John Lynch

In working with individuals who struggle in their faith because of sincere unanswered questions, criticisms they encounter, or because of incongruities between their lives and the standards they hold, I have found a need to constantly draw such people back to the foundational principles of the Gospel. Foremost among them is of course faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

For some, their lack of answers undermines their confidence in the overall gospel plan. For others, criticisms cause them to reconsider once deeply held beliefs. For others, their struggles to live standards they accept create a wedge between them and their Heavenly Father. In all of these cases, however, the result is a sense of distance from the Father that loves them, and who patiently invites them home.

The path out of such situations is often a long path requiring patience and persistence. Such individuals need to re-anchor themselves to foundational principles, and most importantly regain a spiritual connection with Heavenly Father. It is through such a connection that they can find strength to persist through their questions, doubts, or the process of repentance.

In going through such struggles, I often find that once unsettled, the most basic of principles get called into question. Once confidence is undermined, even the most basic of concepts we hold true become open for debate, and the uncertainty started by unrelated struggles can spread and undermine the most fundamental gospel principles.

Even the atonement of Jesus Christ is not immune from such questioning. Those going through periods of questions and doubts about the restoration might begin to ask themselves why a loving God cannot simply forgive and forget and accept us as we are. Why would it be necessary to send someone else to suffer in order to compensate for our suffering? Is God not able of his own accord to forgive? If so, why do we need another to rescue us?

The foremost principle I follow when trying to understand gospel principles like the atonement is this: Father does nothing because He needs it, but because we need it. We aren’t told to pray because without it God doesn’t know what we want, but because by praying we learn to adjust our will such that we want what He wants. We don’t gather to worship because God has low self-esteem and gets angry if we don’t give Him attention, but because in gathering we unite in our common cause of service to each other, and as King Benjamin would say, our service to our fellow being puts us in the service of our God. It is in that service that we learn the nature of God – His mind and heart! Even the ordinances of the Church are intended not for God to secure an assurance of our commitment, but for us to signal to ourselves that we accept the covenants He extends to us.

As for the atonement, many theories of the atonement are based on penal substitution or some form of deficit compensation required by God. Such theories presuppose a need on the part of God to have the “books balance”, implying that God is otherwise incapable of forgiving the individual. As such, there is an implied limit on the ability of God to forgive unless some external requirement is met, thereby implying that God himself is not omnipotent when it comes to forgiveness.

This notion similarly runs counter to the God that I know. The God who reveals himself to me through scripture and spiritual experiences is a fatherly God. He asks that we refer to him as our Heavenly Father, implying paternal affection towards us that we would recognize in our earthly relationships. As such, I feel that I can understand something of His nature by looking closely at what I would consider to be the ideal father on earth.

I find examples of such an ideal in the father of the prodigal son, as taught by the Savior when accused of eating with the publicans and sinners. Teaching a principle of humility that one could argue is more about the faithful son who was critical of the father’s willingness to so quickly forgive the prodigal, Christ reveals an ideal that I believe instructs us on the nature of our Heavenly Father.

In the parable we have a son who squandered the great gift his father gave him, and found himself in the lowest of circumstances – working the field where unclean beasts were fed. He had sunk to the lowest point, and could sink no further. Fully stripped of pride, with no pretense of deserving more, the prodigal sought out his father with the humble hope that he might simply be a servant in the a place he had once called home. So, he approached his father’s comfortable estate, unsure what reception he might receive.

His father, who was apparently watching for the return of the son he loved, saw him afar off. He ran to him, fell on his neck and without reservation or condition kissed him. His son, confessing his sins against heaven, implored acceptance as a servant. But the father rather killed the fatted calf, rejoiced in his return, and treated him again as a full son, replete with the symbols of honor including robes, shoes, and a family ring.

This example teaches me much about Heavenly Father if he is like the father of this prodigal. He has not only the willingness, but eagerness to accept home any wayward child who would again wish to live as a son.

If this is the case, then the need for an atonement does not come because Heavenly Father requires it, but because without it we would be unwilling ourselves to take the painful steps away from the earthly field of feeding swine towards our Heavenly home of acceptance and welcome. It is what enables us to let go of the guilt within us that condemns us, and allows us to receive the forgiveness openly offered.

