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by Autumn Dickson

Have you ever felt quiet confidence in the Lord? What did that look like? What were you doing in your life that you felt that way? Do you still feel it?

Isaiah 30 warns Israel that they will be scattered for rejecting the prophets and trusting in Egypt. The children of Israel want the prophets to “prophecy not” and to “speak unto us smooth things.” They want the seers to “see not,” and they want prophets to “prophesy deceits.”

They want lies from the prophets so they can hold on to their wickedness a bit longer without any annoyances or interruptions. They prefer their temporary wickedness to hard truths that will ultimately benefit them. They’d rather roll over in the mud where they will rot rather than getting up and getting cleaned off.

And the Lord is distraught over it.

Isaiah 30:15 For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

Ye would not. You refused the returning, rest, quietness, and confidence.

Have you ever refused the happy ending He wanted to give? Have you ever refused to put stock in the happy ending that He promised to give? Perhaps you were too afraid to put weight on it, but ironically, it just robbed you of more positive feelings.

Did you ever think about choosing faith and confidence before He sends the answer or fixes the problem?

It is a powerful thing to choose faith beforehand. It is a powerful thing to voluntarily shove your fear away, dig deep, and stand still, waiting for the Lord’s arm to be revealed. It is a powerful thing to say, “The Lord has not personally assured me yet, but I’m assuring me because I believe in the Lord.”

It was powerful when David laid everything on the line to go and fight Goliath despite the fact that he didn’t pray about it beforehand. It was powerful when the widow of Zarephath made a little cake for Elijah before she received any kind of confirmation that she would get unending supplies of food for the duration of the famine. It was powerful when Nephi walked into Jerusalem to get the plates without knowing what the plan was. It was powerful to watch Hezekiah hold still inside Jerusalem before he knew an angel would show up and destroy the Assyrian army.

Choosing faith without knowing the plan is powerful. Some of the biggest miracles in the scriptures came when people showed faith before the Lord showed up directly.

And many of these miracles are loud and impressive and we love to read about them. But there are also quiet miracles that come when we’ve chosen to put our trust in God. It is the miracle of return, rest, quietness, and confidence. These feelings really are miracles in a day and age when peace shall be taken from the earth. It is miraculous when we feel calm and content when all evidence points to the contrary. That is true power. It is powerful when Satan can’t touch our peace because it is firmly planted in the Lord where it is safe. It is powerful when opposition and uncertainty can’t break it because the trust has already been chosen.

One of my oft-repeated, favorite stories is when my daughter showed her faith in my husband.

I am rather convinced that Conner can fix anything. Apparently, my children have adopted the same attitude. I was standing in our kitchen one day, very pregnant, and I turned to Conner and said, “I think my water may have just broken.” From the other room, Evelyn yelled, “It’s okay, mom! Dad can fix it!”

Evelyn obviously didn’t know what had just broken, but it didn’t matter to her. She believed her dad could fix it.

Imagine the power that could come if we had that faith in the Lord. If anything bad happens, our immediate, knee-jerk reaction is, “It’s okay. Father can fix that.” When we reach the point where our knee-jerk reaction is that Heavenly Father can fix anything, we find what the Lord is trying to offer: returning, rest, quietness, and confidence.

He has offered those gifts. He has fixed things and proved Himself. He continually tries to convince us to trust these promises, but only we can make the decision whether to choose the faith ahead of time.

So what are you facing right now? What is eating at you? What keeps you up at night? What holds up a huge portion of your mental energy? Write it down at the top of a piece of paper and underline it.

Then, underneath it, write down every adjacent promise to that problem. Write down everything He has covenanted to deliver to you. Write down all of His characteristics that are relevant. Have you had any similar problems before? What happened? How did He help take care of them?

Sometimes finding returning, rest, quietness, and confidence doesn’t come from clinging desperately until your muscles ache and the problem blows over and you feel like you can breathe again. Returning, rest, quietness, and confidence can come in the middle of the storm when you choose to believe in the end of the storm. Sure, you’ll still feel the blowing but your heart and mind are at rest.

