Faith Crisis: articles and tips | FAIR

by Autumn Dickson

The Israelites are wandering in the wilderness before they’re led to the promised land. They’re having experiences with God and learning difficult lessons. They’re being provided for even if it’s not everything they had in mind. They have had experiences of faith as well as experiences where they betrayed the witnesses they had received. Let’s talk about one of the times they were rebellious and unfaithful.

In Numbers 13, Moses sends twelve spies (one from each tribe) into Canaan. Depending on where you read in the bible (see Deuteronomy 1), the timelines differ slightly. One suggests the people wanted to spy; one suggests the Lord recommended it. Either way, the church seems to emphasize the Lord’s approval of the mission.

The spies come back with the following report.

Numbers 13:27

27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

They then warned of the city’s defenses. Caleb encouraged the people to have faith, but ten of the other spies continued on with their report.

Numbers 13:31-33

31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.

32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.

33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

It’s important to understand that Canaan was the promised land. It is eventually (mostly) conquered by the Israelites and divided out amongst the tribes. The Lord had led them through this entire experience from slavery to the edge of the land of promise, only for them to believe they wouldn’t be able to take the land.

So what does this teach us?

Your promised land is available. I’m not simply talking about the mansion being built for you on the other side. I’m talking about all the most important aspects of the promised land. Peace, contentment, joy, healthy relationships, all of these things are available to you. These are all crucial parts of our salvation and eternity. Sure, eternity also includes all of our needs being met and perfect bodies, but some of the most important portions of the promised land are available to us right now.

So what kept the Israelites from inheriting the promised land sooner?

A lack of faith.

What keeps us from inheriting the portions of promised land that are available to us on this side of the veil?

A lack of faith.

That’s it. That’s the first step on this journey towards your promised land. The Israelites didn’t need military might or impeccable strategy. They needed faith. You don’t need all of the things you think you need. You just need to trust the Lord.

It’s enough for you to see the land flowing with milk and honey and say, “The Lord meant for me to have that.” Sometimes it’s hard to feel that way when you see what you’re up against; namely, all of your own flaws and mistakes and imperfections. The Israelites certainly didn’t feel capable. However, you’re not conquering the land for yourself; you’re showing up for the Lord to conquer it for you.

So how do we do better than the Israelites so it doesn’t take us forty years to figure out how to be in the promised land?

Well if our problem is a lack of faith, maybe we should look at increasing faith. Here is one recommendation from Bednar on how to do that.

The enabling power of the Atonement is accessed by faith in Jesus Christ. And that faith is strengthened as we remember and acknowledge the hand of the Lord in our lives.

Remembering and acknowledging the Lord → Faith → Enabling power of the atonement of Jesus Christ steps in and gets us where we need to go

Would the Israelites have felt differently if all the spies had come back and started with a list of the ways the Lord had provided for them from the time they were in slavery? If they had started off with the miraculous infant survival of Moses to the steps right outside the promised land, it would have been a long list. There were many times that the Israelites didn’t even lift a finger for their own freedom and survival; the Lord took it completely on Himself. And that’s just the list of the society as a whole. How many personal miracles did the Israelites experience from family to family?

Would it have changed how the Israelites approached this experience? I’m not sure, but I know it’s changed how I approach my own life.

I think that’s partially why my prayers have been so powerful in my life, specifically the gratitude. When I’m facing a situation of uncertainty or tragedy, I pray. There are so many wonderful ways to pray and draw closer to the Lord, but one of the most powerful ways I’ve found is to start with true gratitude (even when it’s mixed with sorrow or fear or anger). When I’m struggling, I don’t list nice things that happened throughout the day. I consciously think of similar situations in the past where the Lord has shown up for me.

By the end of the prayer, I often find myself in some version of the promised land, even if the obstacle wasn’t removed.

I testify that the Lord has saved you many times before this, and He will continue to save you in the future. He will continue to teach you the lessons He needs to teach you until you’re ready to step into that promised land He has offered each of us despite mortal circumstances. I testify that if we take the time to record these miracles and tender mercies, it makes our faith powerful.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Numbers 11–14; 20–24; 27 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

In the past, I have shied away from talking about the Official Declarations, not because I don’t believe what’s in them, but because I feel that there are an immense number of people who can speak on those subjects with more knowledge, wisdom, and personal experience than I can. That being said, I do my best to simply share what the Lord wants me to share, and if I get some of the details wrong, the principles that I teach are true and I figure the Lord forgives me and is proud of me for making the attempt.

This week, we read about polygamy and race and the priesthood. For many, these are not easy topics. This post is not to try and convince anyone that the Church is true. Rather, I hope that this post can comfort those who still believe that this church holds the fullness of the gospel but simultaneously feel pain when reading these declarations.

As I was studying for this post, I came across a talk that we’ll discuss more about later, but I wanted to start with this quote from President Eyring’s April 2009 General Conference address titled “Adversity.” President Eyring is speaking of trials and difficulty when he says, “The anger comes at least in part from a feeling that what is happening is unfair…When they vanish, a feeling of injustice can come.”

I think some people can relate to these feelings of unfairness and injustice when speaking about the declarations. If you’ve received a testimony of the gospel and you know the Lord has led you here, sometimes this makes it more painful, not less. Instead of being able to say, “God would never allow something so unfair,” you find yourself with the feeling of, “God you’re telling me to come here, but this was so unfair. Don’t you love me? How could you do this if you really love me?”

Though you may be feeling these questions in a very specific context, these questions are not new or unique. You are not the only one to ask them. As part of our mortal experience, each of us reaches some experience where we ask those same questions. Is God truly fair? Does He really love us? Why does He allow such suffering? I have answered those questions many times in the past, but today, I don’t want to answer those questions. Rather, I want to share something that the Spirit whispered to me recently.