In the scriptures, we learn that sin causes us to withdraw, and even wish that rocks would fall upon us and hide us from our Father, not so that we are protected from his wrath, but so that we would not have to face our own sins which would be unavoidable in the full light of His goodness and glory. In other words, we fail in our confidence before God because the scales of justice within our hearts reveal to us that we have fallen short. In essence, we withdraw not because Father would not receive us, but because we feel inadequate because of the willful, disobedient choices we have made.

Father and Christ know this about us. They realize that we need an anchor for our faith so that we can once again regain our self-confidence before God despite having done wrong. In response, Father provided, and Christ volunteered, for one beyond reproach to come and experience what we naturally experience when we sin. Christ, upon his knees in Gethsemane, contemplated our condition as being alone in our sins, much like Alma and Ammon and the sons of Mosiah felt contemplating the seared conscious of regret they themselves felt knowing the great wrongs they had done. He felt our sorrow and our shame. He felt our anguish and pain that causes us to withdraw from Father. In essence, his experience was a universal feeling of empathy for the entire human family, for every sin of every person committed and yet to be. He felt the collective shame of the world, causing Him, the very Son of the Father, to tremble because of pain and bleed from every pore.

Realizing this, we find an escape for our shame – a way to release the guilt that binds us and prevents us from openly returning to Father where the full acceptance of a beloved son once lost but now found can be felt. Realizing within ourselves that the consequence of shame formed by the imbalance of justice we cause has already been realized by one who himself has no reason to feel shame, we are able to let go of our own guilt, trusting that Christ has already suffered, and we need suffer no more. With such a realization, we can take those critical steps out of the worldly “field of swine” and approach again Father who anxiously awaits our return. Indeed, it is our faith and confidence that the suffering of guilt and shame has already been paid that allows us to let go and in fact forgive ourselves. In such a state we can accept the unconditional forgiveness Father anxiously waits to give us as soon as we take the steps towards home.

Of course, the steps home are necessary, just as the wayward son had to take the journey back. We must come to humility and realize our faults, just as the prodigal realized his fallen condition. With that realization, we must commit to leave the field of unclean things, and persist in a path homeward. In a gospel sense, it means that we must put behind us our old life, and start anew, as if we were reborn as a rightful son and heir. All this is symbolized for us, like all ordinances, through the outward act of baptism and partaking of the sacrament. Indeed, the sacrament itself could be considered a symbolic feast of the fatted calf for the wayward son now home!

The capstone of the atonement is what happened at Golgotha. His death and resurrection turned the key for the human family to escape the consequence of Adam and Eve’s choices in the garden. Without condition, the whole human family can escape death and again live with Father in immortal, glorified bodies.

So for me, the atonement is not necessary because God requires it, but because without it we would be unable to let go of our guilt, accept Father’s forgiveness, and remain with Him as a son and an heir. With it, we can confidently move forward away from our past, and use our mistakes to solidify our commitment to righteousness. We thereby gain the benefits of the fall of Adam (knowing good from evil), and lay hold on the invitation of Father to learn and yet come home as a son or daughter.

For me, the atonement compensates for the weakness within us, not some inability of God to forgive.

The story of the prodigal son gives us another lesson that we would be wise to consider. The older, faithful son who criticized his father was gently chastised when the father called him not to resent the welcomed prodigal, but to rejoice in his return. It is a tempting reaction we all can encounter to feel critical of those who question, struggle, or sin. In so doing, our resentment turns to judgment, and our own reaction may prove a barrier to those who would otherwise be homeward bound. We would be wise to not judge, so that we ourselves are not too harshly judged of the weaknesses we have but perhaps do not so outwardly display. We would do well to welcome any who come to the altar of humility seeking reconciliation with Father, and do all that we can to ease them from their wandered path and invite them home again as sons and daughters, and full heirs of salvation.