I testify that the Savior can fix it. I testify that you don’t have to hold on for dear life because He is holding on to you, and He is stronger than any storm. You just have to choose to trust in that strength and you will find the quiet. I testify that it is possible to choose faith when evidence points to the contrary.

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 – Isaiah 13–14; 22; 24–30; 35 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah. She was the 2023 recipient of the John Taylor Defender of the Faith award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Isaiah 13–14; 22; 24–30; 35 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

We’re going to talk about Isaiah 22 for this particular post. Isaiah is prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem. He wrote it during the time of Hezekiah; during Hezekiah’s reign, the people are miraculously saved by an angel coming forth and destroying the Assyrian army. They were saved at that critical moment, and yet, Isaiah’s writings often simultaneously point to the future. Isaiah’s prophecies did not come true during Hezekiah’s time period, but they did come true later on.

So destruction of Jerusalem:

The leaders of the city were already taken or fled, leaving the people to fend for themselves. The people fortified the walls, patched up breaches, and stored water; these were all preparations done for an oncoming siege.

During and after their preparations, there was one critical element that contributed (if not caused) their downfall.

Isaiah 22:11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.

They have not looked unto their Maker.

Isaiah loves to share prophecies that stretch across time and hold true for different time periods. This prophecy held true for Jerusalem in 586 BC under Zedekiah when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and scattered the people, but it also holds true for our day. It can hold true for society, and it can hold true for us as individuals. It is the individual application that I want to focus on.

As I read about the Jews trying to save themselves against their enemies, I thought about an experience I had the night before last. We recently moved into a new place, and as life goes, we’re getting a bit tested right now. Satan is really fighting us which leads me to believe we’re headed in the right direction, but that doesn’t always make it easier. Sometimes I just wonder if we made a horrible mistake.

I woke up about 3:00 am with my thoughts swirling around in my head. We’re facing some unforeseen financial burdens and some potential health problems. I kept trying to go back to sleep because I knew I had a long day ahead of me, but those thoughts just kept rolling and rolling and rolling around. No matter how many times I tried to resolve these thoughts in my head, they would appear all over again, keeping me awake.

I thought of some costs we could cut. I thought of the very low odds that our health problems would turn into something significant. I came up with strategy after strategy of how we could make things come together and work. In other words, I fortified the walls, patched up breaches, and stored water.

I also made the same fatal mistake as the Jews; I didn’t turn to the Lord.

Now the Jews didn’t turn to the Lord because they had turned away from Him altogether. I believe in the Lord. I know better. I know that everything is going to be okay. I know that the Lord has this. I know that even if we reach the worst case scenario, the Lord can still walk us through it. I know that we have already won.

And though I trust the Lord and see His hand in my life frequently, I seem to have forgotten that I could turn to Him.

5:00 am rolls around and I finally sit up in my bed to write a prayer. I wrote down everything I was concerned about; this included my deeper worries about health and my surface level fears about being exhausted the next day. Usually when I dump everything, I try to include moments of faith where I walk through my concerns with Him. I was too exhausted this time so I essentially told the Lord, “Here you go. I can’t deal with this anymore.

And I fell asleep! Unfortunately, when I woke up, it started as a rough day. The thoughts came back, but then the Lord started whispering to me (probably because I opened the conversation the night before). I told one of my new friends about how we moved to the house we ended up in, and the spirit reminded me of all the feelings I had about moving to this house. My sister caught me at a particularly vulnerable time, and she shared some of her stories about how the Lord took care of her family in similar situations. She also reminded me of times when the Lord did it for my parents.

I opened up my journal again and started writing some of those tender mercies. Three pages later, I recognized many other tender mercies that I had not originally recognized. Just little things that lined up perfectly and set me up to see what I had not seen before. Nothing was miraculously fixed or changed, but the Lord reminded me that He’s with me and that’s all I really needed.

And all because I turned to Him. How long had I carried some of those stressors on my own for no reason?

So pause for a minute. What are some of the “enemies” surrounding you right now? Have you remembered to talk to the Lord about it? Perhaps there are some obvious enemies that you’ve taken to the Lord, but are there some more subtle enemies that you could have a conversation about? Perhaps you’ve spoken about some of the enemies but missed other critical ones.