This is not an Article of Faith or excerpt from the Official Declarations, but I hope it soothes some of what people may feel when they struggle with the declarations. I want to share something from The Book of Mormon; Alma is speaking to the people of Gideon about the Savior.

Alma 7:11-12

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

We read these verses at church this past week, and I had a thought occur to me. Perhaps I’m rather late in noticing this nuance, but that’s okay. It struck me rather hard.

Christ suffered for our sins. He paid for them. He died and was resurrected. This enabled us to return to live with our Heavenly Father. It saved us.

But Christ also suffered for our infirmities. I always knew that this particular suffering happened with the atonement. He suffered for our pains and sicknesses just like He suffered for our sins, but that’s two different ideas; isn’t it?

Did Christ have to suffer for our infirmities as part of the atonement? Was that absolutely necessary in order to help us return to live with God? Or did He just do it because He loves us and wants to be there for us? Did He really need to do that? Or did He simply want to? Could He have skipped that whole bit altogether and just brought us home at the end of the mortal experience? After looking into these questions a bit more, I found the talk from President Eyring that I referenced earlier.

President Eyring’s ideas are based on this phrase in the same chapter of Alma.

Alma 7:13

Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh…

In response to the passage in Alma 7, President Eyring teaches, “He could have known how to succor us simply by revelation, but He chose to learn by His own personal experience.”

He chose to suffer with you. He could have said, “Hey I know it feels unfair and unjust. I know it hurts, but we have to do this. Suffering, even unfairness, is so important to the plan, so important for your well-being and growth and glory. You need this. I’m sorry it’s unfair, but you have to go through this.” And He does say those things (not in so many words, but He says it).

And despite the fact that He already paid for your sins and despite all that it cost Him, He also says this, “I know exactly how you feel. Exactly how you feel. I have felt it too. I am here.”

There are reasons for unfairness. There are ways to turn these painful moments into powerhouse experiences that glorify you. There are answers.

But beyond that, there is an ultimate unfairness that was entered into voluntarily because of a deep love. Christ could have received revelation about how to comfort you. He had already paid the ultimate price, but that wasn’t enough for Him. He wanted to take the journey with you. He wanted to feel it personally and walk with you, and when necessary, carry you. He wanted to. Because He loves you.

He will make it up to you. He will one day answer all of your questions, but until then, rejoice that you are so beloved.

I testify that Christ loves us. He loves us enough to pay the ultimate price for us to come down here, grow, and return home despite our mistakes. But beyond that, He loves us enough to go through what we go through in order to succor us through the entire experience. He is the very definition of above and beyond and it is because of how much He loves you, how much joy He draws from being your greatest Friend.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – The Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 and 2 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

To give a bit of content for what we’re reading about this week, the Saints have been driven from their homes in Missouri, and Joseph Smith received a revelation that talked about gathering a group of Saints to go and win back their homes. After marching towards Jackson County, the camp was actually disbanded.

Doctrine and Covenants 105:13 Therefore it is expedient in me that mine elders should wait for a little season, for the redemption of Zion.

The Lord called off what the Saints believed to be the original purpose of the Zion’s camp: redeeming the Saints’ lands in Missouri. Here is a bit of what the Lord said about His true purpose.

Doctrine and Covenants 105:19 …and it is expedient in me that they should be brought thus far for a trial of their faith.

There are two ways that the Saints could have their faith built during this experience. The first way is how to stick around when the going gets tough.

Being a part of Zion’s Camp was not an easy thing. It was hot and muggy. Food and water could be scarce. There was disease, and members of Zion’s camp even died of cholera on this expedition that did not provide the results that many Saints looked for.

One of the characteristics the Lord is trying to instill and test us in is the idea that we will follow Him. Truly follow Him, not just rewards.

In the New Testament, many followers left when they realized that He wasn’t going to keep miraculously giving out bread. Interestingly enough, the bread was a distraction from the most important, life-changing aspects of following Christ. They couldn’t see the miracle of who Christ was because they were too distracted by their want of bread. Never mind that Christ had performed an incredible miracle and dispersed an immense amount of food. The people in the New Testament were too distracted by the fact that their bread stopped to remember that He had done something powerful in their lives. They were too distraught by the lack of bread to stick around and wonder if there was something more powerful at work.

The Lord doesn’t want obedient dogs. He didn’t keep giving out bread just to keep people coming back. He wants the loyalty and love of His people through anything. He doesn’t want to give us a treat every time we show up. He wants us to truly follow Him through thick and thin. He wants us to trust Him when the treat doesn’t immediately appear. He wants us to choose to love Him and follow Him through difficulty just as He followed us through difficulty. The only way that He can instill and test this aspect of faith is to allow us to face incredible obstacles and choose Him.

Trials can try the faith. When you’re trying to fulfill the Lord’s commands and there are obstacles, it can lead you to wonder whether you’re truly fulfilling the Lord’s commands. Understanding the purpose of mortal life can help us understand the irreplaceable effect of trials. The Lord needed to try us or we would never be able to grow into what we needed to become. Trials are not just a punishment; trials are also to help the righteous grow. We cannot afford to see them as proof that the Lord is not with us otherwise it completely prevents us from accessing a level of growth that is completely necessary.

But this experience wasn’t just about trials. There was a second way that this experience could make or break the faith of the Saints.

This faith-shaking experience was not just about a difficult trip; it was about the fact that the trip seemed unsuccessful. This could easily call Joseph’s prophetic call into question, and it did. This experience caused many to wonder, and yet, it did the exact opposite for others. In the Come Follow Me manual we read, “Faithful members of Zion’s Camp, many of whom later became leaders of the Church, testified that the experience deepened their faith in God’s power, in Joseph Smith’s divine call, and in Zion—not just Zion the place but Zion the people of God.”