Indeed, we should eagerly look to the horizon of the lives around us, watching prayerfully for the prodigals to return. And when they do, not hesitate to invite them in, but rush to them while they are yet afar off, and embrace them with love reflective of the kindness of the Father. In so doing, we will make ourselves a little more like Him as we thus gain not only His mind, but also His heart.

For those struggling in the midst of questions, doubt, or unresolved issues in the standards you live by, I encourage you to re-anchor yourself in the foundational principle of the atonement. Recognize that Father loves you unconditionally, and will gladly welcome you home once you are ready to make the journey. The Savior loves you such that he felt your pain. It was his love for you that compelled him to feel what you now feel. I encourage you to trust in that love. Recognize that your discomfort, anxiety, and possibly even shame can all be overcome simply by trusting that you need not remain in such a state. Anchor yourselves in the atonement so that you can eventually make the path home and be welcomed by a Father ready to great you with a warm embrace and genuine rejoicing. In so doing, you will find the strength to persist until your questions are answered, your doubts are resolved, and your life is made right again.

I want to take a brief break from the present focus on critical evidences of the restoration, and turn momentarily to another topic.

I recently attended a conference for religion news writers in Bethesda, Maryland, and it left me with some pointed thoughts. For 3 days at the Religion Newswriters Association annual conference, religion and politics were discussed amongst strangers (sshhh! some of us became friends). Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, Buddists, Islamists and secularists met and discussed a variety of topics in the news – all relating to religion. Except for a single panelist who singled out a solitary religion for criticism (guess which?), all religions were treated with respect and deference.

During the conference, we were told we live in the “Mormon Moment” – a time when there is an extraordinary amount of attention being placed on the Church. Culturally, we are highlighted in popular programs, stage plays, and political arenas. Our sacred beliefs are introduced to others through secular channels, and the world around us is beginning to notice us and, in some ways, to accept us.

Some of this attention is welcome. More people who are familiar with us are recognizing the positive traits developed from faithful living within a gospel context. They highlight these in articles, blogs, commentaries, documentaries and editorials. Some of the attention is less welcome. We are harpooned and satirized on stage, stereotyped on film, and misrepresented on the internet. We are sometimes mocked by comedians, patronized by secularists, and put down by critics. Such less-welcome attention is not new to us, and in fact may have felt like the norm since the days of Joseph Smith when he said:

D&C 127:2 And as for the ^aperils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the ^benvy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life; . . . nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has become a second nature to me;

Like Joseph, we may feel that dealing with the secular mocking of sacred things, or that polemic preaching against us, is the deep water we are wont to swim in. We accustom ourselves to a constant expectation of clarifying, educating, explaining, correcting, and testifying. For some of us, I am sure there is a hope that the “Mormon Moment” will prove to be a tidal wave of positive pressure within society to accept us on our own terms; to recognize our good, to overlook our shortcomings, and to accept us as one of their own.

The Challenges of a Public Church

It may be true that we are turning a corner of sorts. We may be finding that, at least in certain circles, we are finding less resistance and more acceptance. Some of it may be because we are feeling more comfortable in our own societal skin, as is evidenced by the very deft treatment by the Church of the popularity of the Broadway play “The Book of Mormon.” Rather than criticize or complain about the crass content of the musical, the Church took advantage of the attention the Tony award-winning presentation placed on the Church. They put up posters in New York and in the playbills in Denver, inviting those who have seen the play to now “read the book.” In fact, the Church’s only comment regarding the play was a single sentence reply that read:

“The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the Book of Mormon as a volume of scripture will change people’s lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ.”

Of course, if acceptance comes about because the world is indeed receiving us on our terms, then we should feel grateful for the change in sentiment. If it is because we are turning more to be like the world, then a caution is perhaps in order.

There are efforts afoot in some circles to reshape the Church more into an identity than a faith. Individuals who welcome what they feel are the positive aspects of participation and identity want to separate these elements from what they perceive as negative aspects. Many of these individuals want freedom to criticize and even decry the Church while maintaining their cultural identities as Mormons. They want to be able to maintain their friendly associations even while disassociating themselves from that which makes us unique. Indeed, rather than be “in the world, but not of the world” they want to be “of the Church but not in the Church”. Perhaps they desire to simultaneously be accepted by the world and their LDS friends and family while they side with the world against much of what the Church holds sacred.