For example, sometimes I will remember to pray and ask for help in getting stuff done, but I will forget to ask for help in bringing peace into my home.

Sometimes I remember to pray for help with finances, but I forget to pray for faith during any and all circumstances.

Sometimes I remember to pray for help with temporal things and completely forget to pray for the spiritual gifts and blessings that would make all the difference in the world.

Sometimes we pray and work and we love the Lord and obey Him, but we forget to turn to Him. Even when we love the Lord and have a testimony, sometimes we just forget to bring the issues to Him. Sometimes we worry that we brought our issues on ourselves and need to handle it ourselves because of that.

The truth of the matter is that the Lord wants to love and support us. He wants us to fortify our walls, breach the patches, and save water. He doesn’t want us to make ourselves useless and whiny, but He also wants us to lean on Him. I testify of that. I testify that we weren’t supposed to do this alone. I testify that we don’t have to fix things ourselves even when we’re the problem.

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 – Isaiah 13–14; 22; 24–30; 35 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

We were able to get Brian Stutzman and Dan Peterson together backstage at the FAIR Conference to discuss the martydom and debunk some conspiracy theories that have been floating around.

Find out more about the Nauvoo Martyrdom Stories Museum at https://www.martyrdomstories.com/

More information about the “Becoming Brigham” series is at https://becomingbrigham.com/

The post What Really Happened at Carthage Jail | Brian Stutzman and Dan Peterson appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

There is a passage in Isaiah about the daughters of Zion. Not gonna lie…it can be a hard one to read. It calls out the women in Zion for their pride in the form of outward ornamentation, and it prophesies of their downfall.

And though it’s a difficult topic, I want to talk about this passage and its insights into modesty.

Isaiah 3:16-18

16 Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:

17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts.

18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,

There are a couple of things in there that we’re going to talk about, but let’s start with the beginning. They are haughty, walking with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet.

In other words, these girls are working the room. Their stretched forth necks make them taller, more noticeable. Their wanton eyes were flirtatious and inviting. Their “mincing” means that they were taking these tiny steps that were fashionable. In fact, some even had chains around their ankles that would limit their gait so they would have to take tinier steps. Their tinkling feet announced they were coming and invited everyone to pay attention to their status and wealth.

So let’s talk about immodesty. Traditionally (at least since the 1900’s onward), modesty has an association of covering yourself up with clothes, and these verses don’t necessarily say anything about whether these women were wearing revealing clothing. It mainly talks about their ornamentation and purposes. The word modesty has been reduced to talking about how much skin you’re showing; it used to mean so much more.

Modesty is an attitude. It can be reflected in one’s dress, but one could be wearing a plethora of different styles and find themselves modest or immodest depending on their heart.

If an immodest heart were to speak aloud, it would say, “Look at me. Pay attention to my looks, status, wealth. You don’t really have to even consider anything else about me. Just look at me. I want your attention.”

A modest heart would say, “How can I do good?” Completely uninhibited by the opinions of others or the need for someone to notice them.

Outwardly, you can wear a great many things. You can make yourself look nice and have fun expressing yourself, and this goes for both men and women. Modesty is an attitude, not clothing.

There have been plenty of times in my life that I’ve walked around with an immodest attitude. Especially growing up, I remember trying to draw attention to myself even though my clothes were considered perfectly modest. I craved attention. It made me feel better, but it never lasted. Focusing yourself on drawing attention is a vastly empty endeavor; it doesn’t feel good for very long. It also affected how I felt about myself. I reduced the entirety of myself to how much attention I could attract rather than focusing on what I could truly give to the world. When you’re only feeling rewarded for being noticed for how you look, you sometimes lose the best parts of yourself. This attitude wasn’t constant in my life, but it was present enough to cause problems.

And while I think that clothing can affect your attitude, I don’t think it’s an end-all. I wore perfectly “modest” clothes, and yet, I was plenty immodest in my heart.

