant we made. God holds those with greater knowledge to a higher level of commitment and obedience and will judge accordingly when we stand before Him.
These are two reasons the Mormon temples aren’t open to the general public or even to members who haven’t reached a certain level of knowledge, testimony, and commitment to their religion. God is always fair, and He does not want us to be accountable for things we’re not yet ready to be accountable for.
Throughout a person’s church membership, he progresses gradually, as he’s ready to make higher commitments and is able to understand more complex teachings. Before a person is baptized, he’s required to know a little about the religion and be living at a certain beginner’s level of religious life. This is a starting place.
Adults who join the church or who are visiting often attend a special Sunday School just for newcomers. They can, in this case, attend the other class, but this beginner’s class, called Gospel Principles, helps them learn the basics and be prepared to understand what is taught in the regular adult Sunday School. It’s a preparatory program for the regular Sunday School, which is called Gospel Doctrine.
In the same way the lessons taught by the missionaries prior to and just after baptism prepare a person to become a member of the church, the Gospel Principles class prepares a student to understand the Gospel Doctrine class. In the same way, all the programs of the church prepare someone to go to the temple, to learn more and to make a higher level of commitment to God.
Adults who became members of the church at a young age generally go to the temple for the first time before they go on a two-year mission, before they’re married, or at any point in adulthood when their church leaders feel they’re ready. Those who join as adults must be a member in good standing for one year, which gives them sufficient time to learn what they need to know and gain experience living the teachings of God.
Just prior to attending the temple the first time, they take a preparation class that helps them prepare for this new experience, and reviews with them the levels of obedience they must obtain in order to attend. This is yet another step in their progression.
The Mormons like to refer to the scriptures in the Book of Mormon that say we learn “line upon line, precept upon precept.” This means we gradually progress through life and through God’s kingdom, always improving, always learning, always progressing. Standing still is not the Mormon way.
For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon aprecept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn bwisdom; for unto him that creceiveth I will give dmore; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have. (2 Nephi 28:30)
This line upon line pattern helps strengthen testimonies so we don’t lose our way before we’re strong, and to be certain we understand what we’re promising before we take on these promises. Just as taking a science class I wasn’t ready for caused me to lose my way in science, leaping into a level of religious life we’re not prepared for can cause us to lose faith in God.
The temple is a step in the eternal progression God asks of us. We do the preparatory steps to get there and then the temple prepares us for future steps, including a time when we will be so comfortable with living all the commandments and teachings God has given us that we are comfortable in God’s presence.
Truth is Absolute
Filed under: Recognizing Truth, Truth Restored
When Joseph Smith was a teenager, he longed to know which church he should join. He found himself confused because each church he looked into had contradictory doctrine. How could they all be right, as some claimed? Rightly so, he sensed that truth was absolute and unchanging.
If God is the source of truth, and God is not a God of confusion, then there can’t be conflicting truths. If baptism is required to enter the kingdom of God, then it’s always required. If children infants shouldn’t be baptized, then they must never be baptized. Saying that baptism both is and is not required can both be true leads to confusion about important issues, and God doesn’t create confusion.
There are those who expect churches to be fashionable and “tolerant.” They feel churches should take no real stand on any issue, even those that affect salvation. There are churches which have done that, have kept up with the times and not worried too much about what the Bible actually says. However, this is not what God has taught us about truth.
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8: 32
John demonstrates the importance of knowing what is true. In order for us to know what’s true, there must be truth to know. Certain things must be so, whether we like them to be or not. We, as mortal beings, do not get to choose truth. Only God can do this. Our job isn’t to intellectualize truth or judge it, but to know it, live it, share it, and love it. The truth can then make us free.
So, when people accuse your church of being out of touch with the “real” world or the modern world, say it’s out of style or old-fashioned, measure your doctrine against God’s. If you find it’s in tune, then take their criticism as praise. It takes moral courage to stay with truth, and not wander off to the demands of fashion and those who are intolerant of God’s truths.