It deepened their faith in God’s power and Joseph Smith’s divine calling as prophet. From the world’s perspective, this is ridiculous. Why would you believe more in the God that is being preached to you when He couldn’t deliver on His promises? Why would you believe more in Joseph’s calling at the end of this? The idea that the Lord was trying to create a Zion-like people may feel like a thinly-veiled excuse for bailing after the governor rescinded his promise to send a militia to aid the Saints. Why on earth should we believe and continue to follow?

Exploring this concept is important because there are plenty of aspects in the church that don’t make sense from a worldly perspective. There are revelations that seem like sad excuses. For example, the Lord rescinded His command for polygamy when the United States threatened to take away everything that was beloved by the church and Saints. If the Lord is so powerful and if He is truly leading His Saints along through a prophet, why did He bail on Zion’s Camp? Why did He continue to enforce polygamy until the going got too tough?

When it comes to the gospel, it is IMPOSSIBLE to make things make sense from a worldly perspective. Faith precedes understanding. It is impossible to convince someone of Joseph’s prophetic call. If you try to explain that the Lord was trying to build a Zion-people rather than being concerned about the land, they will laugh in your face.

When it comes to the gospel, your testimony cannot form from the idea that it has to make sense before you choose to believe. Sooner or later, you are going to come across something that doesn’t come together in your mind. You are going to come across principles, policies, or history that feel like they create cognitive dissonance in your mind.

It would seem like the Lord would try to avoid these faith-shaking experiences altogether. He’s trying to build our faith. Why would He allow it to be shaken after this manner?

Interestingly enough, the only way to build a truly strong faith is to let it be shaken. Faith is not knowing everything. Faith is choosing to trust when we don’t know.

The Lord wants to take our testimony from, “I know the Lord leads His church today because He made this miracle happen,” to, “I know the Lord leads His church today, and I will follow Him through hell if He calls me to do so.” When we can unlock that second level of faith, we become powerful disciples. We find a new level of salvation when we find that trust and relinquish our need to control and understand everything.

How do we make that jump in faith? How did the members of the Zion’s Camp come out of this experience with stronger faith rather than weaker faith?

I’m sure there are many answers, but I can only truly share my own.

I talk to God, and He answers. For me, that is the single largest portion of my testimony.

I have had experiences where I have looked back in awe at how the Lord made everything come together for me. I was amazed when I saw how He manipulated details from the years before to help everything stitch together and help me come out on top. Those are faith-building experiences. They helped me grow in my faith.

But they no longer define my faith. I am immensely grateful for those experiences. I cannot begin to describe how grateful I am to look back and see how the Lord saved me because He has indeed saved me. I am grateful, but they do not define my faith.

My faith has shifted. I talk to Him on a regular basis, and He answers, and I will not deny it. When things don’t go as planned, when I feel confused, when something new comes along that makes me wonder if I’m on the right track, I talk to Him and He answers. Regardless of whether He chooses to give me a new perspective or help me understand something, I have talked with Him enough that I trust Him. He is my Friend. He has shown me His power enough, and I will follow Him.

I have had enough experiences with Him to hold on, and I am happier since I have let go and chosen to trust Him through anything. I testify that when you choose to keep at it and continue to follow this path that has been presented to you, you will find the same results. In fact, you will be grateful that He allowed you the experience of questioning and finding Him again and again.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 102-105 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

I don’t have a testimony of the history of the Church. That is why I can be a historian and also a believing Latter-day Saint. I will expand on this idea, but first let me address some related questions.

Do all well-informed historians become anti-Mormons?

The critics would have you believe that they are disinterested pursuers of the truth. There they were, minding their own business, going about their conscientious study of Church history and–shock and dismay!–they came across this, whatever this is, that blew them away. As hurtful as it is for them, they can no longer believe in the Church and, out of love for you, they now want to help you see the light of day.

Let’s get one thing clear: There is nothing in Church history that leads inevitably to the conclusion that the Church is false. There is nothing that requires the conclusion that Joseph Smith was a fraud. How can I say this with such confidence? For the simple reason that the historians who know most about our Church history have been and are faithful, committed members of the Church. Or, to restate the situation more precisely, there are faithful Latter-day Saint historians who know as much about this subject as any anti-Mormon or as anyone who writes on the subject from an outside perspective. With few exceptions, they know much, much more. They have not been blown away. They have not gnashed their teeth and abandoned their faith. To repeat, they have found nothing that forces the extreme conclusion our enemies like to promote.

CONTINUED HERE

The post Classic FAIR – I Don’t Have a Testimony of the History of the Church – Davis Bitton, 2004 appeared first on FAIR.

It’s an old and frequent spiritual question, and it shows up in many forms. It is the question Jesus asks the disciples who hear his troubling and offending discourse on being someone whose flesh must be eaten and whose blood drunk by those who would have eternal life. The discourse confuses many, who turn back and follow him no more, and then, to those who remain Jesus asks the question, “Will ye also go away?” To the man who seeks out Jesus to heal his deeply troubled son, the question is implied, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” To Nephi, approached by an angel after he is carried away to the top of a high mountain, the question is more direct: “Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken?” And to the brother of Jared, who asks to see the premortal Jesus after hearing his voice and seeing his hand, the question is perhaps most clearly stated, “Believest thou the words which I shall speak?”

Believest thou? I am increasingly impressed by the implications of this simple question, and by how often it is at the heart of my mortal dilemmas. Do I believe God’s commandments and teachings, or do I find other explanations of reality more credible for getting what I want or keeping me safe? Do I trust him to tell me the truth, even when it includes improbable and invisible things? Do I trust him to have the love, the will, and the power to save me despite the ways I am not worthy? Do I trust him to keep his promises? Do I believe?