There are a great many curses that follow after this attitude, but one of the phrases in these verses that really caught my attention in these verses was the idea that the Lord would take away the BRAVERY of their ornamentation. We see that plenty. It is hard to feel beautiful, even with ornamentation, when we’re competing with an illusion on the internet. It is hard to be brave and defend yourself when you’re merely arming yourself with beauty. Even when you do well, you still get attacked.

And so we change. Instead of walking into a room and trying to impress everyone so that we can make friends, we forget about ourselves and really try to think about others. When we’re having a conversation, sometimes we talk in a certain way or say certain things because we have this great desire to be loved. Sometimes it’s not just about being admired; we are truly seeking love. Ironically, if you really want to be loved, your most effective strategy is a focus on making the other person feel special. I have found deeper relationships, more acceptance, and more fulfillment with this strategy than my previously desperate attempts to be liked.

We don’t know exactly what the last days will look like, but if we get to the end and find ourselves without the ornamentation, we won’t feel bereft and have to go through the process of completely redefining ourselves. We will still have a basis for loving ourselves.

One last thought. Reading these verses can cause some inward reflection about whether we’re personally seeking attention. This is a good reflection and reminder. It can also cause us to reflect on others we know who are seeking attention.

Refrain from making ultimate judgments or removing yourself from them. I would tell you to stop making judgments completely, but I don’t think that’s necessarily wise either. Humans are given judgment to protect ourselves and help us make better decisions. We just can’t take that judgment beyond its proper bounds and write a person off.

In this chapter, Isaiah was warning against pride. It would be rather ironic to dress the opposite of the daughters of Zion and find yourself with pride over the idea that you are not like them.

Instead, when you notice signs that someone may be seeking attention, recognize they are probably seeking love but don’t know how to do it in a way that’s healthy. Make a friend and try to help them see themselves as so much more than ornamentation. Consistently draw attention to qualities that matter more than how they look. Love them enough that eventually they don’t feel a need to seek love in ways that won’t fill them.

I testify that an attitude of modesty is a blessing. Focusing on others can inoculate us against emptiness and despair. It can shield us when the world pronounces unfair judgment. There are much happier ways to live, and I’m grateful the Lord seeks to teach us of His ways.

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 – Isaiah 1–12 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah. She was the 2023 recipient of the John Taylor Defender of the Faith award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Isaiah 1-12 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

The Lord, Himself, encourages us to study the words of Isaiah. Therein, we will find messages for our day and more specifically, for ourselves. Isaiah is full of hope for the righteous and warnings for the sinner. Both types of messages are filled with love for His children.

Here is one of the warnings for His children who have gone astray. This is the Lord’s voice we’re listening to.

Isaiah 1:6, 11, 13-14

6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

The children of Israel are wounded from sin, and their wounds aren’t healing because they aren’t repenting. The word “ointment” in this verse has references to the temple. Whatever apostate practices were occurring in the temple were ineffective in healing them. From the wording in the verse, it seems as though the ointment was applied. However, it did not mollify.

11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.

The Lord is still receiving sacrifices, and He is full of them. He doesn’t love these kinds of things, and it’s not blessing the people either.

13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

An oblation is a solemn offering. Incense was offered up twice a day in the temple to represent the prayers of the people reaching up to God. New moons, sabbaths, and assemblies were religious festivals that were celebrated.

It has reached the point where these things no longer please God. They simply make it worse.

I usually don’t share this many verses, but I wanted to point out a major theme throughout Isaiah. It is the idea of empty religious worship. It doesn’t please the Lord, and it doesn’t help you. It is vain. It is empty. It is worthless.

I want to draw your attention to one phrase: I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.

Perhaps there are layers of meaning to this phrase, but there is one layer that stuck out to me. Christ doesn’t enjoy blood sacrifices. He doesn’t enjoy watching it. He doesn’t feast on it. It’s not doing anything for Him. When you make sacrifices, it doesn’t bless the Lord.

The only way that we can “bless” the Lord back is to give Him of ourselves. A more accurate phrasing is this: the only way we can please the Lord is to give ourselves to Him.