This is a dichotomy that is not easy to maintain. It places tremendous pressure on the individual and their associations. Too often they are unable to restrain their critical views, and they find that Church members whom they associate with become uncomfortable having one close to them trying to draw them away from the Church. The result, not surprisingly, is that once close associations sometimes become weak or even broken.

For the believing member, this is a great challenge! On one level, they love the person who is critical, and want desperately to help them maintain whatever association they can with the Church. They are their friend, and want to continue to associate with them, and enjoy their company.

Keeping the Faith

On another level, they are appropriately cautious of the need to safeguard the witness they have personally obtained of the truthfulness of the gospel. They are mindful that constant criticism and negative influences can debilitate their own efforts to maintain the spirit and to live a gospel centered life.

Some of these people often reach out to FAIR, desperately seeking help and assistance as they struggle through their crisis. They ask for information, help, and perspectives to enable them to manage such situations. It is deeply unsettling for me to witness their hearts torn by the inability of someone they love to “keep the faith.” I recognize in their written “voices” a hopeful longing that the Lord would give their loved one a “light and voice” on their personal road to Damascus, which would turn them in a single experience away from their meandered path to the straight and narrow one we all try to maintain.

In my own efforts to counsel such individuals, I have sought to emphasize three critical points. First, our primary concern must be towards building upon the things we know to be true as we work through the questions that we have not answered, such as might be raised by our close acquaintance critics. Second, if we are to ever help our loved ones return to faith, we simply must maintain our relationship, which might mean an armistice on religion where we both agree to leave the subject alone. Third, we must be faithful in our own lives!

I could write a lengthy treatise on the first two points, but what do I mean by this last one? What does it mean to be faithful? Is it possible that we might prove ourselves worthy to convey a single spiritual experience that would turn back the progressive hands of degenerated faith and restore in an instant that which has likely been lost over a lengthy period of time? Perhaps, but in my experience, it is seldom that easy.

I would argue that the faith we need to develop or maintain is not some singular powerful influence with an undeniable force to change others, but a quiet constancy of behavior that exemplifies the inner assurance that we have that our path and purpose is correct.

Many years ago, I was thinking about the term “faithful,” as in the dog that proverbially retrieves slippers or newspapers, or the geyser that spouts an impressive display on a regular interval. As I thought about the constant, unwavering nature of the behavior associated with the term, I realized that such constancy of the “faithful” is what makes the same reflective of one who is “full of faith.” I realized that great faith is not so much manifest in singular events that move mountains, but in the constant, unwavering loyalty to a pattern of behavior borne of deeply held beliefs. I was so impressed with such a realization that I wrote the following.

Faith as a Seed

Two on a journey were stopped at a hill.

The Lord said “remove it”. They each said “I will!”.

Then one set to praying, whose faith he thought strong –

Who said in himself “This shouldn’t take long!

I know in my heart, if I merely have faith

That I can move mountains like this from their place.”

Thus all the day long and into the night

This man knelt in prayer, and prayed with all might.

But begging with fervor the mound remained still,

‘Till slowly it weakened, then broke the man’s will.

So, soon discontented and fearing the task

This man left the mountain – returned on his path.

 

The other man humble, with faith no less strong –

Who heard the Lord’s will but thought the task long –

Delayed not a moment but did as God asked.

Thus grabbing a handful he set to the task.

So, trusting in God, though hard it might be,

He carried by handfuls the earth to the sea.

Yes, daily he labored, though weak in his skill

To move the great mountain and do the Lord’s will.

‘Till days turned to weeks, and weeks became years.

But still the man labored despite all his fears.

So slowly the mountain by handfuls did flee

From one of great faith ‘till it entered the sea.

And thus came the saying, of faith and the seed –

That man can move mountains, if he but believes!

John Lynch, 1995

 

This is perhaps a bit too lyrical for some, but for me at least it illustrates what I believe a profound truth. Greatness lies not so much in the singular events that rise above all others, such as a mountain moving en masse to the open ocean, but in the constant, often unnoticed daily decisions that form our character and reinforces our personal faithfulness to gospel truths.