The Book of Mormon records a vision of the prophet Nephi. In this vision, there was a tree. Lehi understood that the tree had a wonderful fruit, which could bring joy to anyone who partook of it. The tree represented God’s love. Lehi naturally wanted his family to join him at the tree and eat the fruit. His wife and two youngest sons did, but his two oldest were rebellious and refused to come. Lehi watched others set out on the road that led to the tree. One group got sidetracked along the way. The next group found the iron rod that ran alongside the road after a while and held onto it so they wouldn’t get lost, even though a heavy mist had arisen. They stayed on the path, got to the tree, ate the fruit…and then made an eternally fatal error.
This group started looking around to check out how the rest of the world was viewing their wonderful accomplishment. To their surprise, the world wasn’t largely cheering them on. Instead, the people who had not entered the road or who hadn’t stayed on it mocked them, told them they were foolish, and called them names. The people who had successfully navigated the path couldn’t seem to tune out the mocking. They wanted to be loved and accepted, and so, humiliated by the mocking, they rushed off the path to join those who were elegantly dressed and very popular, but who were without truth.
There were other groups, but only one group was successful. Those people chose to take the path. They persevered until they reached the iron rod, which represented God’s word, and then held tight, allowing the rod to guide them to the tree. When they partook of the fruit, they enjoyed the blessings that came from it without taking an opinion poll to see what others thought of them. They didn’t care what others thought. They knew what was right and good, and they were content to have that, regardless of the jeers and persecutions of those less wise.
Today, those who choose to stay on the path and partake of God’s truths are jeered at and mocked. It takes real courage to stay firm and tune out the mockers. However, truth is truth. While it might seem temporarily more provident to follow those who have abandoned God, in the eternal scheme of things, those who honor God will have the best outcomes.
Those who truly know and love God do not expect him to alter truth for their convenience. They understand that truth is unchanging, and that it’s worth the hardships.
Joy
Filed under: Developing a Relationship With God, Growing in Faith
What is the purpose of life? We’re here to gain a body and a family, to learn, to be tested, to develop faith, and ultimately to return to our Heavenly Father. However, the Book of Mormon also offers another interesting perspective on the purpose of our time here on earth:
Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. (2 Nephi 2:25)
This is a very interesting thought. We are that we might have joy. Notice the scripture doesn’t say we will have joy, only that we can have it. In a life that has trials and sorrows, how do we obtain that joy God wants us to have?
It’s important to recognize that joy, happiness, and pleasure are not always the same thing. Pleasure suggests something worldly and fleeting. We might find pleasure in a walk in the park, but then go home and start arguing. Some people find momentary pleasure in sin, but this can never bring true joy.
We are often happy when things are going well in our lives. We may be happy the day our child wins an award for best student, dinner turned out perfectly, and we got a raise at work. All of this, however, is momentary and depends on things going well.
While God certainly has no objection to our happiness, what He really wants for us is to find true joy. Joy is deep inside, and is present even in sorrow and trials. We can experience joy even when someone we love has died, we’re coping with unemployment, or a child is causing us heartache.
Joy is based on knowing God is our Father and loves us with all His heart. It comes from knowing who we are—children of God—and letting that knowledge fill our lives and guide our choices. It comes from trusting God even when we see no way out of our current sadness or trial. It is the result of knowing that the trials of life are temporary and that someday we’ll live again with God in a perfect world.
A person grieving over the death of a loved one may not be happy at that moment, but she can be joyful, knowing the person has returned to Heavenly Father and is now living a wonderful life. She can be joyful because she knows family and love don’t end at death, and so there will be a time when they can be together again. She can experience all this joy in a quiet way even as the tears fall. She knows why she is sad and that it will someday end. It’s a joy based on faith.
Parents are often devastated when a child who was properly raised makes terrible choices and turns his back on the values of the family. This is a time for genuine sorrow and fear, and yet a parent, although very sad and frightened, can have a quiet joy resonating in the background because she knows she isn’t coping with this alone. God is waiting to offer her comfort and hope, and furthermore, He hasn’t abandoned her child, who is also His child. While He can’t take away the child’s God-given agency, the right to choose for himself, God can be standing by to place small promptings into the child’s heart, based on the faith of the parents. When the child is ready to listen, God will be ready to step in and help the child return to his foundations.