Think of it in this way. You live in a perfect home that’s always clean. It never gets dirty. Your child comes and sacrifices their time to vacuum the carpet. Even though you don’t need your house cleaned, you’re still teaching your child to vacuum because you want your child to grow to be good. So you watch your child vacuum like they’re supposed to. Unfortunately, then your child goes to the homes of other people and trashes them disrespectfully.

Would you be pleased with your child? Would you feel so happy over the fact that your never-dirty carpet got vacuumed?

No, you’d be mad at your kid.

The Lord doesn’t need our sacrifices. He doesn’t actually care much about the sacrifice itself. He doesn’t need us to do it. He’s got all of that covered. The only reason He gives us tasks at all is so that we change. So when we vacuum the carpet but don’t learn anything, He is not receiving any joy. He just wants a child who loves Him, loves others, and acts like a child of God.

The Israelites paraded their supposed righteousness around, celebrating festivals and giving sacrifices. But in the end, the Lord still didn’t have His children back. Watching them pretend to worship Him was a slap in the face because they would turn around and hurt the world around them. The Israelites would give the impression that the God of Israel delights in sacrifice, hypocrisy, and unloving societies. They shamed themselves, and misrepresented Him.

It is not enough to sacrifice. It is not enough to go through action of serving without an attitude of worship.

I have seen this in my own life as a mother. There have been times when I have loved being a mother, and there have been times when I have found myself in utter despair over my life choices. How much I was sacrificing was irrelevant to my happiness. What truly makes the difference between the times I’m miserable and the times I’m happy is when I choose to actually lose myself. I don’t know how that mechanism works, but it does.

When I’m caught up in myself and making sure I have enough, I’m miserable and exhausted. When I finally just let go and stop thinking about myself, I find this deep sense of fulfillment that changes everything.

So yes. Give the sacrifices. Obey His will. Celebrate the festivals, but let it change you. Otherwise, it is all for naught.

I testify that the Lord delights in us doing what’s right. He just wants us to be happy and choose goodness and see eternity for what it offers. All of the structure and commandments and offerings are simply meant to point us to Christ. They will not serve you if you can’t find Christ in them and change accordingly. I testify that repentance is such a gift. I testify that the Lord has set us up for success and then paid for our success.

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 – Isaiah 1–12 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

I really like Ecclesiastes. It’s like the Eeyore of books of wisdom in the bible. Where Proverbs encourages man to follow after wisdom and do well; Ecclesiastes starts its lecture on wisdom by pointing out futility and vanity of life. Where Proverbs expresses the idea that it’s worth following wisdom; Ecclesiastes likes to show us how useless it is to follow anything else. Proverbs liked to show how good patterns of living often bring good results. Ecclesiastes likes to point out that this is not always the case; sometimes you live well but find bad ends. While Proverbs holds a lot of truth, Ecclesiastes likes to question the oversimplification found therein.

And though Ecclesiastes often takes a more pragmatic (and sometimes, bitter) route to get there, it teaches the same great truth: purpose in life is found in following after God no matter what happens. After going through the rounds of discussing the nothingness of man (even when does follow after wisdom), it comes to this great conclusion.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

As members of the church, we are taught to do good. We are taught to be leaders but then get released and follow after someone else’s leadership. We are taught to keep spiritual records that may never be enjoyed by posterity after us (or, in the very least, never be read past the first one or two generations). We are taught to try and make the world a better place, even though we know the end of the world is not known for being righteous.

We are taught to show up day after day, year after year, contributing and giving and striving, without any guarantee of visible progress.

The only guarantee is God’s.

Conner and I recently had a conversation about this. We were discussing what it looks like to be truly successful. At the end of our lives, what is going to really matter to us? At what point, do we look at our lives and feel that we’ve “made it?”

This conversation was a result of my husband working really hard on projects only for them to completely fall apart and amount to nothing. I’ve watched him build incredible things and spend countless hours developing machines that could be a blessing to people, only to hit a dead end and watch those hours fade away into a resounding halt. This has happened more than once despite his incredible inventions. Even great products need more than just good engineering and material.

