“Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.”—President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Doubt by itself is completely healthy. It can be a tool for asking the tough questions about the gospel and strengthening our own personal testimonies.
How we deal with doubt is where it can get tricky.
Do we allow our doubt to grow into something daunting; a huge obstacle that eventually becomes so terrifying that we feel inclined to give up and ignore the problem altogether, weakening our own testimony in the process?
-OR-
Do we ask those questions that weigh us down? Do we find our answers from sincere prayer and open discussion?
This conversation is quite personal for me, as some of my own close friends and family members have decided that their doubt is just too big to continue to follow Christ.
I think something that is important to keep in mind is that EVERYONE has doubts.
And not just about the gospel either!
Life is full of uncertainty so it makes perfect sense that questions will arise!
When your testimony feels fragile, the easiest way to assure yourself is to remember the feelings of the spirit you have felt in the past.
God would never reveal something to be true in the past that isn’t true in the present too.
Someone once said that if you believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, then you know everything else is true too. Joseph restored the Gospel and translated the Book of Mormon, so the doctrine within that book and modern revelation MUST be true.
Jesus Christ knows us perfectly and can lift burdens of doubt FOR us.
The 2018 EFY song, Evidence, says this perfectly:
“I was searching for some peace.
I was desperate for relief.
Oh how I needed help
Some answers for myself
I was crying out inside
For a sign I’d recognize…
Then the weight of the world was lifted from my shoulders
An incredible love was washing over me
I felt the grace that He extends
With mercy I can’t comprehend
He spoke peace to my soul and He blessed me to know
That’s all the evidence I need”
Life can get really difficult.
The peace that He speaks to us is far greater than any doubt or worry.
We need our Savior to guide us and lift us to accomplish His work.
So stop worrying about what you DON’T know and start focusing on what you DO know.
Christ is our loving redeemer who knows exactly how we feel and the questions that weigh on us. Trust HIM.