CONTINUED HERE

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In this episode, Ryan welcomes Jeffrey Thayne for an insightful discussion on worldviews and their profound influence on discipleship and beliefs. They explore the role of psychology in both conversion and deconversion, the powerful impact of media on our perspectives and psychological intuitions, and the fascinating dynamics of fast vs. slow thinking. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation on the intersection of cognitive psychology and the gospel.

Dr. Jeffrey Thayne graduated from BYU with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology. He completed his doctorate in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences at Utah State University. He spends time mentoring students at Brigham Young University-Idaho and writing about the intersection of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and culture.

Ryan Sorensen is a native of Cache Valley, Utah. He earned his Bachelor’s degree at BYU-Idaho and is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity at Abilene Christian University, with plans to become a chaplain after graduation. Ryan previously hosted a podcast called The Whom Shall We Go? Podcast. In his spare time, he enjoys being involved in interfaith work, reading about Latter-day Saint theology and history, training for triathlons, and spending time with friends and family.

The post The Cause for Christ Episode 3: Faith, Psychology, and the Power of Worldviews with Jeffrey Thayne appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

We have arrived at the war chapters. Within these chapters are plenty of principles that we can still spiritually engage with despite the fact that the events are taking place on a battlefield. During one such battle, Captain Moroni bears his testimony to Zerahemnah (one of the antagonizing military leaders) regarding the protection of the Lord.

He testifies that they have the true faith and that the Lord strengthened and protected them because of their belief and worship. After bearing testimony, he commands Zerahemnah to make an oath that he and his men will never come against the Nephites again. Otherwise they will commence the battle and wipe out the remainder of the men.

Zerahemnah delivers his weapon to Captain Moroni but refuses the oath. Zerahemnah gives this as his reasoning:

Alma 44:9 Behold, we are not of your faith; we do not believe that it is God that has delivered us into your hands; but we believe that it is your cunning that has preserved you from our swords. Behold, it is your breastplates and your shields that have preserved you.

Captain Moroni believes that they won because of their faith. Zerahemnah believes it was because they were good at war. Note that both sentences contain the word “belief.” People can find evidence of whatever they choose to look for. Captain Moroni found evidence of the Lord’s protection, and Zerahemnah did not.

What we choose to see

I taught a man on my mission who had lost his faith. He had grown up a devout Catholic. He attended mass regularly, and after marrying his wife who was a member, he also started attending church meetings with us. He met with us regularly, read The Book of Mormon, and participated in other faith-promoting activities.

And yet, if you were to ask him, he would have maintained that he didn’t feel any faith in God. He had watched a movie that had asked a question, “What if it’s not true?” or something along those lines. That question had stuck with him, and he had not been able to feel faith since.

My companion and I worked over and over and over to teach him to look for those good feelings from God. We wanted so badly for him to find that faith he had lost. There was one evening where the Spirit was so powerful. We had randomly chosen to sing a hymn or primary song (can’t remember which one). He, his wife, my companion, and I found ourselves in tears. It was “thick” in the room.

But still, our friend could not bring himself to attribute it beyond good hormones that were conjured up with beautiful music. He still could not bring himself to see God in it.

I’ve learned since then that faith is a choice, both when it comes to obedience and when it comes to seeing God in our lives.

My friend participated in faith-promoting activities but wasn’t choosing faith; he wanted faith to descend upon him. Where we felt the presence of God, he felt good feelings that didn’t necessarily come from Him. People can look at the same event and draw completely different conclusions.

When I pray about finding my lost keys, I can choose to believe that God helped me find them or that it was a coincidence. When I feel good emotions associated with church, I can believe that the Lord is making His presence known or that I simply have positive pathways built in my brain when it comes to church. When we look at mistakes leaders in the past and present, we can choose to see fallible humans who are still generally led by God or we can see evidence that they can’t really be prophets if they had flaws. When Alma faced off with Korihor, he testified that all of creation was a witness of God. Obviously, there are millions of people throughout history who have come to a completely different conclusion.

The truth remains that you can find “evidence” to support your beliefs no matter which beliefs you ascribe to. I feel that almost most everyone goes through moments in their lives when they ask, “What if it’s not true?” Though these moments can be a little scary, both for ourselves and those we love, these moments can be defining. They can be the threshold in our lives where we really decide where we are going to invest our belief, and that’s incredibly powerful.

We may be tempted to desperately avoid questions such as, “What if it’s not true?” However, rather than avoiding them, we can examine them closely and try to include the Lord we’ve been taught about. We can use it as a testing ground rather than unraveling because we’re afraid of it.

Why should I choose to invest in faith?

So let’s say we’ve reached that threshold. We’ve asked ourselves, “What if we were wrong about everything? What if I was just seeing what I wanted to see?” If you can find “evidence” of whatever you believe in, why should you choose faith?

Unfortunately, this is an extremely personal question that gets handled by the Lord according to each individual. I can only share my experiences.

For a long time, I’m not even sure I had a good reason for choosing to invest in faith because I’m not sure I was consciously choosing it. I was afraid to consider the alternative of leaving the church, and I had found enough goodness and evidence that I felt okay moving forward. I invested in faith because I had been taught to invest in faith. I believed that my good feelings were coming from God because I had been taught to believe. I’m so grateful for that gift.

I’m also grateful that I reached the point where I’ve made my own, conscious choice to continue investing in faith. It was scary facing some of those questions at first, but walking through those low points created an opportunity for me to invest on my faith on purpose, and that has been far more rewarding.