A lot of these projects were starting to eat away at him. Despite his great success in the most important parts of life and despite his success in being able to provide for our family, I could see the feelings of futility. Why even bother anymore? He constantly jokes of being jaded. He often encourages entrepreneurs to turn back and try a different path; he does this as a joke but also with some truthfulness. You can work forever on something only for it to completely fall apart because of random bad luck. We often love to espouse that working hard can bring success, and I do believe that in a lot of ways. However, it’s never guaranteed.

So after watching these feelings of futility spring up in Conner, I wanted to try and get him to see where he had done well. I wanted to try and shift his perspective to a goal that he could be successful in regardless of anyone else in the world making decisions. I wanted him to see the work he had put in and celebrate how much he had learned and grown instead of only viewing failure.

In the midst of this conversation, I learned that success in life meant two things: an actual ability to make something happen and joy. Let’s look at a couple of different measures of success that Conner and I talked about.

Having a product take off and do well: Even with the best tools and materials, there is no guarantee that we can force this kind of success to happen. Even if this kind of success happens, it doesn’t automatically turn on joy.

Being able to provide for the family: There is no guarantee of this. Everything could explode tomorrow. No matter how we save or prepare or build, we cannot guarantee the ability to provide for our families. Not to mention, it doesn’t automatically turn on joy.

Having a happy, healthy, whole family: There is no guarantee of a happy family. You can’t force others to do what’s right or find happiness. Heavenly Father was a perfect parent, and yet, a good portion of His children decided to follow Satan instead. You can’t force this outcome. However, despite the fact that you can’t force this measure of success, we are getting closer to the overall principle of Ecclesiastes. We may not be able to guarantee a happy family, but having a happy family is much closer to ensuring joy. I suppose there are exceptions, but I know of no other lot in life that brings more five star reviews. A happy family really does bring joy.

Talking through each of these success measurements led us to the same conclusion as Ecclesiastes. Nothing is guaranteed in life. We can work hard to build something good, and we may find it, but there are no promises in that regard. This led us to finally discuss our true measure of success.

We simply try to follow God, love Him, and change.

Interestingly enough, part of the Plan of Salvation was that we didn’t even have to be perfect at it. We just had to try. We had to be diligent in our days at trying to build something worthwhile, but at the end of the day, the true measure of success is whether we let that diligence change us into something worthwhile. We are our end product. Our character is the final project that we turn in.

The great conclusion is to follow God; this is the whole duty of man.

It’s the only way we can have a goal that is 100% within our ability to reach. Our ability to follow and love God rests on us alone regardless of circumstances. We can reach that goal with opposition, but no absolute roadblocks that stop our progress forever. That goal is completely in our hands.

This goal of following God is also the only way we can guarantee a happy ending, even if not in this mortal life. He has promised joy, and He can deliver. Learning to find happiness in Him is not a fruitless endeavor.

I testify that Ecclesiastes knows what it’s talking about. The philosophy found therein is sound and true. Life passes away. The things we build will one day crumble. The work we put in can get undone so quickly in the next generation. The bellies we fill become empty again. The fields we sow will need to be sown again. It can be argued that it all comes to naught. Even immense fame and legacy doesn’t benefit the person who died. It doesn’t even necessarily dramatically affect tons of people from here on out.

I testify that following God is worth it no matter what circumstances you find yourself in. I testify that joy is found therein even when everything else is falling apart miserably. I testify that the gospel of Jesus Christ takes all of your earthly success and failures and turns it into something eternal. When it comes together or when it falls apart, it has the ability to change you if you turn to Christ and therein, you find true success.

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 – Proverbs 1–4; 15–16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1–3; 11–12 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah. She was the 2023 recipient of the John Taylor Defender of the Faith award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Proverbs 1–4; 15–16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1–3; 11–12 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

Proverbs is full of little bits of wisdom that push us on to paths that can make life easier. Mortal life was never meant to be externally easy, but taking heed of some of these proverbs can help you to escape more difficulty than you would otherwise meet. It likewise puts your heart in a state where you recognize the reality of both your mortality and the eternities ahead.

One of those bits of wisdom is found here.

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

When you respond with a soft answer, it can turn away the wrath that approached you.

