In Proverbs 3:5 we receive critical advice from Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ and the Messiah of the New Testament and the Son of God:
This scripture has always had great impact on me, so much so that I wrote an entire fictional book based on the premise. But it has, yet once again, been on my mind so much as of late.
In 2 Nephi 4:34 this advice is repeated again:
O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.
So much in this life can be confusing. But when we pray to our Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we are praying to Him and He will answer us. Sometimes right away, sometimes after a great deal of pondering and studying on our part, sometimes years and years later.
Brigham Young said,
Let every man and every woman call upon the name of the Lord, and that, too, from a pure heart, while they are at work as well as in their closet; while they are in public as well as while they are in private, asking the Father in the name of Jesus, to bless them, and to preserve and guide in, and to teach them, the way of life and salvation and to enable them so to live that they will obtain this eternal salvation that we are after (DBY, 43). (“Chapter 6: The Communication between God and Man,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 41)
I pray and I pray often. I pray in the morning and at night, but also, throughout the day a prayer remains in my heart if I do not actually stop and offer a formal prayer. As I have prayed so diligently for things of great import to me, I have offered to my Father in Heaven a humble and sincere heart. My desires are righteous, for the love I hold in my heart for my family and friends is tremendous. Sometimes righteous desires, although righteous they may be, are not what is best for us, or our family and friends. Sometimes what we want just isn’t going to happen because it flies in the face of what the Lord knows will be best in the long run. But there is something that came so clearly to me this morning it was as if the proverbial lightbulb burst into light above my head.
I need to put my full faith and trust in the Lord. Full faith, what is that exactly? It means I understand that no matter what, trusting in the Lord is always better than trying to worry something to death or twist it to work the way I want it to work. It means having faith and a true understanding that the Lord loves me and know, He knows, what is best for me. And then when the result comes, even if I don’t understand it, it means I still trust that the Lord know what He is doing. He is God after all, I know He knows better than I.
Even if I do not understand the answers I receive, but recognize them as truth, it is better to follow Brigham Young’s advice on this than to turn my back on it because of my lack of understanding.
The Saints who live their religion will be exalted, for they never will deny any revelation which the Lord has given or may give, though, when there is a doctrine coming to them which they cannot comprehend fully, they may be found saying, “The Lord sendeth this unto me, and I pray that he will save and preserve me from denying anything which proceedeth from him, and give me patience to wait until I can understand it for myself.” (DBY, 224)
Such persons will never deny, but will allow those subjects which they do not understand, to remain until the visions of their minds become open. This is the course which I have invariably pursued, and if anything came that I could not understand, I would pray until I could comprehend it. (DBY, 224)
Do not reject anything because it is new or strange, and do not sneer nor jeer at what comes from the Lord, for if we do, we endanger our salvation. (DBY, 224) (“Chapter 11: Choosing to Walk in Obedience,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 71)
I have found, in putting full faith and trust in the Lord, that which I don’t understand soon becomes clear if I am willing to take it on faith and wait for further instruction.
This, at times, is one of the toughest things to do. But if we truly believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, sitting at the right arm of Heavenly Father, a member of the Godhead, and that His gospel is the path to eternal life, then we must trust in Him. We must believe in Him. Not just something that exists way out there whose existence is filmy in our minds. We must know Jesus Christ is God and He does the will of the Father, our Heavenly Father. He is real. He lives. And full faith and trust in the Lord will bring eternal happiness in all things, and in all places and at all times.