I still receive all those good feelings and quiet moments and associate them with God, but those are not the reasons I choose to keep investing. Those are rewards I receive from investing, but they are not the reasons I continue investing.

I think my most definitive reason for investing right now is how I’ve felt guided. Over the past couple years, I have been watching the Lord guide my prayers before something happened and then watching them be fulfilled before my eyes.

I’ve told the story before, but as we were moving to Virginia, I opened my journal and prayed for absolutely everything I wanted. I left nothing out, no matter how silly or artificial it seemed. At a time when my husband was under immense stress trying to find something we could afford that wasn’t a box in an alley, I was feeling pretty good about everything and asking for whatever I wanted. Sure enough, seven months later, we were led to a temporary home that had every single thing I had asked for. Not to mention, it was given to us at a price that was unheard of, and we did absolutely no work to get it. It quite literally fell into our laps.

I would have been fine if the Lord had given us a tiny apartment without all the extras and I told Him that too, but it was one of those moments where one of the most important lessons He taught me was, “I heard you.” Maybe in and of itself, this can be considered coincidence, but this has been repeated over and over and over.

I pray. I am guided as I pray. Things come together, and I recognize the Lord’s hand because He told me to pray for it. He would likely still bless my family, but because I prayed for it, I was given the tremendous gift of recognizing that He was speaking to me.

Maybe this is how Captain Moroni felt. Maybe Zerahemnah was impressed with their shields, breastplates, and cunning, but maybe Captain Moroni had felt something nagging at him ahead of time to prepare his men in precisely this manner. Then, when he saw everything come together, he quietly thanked the Lord for preparing him ahead of time. Or, maybe Captain Moroni had enough experiences of that manner that he knew the Lord had been guiding them, even if he hadn’t felt any specifics in that particular moment.

Right now, prayer and its results are the reasons I keep investing in faith. I have had other experiences where my prayers have been much shorter and involved far less of my silly, little wants, and I have seen how those prayers were also guided because He led me towards something that I wasn’t expecting. I have had even more experiences where I did pray for everything I wanted, but I felt this little nagging feeling that I wasn’t going to get it. And sure enough, I was led elsewhere.

The Lord could lead me for my entire life without me knowing it. But because He has commanded me to pray, He has been able to guide my feelings ahead of time so that I can recognize Him later. And isn’t that just a beautiful reason to pray? Prayer isn’t about getting what we want. It’s about helping us find our Heavenly Father, and it has surely done that for me.

I testify of Heavenly Father who hears and answers prayers. I testify that He can guide our prayers and feelings if we practice that skill. I testify that He can make Himself known to you should you choose to invest in faith and ask for help in recognizing Him. The experiment surely won’t hurt you. You have nothing to lose by asking Him to help you see Him if He’s really there. The rewards I have personally experienced have gone far beyond what I could have imagined, and I know it all comes from a loving Heavenly Father who loved me because He made me.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 43–52 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

This week, we find the well-known sermon taught by Alma about planting a seed of faith and nourishing the tree. Alma is approached by the poorer class of people who have been cast out of the synagogues because of their coarse clothing. Alma then begins to preach unto them, teaching them about worship and belief. Here is the beginning of the analogy he teaches to the people.

Alma 32:28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

When you nurture a seed of belief, it grows within you, whatever it is that you choose to nurture. I believe that many of us read this sermon and apply it to our own faith, but I’m not sure how many of us have recognized the implications for belief in general. A sentiment I often hear is that it’s arrogant to believe you have the real truth when so many others believe the same thing about their own faith.

One of the principles I pull from this verse is that what you nurture grows. My husband often talks about how most people don’t know whether what they believe is true. They believe, but they don’t know. He talks about how any time you take time to nourish belief, that’s where you’ll continue to build and find evidence of your beliefs. You find what you look for. If you invest and nurture belief in pretty much any positive belief system, you’re going to find “evidence” for what you believe.

This has a million implications.

All truth will find a tree

One of the implications is the fact that all truth produces good fruit, not just truth that is directly taught by those within the restored gospel.

We believe we have found the truth in Jesus Christ. However, people who belong to the Islamic faith also believe they have found the truth. They have nurtured their belief and found good-tasting fruit in those beliefs.

When we look at it from the perspective of the seed analogy, it makes complete sense. Whatever bit of truth you’ve found, you’re going to find good-tasting fruit. There was a time on my mission where we knocked on the door of a Muslim family. They invited us in, fed us, and they even took The Book of Mormon. They weren’t interested in the gospel, but they were so kind. They asked if we had any rules about the book, whether it should be kept off the ground or anything like that because they wanted to respect something that was sacred to us.

If they treated most of the things in their lives the way they treated us, of course they were going to find good-tasting fruit. If you’re respectful to others, you find fulfilling relationships and that feels good. That’s just how things work. And as these people practiced these good principles, they were going to find the same blessings. In my mind, they were practicing Christlike principles even if they didn’t yet know Christ, and He still rewarded them and blessed them for that.

Because they were living their lives in a good manner, they were going to find good fruit. They were going to find “evidence” that their beliefs were producing something, and so they were going to continue to invest in those beliefs.

This may feel extremely confusing for some. How are we supposed to find the truth, if any bit of truth that gets nurtured grows into good-tasting fruit? If everyone is tasting good fruit within their own religions, how are we supposed to differentiate who has the truth? This is a legitimate concern. It would make things a bit more confusing if you’re trying to look for the truth. However, look at the Lord’s alternative.

What if He only helped the tree grow when it was a perfect seed? What if He only sent good fruit when we had every bit of truth rather than just a portion of it?