Joy is all about faith. When we trust God and really believe He is kind, loving, present in our lives, and ready to help, we can have a gentle joy that brings us through our greatest trials. We will still cry, still sometimes be afraid, and still experience trials, but we’ll always know we can turn to God to strengthen us as we’re going through them. Joy is all about knowing we’re never facing anything alone. We’re always in the care of a loving Heavenly Father.
Be Still, and Know That I Am God
It is reported that Brigham Young (1801-1877), the second president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known as the Mormons, once said, "we should pray as if everything depended on the Lord, then work as if it all depended on us." (Dorothy M. Hellberg, “‘Well Worn, Minus Rough Edges’,” Ensign, Feb 1984, 63) Most of us go through life with this belief and try very hard. However, sometimes we are faced with insurmountable odds. We start to feel the hopelessness and despair that comes from not knowing any possible way out.
When there isn’t anything else we know of to do it is time to turn to the Lord. We read in Psalms 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God".
We hear the exact phrase again in more modern scripture. Early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were mercilessly persecuted for their belief. In December of 1833 they had been driven from their homes time and time again by mobs. The loss of homes, personal property, and crops weighed heavily on them and they were faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. The Lord comforted them by saying, "let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God." (Doctrine and Covenants 101:16)
It all boils down to faith. Faith that Heavenly Father is in charge and knows what is best for us. Faith that "with God all things are possible". (Matthew 19:26) Since faith is a principle of action, we sometimes need to trust in the Lord and see what he can do for us. Faith then becomes a principle of power.
In the Bible in the Old Testament there is another group of people who were faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. King Hezekiah was a very righteous king. He lived at the time of Isaiah, the prophet. The kings before him were not very righteous and caused the people to commit wickedness. King Hezekiah purged Judah of wickedness and "did that which was right in the sight of the Lord" and "trusted in the Lord God of Israel". (2 Kings 18:3-7). At that time Assyria was conquering all Israel but King Hezekiah would not submit to Assyrian rule. Those who got conquered were defeated "because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed his covenant". (2 Kings 18:12)
The king of Assyria mocked Hezekiah for trusting in the Lord and bragged about his own strength and the strength of his armies. He sent men to the walls of the city who tried to convince the people not to follow King Hezekiah saying they were being deceived by him and it was hopeless to think they could prevail. The people loved and believed Hezekiah and would not listen to the men of Assyria.
King Hezekiah, being the righteous king that he was, went to the temple and prayed before the Lord saying, "I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only." (2 Kings 19:19) His answer came through the prophet Isaiah who said, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou has prayed to me … I have heard…. He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it…. For I will defend this city, to save it" (2 Kings 19:20, 32, 34)
So what happened? Let’s read 2 Kings 19:35. "And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses."
There were 185,000 troops killed by the angel of the Lord that night and the king of the Assyrians returned to Assyria.
As King Hezekiah showed faith and trusted completely in the Lord, we too need to have the same faith and trust. We need to do all we can but when that isn’t enough we need to pray to our Heavenly Father. He loves us and wants to bless us. He will hear us in our hour of need. In the Bible in the New Testement Jesus performed a miracle by calming a stormy sea. "And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." (Mark 4:39) With sufficient faith the Lord can perform a miracle with our lives and we can experience a "great calm".
"Faith fuels hope. Our perspective changes; our vision becomes clearer. We begin to look for the best, not the worst, in life and in others. We gain a deeper sense of life’s purpose and meaning. Despair gives way to joy.
Faith such as this is a heavenly gift, but it can be sought and cultivated. As our Bible Dictionary suggests, often ‘faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith.’ Faith is then nurtured as we allow ourselves to believe. Like all other virtues, faith is strengthened as we practice it, as we live and act as if our faith were already deep. Faith is the product of righteous desire, belief, and obedience." (David S. Baxter, “Faith, Service, Constancy,” Ensign, Nov. 2006, 13)
How have you seen the hand of the Lord in your life when you’ve been presented with seemingly impossible situations?