There is wisdom here, but I want to discuss what it truly means to have a soft answer. I think sometimes people get mixed up in what it means to be Christlike. So before I delve into the definition of a soft answer, I want to give a disclaimer. There is truth in the promises offered by this verse, but it is not absolute. Sometimes we give soft answers and are still scorned and treated poorly. One needs only look at Christ to realize that the wisdom here does not always hold true. Sometimes, even when we’re perfect in our attitude and response, others will still give back hatred.

That doesn’t mean we failed.

I give this disclaimer because the soft answer that I want to talk about really only functions within a healthy relationship. Sometimes the righteous answer is to walk away from a relationship especially when it’s abusive, but only God can give you the answer as to whether that is your situation. So when we discuss these principles, it’s important to weigh them against your own situation and act accordingly. These are words of wisdom, not absolutes.

So what is a soft answer?

I want to look at a soft answer in the same light as a soft heart.

The Lord asks us to have a soft heart. This means that He wants us to be teachable, humble, willing to hear Him and learn about His choices. He wants us to be vulnerable with Him and lean on Him and trust Him and reach out to Him. He wants us to be willing to change. A hard heart is closed off, bitter, prideful, and insensitive to sin and others.

There are many applications for this. There are so many ways that we could look at examples of how to react when we’re in the heat of the moment. However, I rather teach a guiding principle that can be applied wisely rather than hard fast rules.

Soft answers begin with soft hearts.

When you are faced with an opportunity to give an answer, it’s not about artfully crafting the right response. It’s not about choosing positive words or putting a criticism in the middle of two compliments. It’s not about blunting the edge of correction. It’s about stepping back and asking yourself where your heart is.

Do you really love this person you’re about to respond to?

Do you recognize them as a child of God?

Do you want them to have a happy life?

Do you recognize that you would potentially make the same choices and have the same values if you grew up in their position?

If you can answer those questions correctly, you are much more prepared to give a soft answer even if that soft answer includes correction or standing by your beliefs.

Soft answers are not necessarily manifested in a specific volume; it’s manifested in your attitude towards another person who may be wrongfully accusing you, attacking your character, or spreading misinformation about you. It’s manifested in how you feel about someone you love when you feel betrayed or unloved by them in return. It’s manifested in your generosity with someone who makes your life harder.

I did not understand this when I was younger. I felt like I gave “nice” responses, but I often found myself in broken relationships or with frustrated friends.

I remember getting older and going on my mission. Missions are interesting for a lot of reasons but one of those reasons is the fact that you get put into leadership positions very young and are expected to help people reach their full potential. Sometimes that includes correcting others. I remember watching a couple of elders on my mission who could correct other elders without repercussion for the most part. People liked them and listened to them and could be corrected by them without growing defensive.

I remember thinking that I would never be able to do that.

These principles changed that. When you change your focus, you can often turn away wrath. It’s not about changing your words; it’s about changing your focus.

You stop focusing on how you are being perceived. You stop focusing on how to convince them to do better. You stop focusing on how much they’re making your life harder.

And you focus on them.

It’s that simple. People can feel when you’re just tolerating them and being polite to their face. They can feel your intentions. They can feel when you’re simply focused on yourself. Even if it’s not consciously recognized, they will still feel it and start putting up defenses.

It’s easy to get hyperfocused on handling your conversations well. It’s easy to hyperfocus on trying to get it right. But honestly, in the end, all that really does is signal to the other person that you’re focused on yourself and it starts you off on the wrong foot immediately.

If you can train yourself to focus on the good of the other person (as Christ teaches), it goes a lot farther in turning away wrath than any artfully crafted words you can possibly string together.

I love Proverbs because they’re full of the wisdom that stems from the teachings of Christ. Christ teaches us to love our fellow brothers and sisters. He is the One who teaches us to focus outward and forget ourselves. The exact application of these teachings brings results, and Proverbs often highlight those results and wisdom. I testify that Christ knows what He’s talking about when He instructs us on how to build happy lives. I testify that forgetting yourself softens others in turn and brings more joy, connection, and happiness into your life.

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 – Proverbs 1–4; 15–16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1–3; 11–12 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.