This would be disastrous for a million reasons. I grew up in the church, and my seed (my understanding of the truth) still isn’t perfect. What if He had never let any of the tree grow because my seed wasn’t perfect? What if I had never tasted anything good because my seed wasn’t perfect? The consequences would be disastrous because nobody would ever take the time to nourish anything. If I had never had good experiences with the gospel, I wouldn’t have nurtured anything. I would only have a dormant seed.

In another less-extreme, alternative plan from the Lord…what if He only let your tree grow within the restored gospel?

Surely, this would help people recognize the truth when they found it more easily. No one would get confused about other religions if their religions weren’t producing fruit. However, would anyone seek religion at all? Can you imagine if no one got good fruit unless they had been taught the restored gospel? Once again, the results would be disastrous. The world would be a terrible place filled with people who had never tasted good fruit and probably wouldn’t be willing to try it even if it was offered to them because life would suck.

No, the Lord chose to send good fruit to anyone who was nurturing any bit of truth. It was the only legitimate way to bring as much good into the world as possible. It gave His restored church the best chance to flourish, and it would give people the best chance to find it in comparison to never receiving good fruit at all. Sure, it sometimes makes things confusing as people find good fruit and “evidence” in all sorts of different churches, but the alternative option for the Lord was worse.

And that’s actually another reason I love our beliefs so much. The Lord picked the best option for this fallen world (namely sending good fruit to anyone who nurtured any goodness). This had some tricky consequences because of our fallen world; namely, it made it a little more confusing to find the truth when everyone found evidence within their own good beliefs. However, we believe in the Plan of Salvation. We believe in a perfect God who allows all of His children to truly hear and accept the gospel. Everyone will get a real chance. We don’t have to be scared of the tricky consequences because we believe in a perfectly fair God who sent His Son to perform the atonement and make sure we all really had a chance to go home.

Planting weeds

There is another implication to the idea that whatever we nurture, grows. This isn’t just true for good truth and good fruit. Nourishing the negative will bring in bad fruit. If you nurture weeds, they grow. Eventually, you don’t even have to nurture them anymore, they stick around all on their own. And weeds are tricky, tricky little things.

What have you been nurturing lately? What resources have you been bringing into your life and do you feel more faith or discontent when you’re done utilizing those resources?

Whatever you feed, grows.

There was a time in my life where I was consuming far more social media than spending time in the actual scriptures. This doesn’t have to necessarily be a bad thing; social media doesn’t have to be evil. However, I found that I was listening to lots of voices. Some of those voices even came in the form of members of the church, but they were sowing discontent.

I took a step back from some of the accounts I was following and made a goal to spend more time simply reading The Book of Mormon with no outside commentary. The faith crisis I had been feeding went away rather quickly, and I found that despite my questions and concerns, I felt different. I felt more compassion towards the imperfections. I felt more faith towards a more perfect future. I fed my hope.

What you feed, grows.

Some may argue with me that I was unwise to turn a blind eye towards issues, and that’s fine. I don’t feel blind; I just feel more faith. There are some who believe we have a duty to churn up the issues and make our voices known about it. That’s fine too. You can choose to feed that.

But my personal experience is this. I wasn’t happy listening to the discontent. It wasn’t right for me. There are times when I listen and explore and turn to the Lord with concerns (and that’s important and can lead us to more truth), but there are also times when that discontent grows out of balance. I’m happier seeking out faith over bitterness and discontent. I’m happier when I feed my faith sufficiently. I feel close to God, and my testimony that He’s there seems to grow stronger. I know we find evidence of what we’re nurturing, but I like what I’ve built and worked towards. I like what I’ve nurtured, and I like the fruit I’ve found. I believe it’s a happy way to live.

So picture your future. What do you want your life to look like? What fruit do you want to be experiencing? Do you want to feel closer to God? Are the resources you’re using nurturing that belief in Him?

By their fruits, ye shall know them.

I believe in my Heavenly Father. I believe there’s a reason we’re counseled to seek out voices of faith, and I have found more faith and more happiness as I’ve listened to that counsel. I have found that I want to nurture what I’ve been finding even more. I believe in a loving Lord who provides fruit to help us understand what we want to nurture, and I’m grateful He’s chosen to give good fruit for any goodness we choose to follow. It isn’t a perfect system, but it’s the best plan He could have chosen for our fallen world, and I believe that He sent His Son to make up for the gaps in that imperfect system. I’m grateful for Them and the peace I’ve received investing in Them.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 32–35 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Zachary Wright

Introduction

For today’s introduction, I’d like to share a story from my own faith journey with you.  In High School, I found myself in a dispute with a classmate who consistently challenged my faith.  He didn’t believe in God, and he was very argumentative and combative regarding why he was right.  I found myself thrown into a loop…it had been the first time I was forced to really consider my faith.  I had deeply spiritual experiences, but those didn’t seem to answer his questions.  I felt like I was on the defense, like my head was on fire.  Everything I had ever believed in seemed to flip upside-down.  I began poring over everything I had learned, trying desperately to find out what I could trust, and clinging to whatever truth I could find.  In psychology, this is referred to as “Cognitive Dissonance,” and it’s something that critical thinkers need to be aware of in order to be successful.

Throughout this series, we’ve talked a lot about dealing with information, and processing it in a way that can help us to arrive at correct conclusions.  However, lots of the data (especially about people-centered topics such as politics, history, and religion) we have comes from differing worldviews, and is loaded with differing presuppositions about life.  This, naturally, will lead to some kind of conflict, because not all ideas are compatible with each other.  This is further complicated by the fact that sometimes people can be closed-minded, or otherwise are unwilling/unable to accept the points you bring across.  Critical thinkers need to learn how to deal with cognitive dissonance, because if you haven’t experienced cognitive dissonance yet, you will experience it eventually.  It’s important to learn how to effectively navigate your ideas being challenged in a way that doesn’t make you feel miserable all the time, but also doesn’t prevent you from continuously learning.  To do this, we’ll first explore what cognitive dissonance is.  We’ll then look at it from a more faith-based perspective, and then, we’ll discuss how to better resolve cognitive dissonance.  With our goals in mind, let’s get into it.

Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance has been described as “the most influential and extensively studied theory in social psychology”(1)- and for good reason.  It was termed over 60 years ago (which in terms of modern psychology, is VERY old) by a psychologist named Leon Festinger.  He described it as “an antecedent condition which leads to activity oriented toward dissonance reduction just as hunger leads to activity oriented toward hunger reduction” (2).  This is important to keep in mind, because unlike the common colloquial usage, cognitive dissonance is not “holding two contradictory ideas at once” (3).  Instead, as Festinger indicated, it’s the mental condition that prompts us to want to reconcile conflicts in our minds.

A renowned fable may help illustrate this idea.  There was a fox walking through the forest, and he stumbled across some beautiful, delicious-looking grapes.  They were high up on a vine though, and so he tried jumping up and down to get them…to no avail.  He tried and tried again, eventually stating to himself “They’re probably just sour grapes anyway, I shouldn’t waste my time on this” or something to that effect.  He then gave up, having convinced himself to leave.  This actually explains this psychological phenomenon rather well.  The fox in this story was put into distress-cognitive dissonance-when he found that he was unable to get the grapes.  To resolve said dissonance, he convinced himself that the grapes were sour to “justify” himself giving up.

There are also some very interesting, real-world examples of this occurring as well.  In a follow-up experiment, Leon Festinger once again took it upon himself to explore the concept of cognitive dissonance.  He took 71 psychology students (one at a time), and had them take 12 spools, and place them into a tray using only one hand.  Then, using the same hand, the students were to take all of the spools out of the tray, and repeat the process for about 30 minutes.  Then, they had to do a similar exercise where they had to turn wooden pegs a quarter turn for another 30 minutes.  Basically, it’s designed to be boring.  At the end of the experiment, an experimenter would pull them aside, and tell the participants that they needed help convincing others how exciting the experiment was.  To one group of students, the experimenters offered $20, to another group, they offered $1, and to another group of students, they offered no compensation.  Take a moment to guess which group reported the highest satisfaction with the experiment.  If you guessed the group that was offered $20 gave the best report of the boring experiment, I don’t blame you.  Interestingly enough, that’s not what happened.  Instead, the group that was offered $1 rated the experiment most positively.

So, what happened?  Well, in the analysis, they explained the following.

1. If a person is induced to do or say something which is contrary to his private opinion, there will be a tendency for him to change his opinion so as to bring it into correspondence with what he has done or said.

2. The larger the pressure used to elicit the overt behavior (beyond the minimum needed to elicit it) the weaker will be the above mentioned tendency. (4)

Put another way, the conclusion arrived at was that the participants changed how they viewed the experiment and that the participants who were most heavily rewarded were less likely to change their behavior.  This makes sense…the students who got rewarded $20 (an amount that was far larger back in the 60s) didn’t need to change their opinion.  They were already compensated for their time, and the dissonance has been resolved.  However, those who only received one dollar didn’t get that satisfaction, so they had to resolve it a different way.  This is the crux of what cognitive dissonance is.

However, this still leaves us with questions like “What do you feel when you experience cognitive dissonance?” or “What specifically can cause cognitive dissonance?” Some writers indicate that a person suffering from cognitive dissonance experiences “anxiety, embarrassment, regret, sadness, shame, and regret” (5).  Some causes for cognitive dissonance include being forced to do something you believe is wrong, making decisions based on options that don’t seem appealing, or giving in to addictions (6).  Again, all of this goes back to the idea that something prompts us to feel “bad” about something that is happening that goes against what we believe, or challenges the presuppositions that we have.

Dissonance in Faith Contexts

Religious discussion, like many other topics, can prompt cognitive dissonance.  The example I used in the introduction is one of many stories wherein cognitive dissonance played a role in my behaviors and actions.  One author doing a qualitative study on the feelings behind these “faith crises” in Christianity noted the following:

In the words of Durà-Vilà and Dein (2009), a Christian is susceptible to a period referred to as the, “Dark Night of the Soul,” which is described as a “loneliness and desolation in one’s life associated with a crisis of faith or profound spiritual concerns” (p. 544). This crisis of faith can cause great suffering and emotional distress and can even resemble symptoms of a depressive episode (e.g., feelings of guilt, loss of interest, anxiety). Efforts to participate in spiritual activities such as prayer, attending church, or fellowship with other believers can feel overwhelmingly difficult. Additionally, these spiritual practices can lack the meaning they once held for the believer. These crises of faith can be short-term, or last years, and can potentially become as severe as an individual abandoning his or her faith altogether. (7)

Those feelings sound familiar, don’t they?  Basically, the argument being made is that those who are experiencing these feelings are having what many have called a “crisis of faith,” which prompts them to make decisions to resolve the negative feelings.  These “Faith Crises” are often described by both members and former members as being among the most difficult parts of their lives.  Remember, when someone begins to question the nature of their faith, they’re questioning the very nature of reality as we understand it.  The negative feelings that come along with such questions are very real, and should not be ignored.

As we’ve learned though, those feelings are only part of the story, seeing as how cognitive dissonance is manifested not by the feelings alone, but also how people set out to “resolve” those feelings.  Many members of the church who experience a “faith crisis” may have questions about whether or not Joseph Smith was a prophet, and so they might peruse the Joseph Smith Papers to help gain insight into who Joseph Smith truly was.  Others may have questions about whether or not God exists, and so they turn to the scriptures (as well as other sources), and ponder whether or not God exists.  Others may even choose to leave the church, believing that the reasons to believe in the church’s truth claims are unsatisfactory.  As you can see, when the dust settled in terms of my faith journey, I did not come to the conclusion that the church was false.  Even so, the final option of abandoning organized religion seems to be one that many people (especially in my generation) seem to be embracing. (8)

It’s worth noting from a cultural perspective though that some people have issues calling this a “faith crisis.” Critics of the church might be more prone to blame the church and not their own faith, and members of the church sometimes get self-conscious at the prospect of losing faith.  Instead, members of the church want to structure this as more of a “faith remodeling” focused on questions as opposed to some kind of crisis. (9)  I can get behind this rhetoric, as I believe that asking questions about our own faith and restructuring it seems like a good practice to me.  However, having been acquainted with my own feelings, and the feelings of others, of people navigating these issues, I also have no issue talking about it in terms of the strong emotions involved.  Regardless of how you view it, the relationship between cognitive dissonance and the feelings associated with what many people call a “faith crisis” is worth analyzing.

Resolving the Dissonance

With such powerful emotions at play, it almost goes without saying that this topic should be taken seriously.  There are a few things that people can do to resolve the dissonance.  For example, psychologists suggest that cognitive dissonance is resolved in a few different ways, including:

I think that breaking down the issue in this way is useful.  Objectively, we need to do some kind of reorganization of our thoughts, whether by adding to, changing, or ultimately changing the authority of those thoughts.  For example, I’ve made it clear that I don’t like raw tomatoes.  If I’m forced to eat raw tomatoes, I can resolve the ensuing cognitive dissonance by either:

Now, addressing cognitive dissonance from that perspective is certainly not a bad approach.  However, that still leaves us with the more practical question of “How can I help my friend or loved one”?  You can tell them to change how they’re thinking or feeling, but that alone probably won’t do much good.  As will soon be shown, a careful application of critical thinking in combination with spiritual direction can allow us to connect to those who are struggling in ways that are meaningful and effective.  Specifically, Latter-day Saints should understand and care about this topic so they can empathize with those experiencing a faith crisis, help them identify what the root of their faith crisis is, and eventually help them recognize that the feelings they have are a natural part of a healthy, progressing, and ultimately fulfilling faith.

While a technical psychological definition is still up for debate, empathy is usually characterized by “a complex capability enabling individuals to understand and feel the emotional states of others, resulting in compassionate behavior.” (11)  While it does not necessarily mean that you embody the anxiety, anger, or sadness that may arise during these crises, it does mean that you are emotionally present and that you are able to perceive the emotions that others are feeling accurately. (12)  Consider the following commentary stated during the Annual Seminary and Institute Training and Institute Broadcast:

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. Genuine empathy brings people together; it sparks connections and helps people feel they are not alone. It is a critical part of creating a sense of belonging. This attribute is a key to responding effectively to a student with a question and to effectively leading a group discussion where many students listen carefully with unspoken questions. (13)

An important aspect of empathy includes asking questions, and genuinely listening to people.  We’ve discussed the importance of asking questions in terms of critical thinking, but getting to the root of what a person actually feels requires careful questions, and patient effort.  Not only are you able to get to the root of what a person is feeling, but you in turn get to figure out exactly what a person is truly concerned about.  Put another way, by figuring out what they are feeling, you figure out what they truly care about.  In the last episode, I alluded to the idea that many people leave the church not because of historical issues or doctrinal issues themselves.  Rather, they leave because of the feelings that are brought about by these issues.  If you can address the feelings, you can figure out more how to help resolve the dissonance.

And that brings us to another very important facet to this conversation:  Cognitive dissonance is not necessarily a bad thing.  I’ve changed how I view cognitive dissonance (see what I did there?) in such a way that I now look at it as evidence of learning, and an opportunity to grow and develop my ideas.  This is true in just about every aspect of life, but it’s especially important to remember when we talk about faith.  I find experiences that we refer to as “faith crises” often work in a similar way.  We find something that prompts questions and challenges us, and it prompts us to learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ, or the history of the restored church, and it can provide us an opportunity to cling onto the peace that is found with the Savior.  When we embody this pursuit of truth inherent within LDS theology, this aspect of critical thinking comes very naturally, and we should make full use of that advantage.  Although it’s difficult to navigate the complexities of cognitive dissonance, connecting with trusted sources, open communication, continual learning, and consistent connection with our Heavenly Father resolves cognitive dissonance far better than anything else I’ve found.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cognitive dissonance is an important and recurring aspect of our journey to become critical thinkers.  It has a long history, and pertains to many different contexts of our lives, including our identities as children of God.  Even so, there are a few options at our disposal that can help us, and others, navigate the complexities of cognitive dissonance.  Whether we are actively regulating our thoughts and opinions in a manner that is conducive to critical thinking, or we’re helping others by being empathetic, or even just becoming more comfortable with the complexities of life, cognitive dissonance does not need to be a stumbling block in our lives.  If we’re able to navigate those feelings well, we’re all that much closer to becoming the kinds of thinkers, and believers that God wants us to be.

References:

Further Study:

“On Dealing with Uncertainty” by Bruce C. Hafen, link here

“Faith is Not Blind” by Bruce C. and Marie K. Hafen, link here

“Questions of Faith, Not a Crisis of Faith” by Molly Ogden Welch, link here

Zachary Wright was born in American Fork, UT.  He served his mission speaking Spanish in North Carolina and the Dominican Republic.  He currently attends BYU studying psychology, but loves writing, and studying LDS theology and history.  His biggest desire is to help other people bring them closer to each other, and ultimately bring people closer to God.

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