In this poem the daily simple efforts of small progress, persisting over a lifetime, resulted in the remarkable accomplishment of a mighty mountain being subdued by a humble, obedient servant. In the monumental efforts some of us might face in helping those we love struggle through the seemingly insurmountable task of helping them regain a lost testimony, we would do well to take such an example to heart. We should not expect that some singular event will turn the tide of disbelief and convert the Sauls in our lives into Pauls, although this might happen. Rather, we should expect that our own constancy in behavior and dedication to gospel teachings and our own fidelity in seeking and obeying prophetic counsel, will serve as a template of example that will work by “handfuls” to remove the mountain of disbelief from the hearts of those we love.

We should remember that the “Mormon Moment” that seems to be upon us in an instant has been over 182 years in the making! The prejudice and criticism we have experienced in the past is not likely to disappear any time soon despite improvements we see in some quarters. Progress we make in one arena is likely to be offset by a rise in opposition in another. Like the man moving the mountain, we need to constantly and consistently deliver handfuls of positive examples from the mountain of opposition and place it into the sea of understanding and acceptance.

In our personal relationships, and in our Church-wide relationship with society, we need to maintain our own fidelity to gospel principles. Constant in our conduct, bold in our beliefs and humble in our service, we can move mountains! Those we love personally, but who struggle, may yet be moved by a handful of doubt we cast into the ocean some many days hence by some small faithful act we perform. Some group in society who looks critically upon us today may yet convert criticism to acceptance if we but remain unwavering in our collective personal lives and public comportment.

In the end, however, how much faith we personally have is not reflected in how big of a mountain we can move in a single prayer, but in the daily devotion we give in simple tasks given us by God. Indeed, through simple and small means, great things can be brought to pass by the “faith-full”!

 

This article also appeared in Meridian Magazine.

Some people cling to elements of their faith as if any threat to it would serve as a death blow to their eternal lives. Like proverbial sand in their hands, they hold it so tight that their grip presses the precious granules through their fingers, and they watch their shifting cargo slip grain-by-grain through their grasp until they finally consider there is not enough to hold, and they let go completely. They are left to wonder how quickly it was lost when they had held on so tight.

A cute animated video series that pokes fun at major Hollywood movies once did a satire of the Blair Witch Project. A famous line from that video is often repeated by my children. In a desire to seek safety, one character implores“Quick, back to the tent!” Another responds sarcastically “Yea, the tent is safe. Nothing can penetrate the NYLON!” My boys always follow such quotes with hearty laughter, unaware of the profound realities exemplified in this humorous poke at a famous horror film. Like those who cling to the sand of faith in their hands, some of us put too much trust in the nylon fabric of some simple element of our faith. We trust in a child like perspective that is thin yet unsustainable under any real threat, seeking the sense of security it once represented for us, unaware that it provides no real protection but only hides from us from what scares us outside.

For the past 15 years I have worked with countless people who, for one reason or another, have struggled with their faith. Some had already left in their hearts, but reached out in a desperate last attempt to regain what had already been released – like the sand that had already slipped through their fingers. Others reach out in response to someone they love who has abandoned what they had once “known”, looking for help to bolster the faith that remained, and give them answer to the criticisms that threaten them. Those who struggle are often in the throes of spiritual agony, looking desperately for the safety of the “tent” that had served as a sense of security in the past.

In contrast, some people manage the nuances and twists and turns of critical information seemingly without the emotional and spiritual knots that become the undoing others. These seem able to navigate these challenges without the compulsion to cling to elements that slip through their fingers, or to seek safety behind a fabric of perception that brings no real safety at all. These are comfortable with the shifting sands of changing perspectives, and are comfortable knowing that, while the tent may represent security, the only real path to safety is not in returning, but in pressing forward.

Faith is a word that by definition includes uncertainty. Alma states plainly that “faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” (Alma 32:21). By this we learn that faith demands that we not have proof or evidence demonstrated by our natural senses, but that we persist towards that which cannot be demonstrated by the natural man. In the Lectures on Faith, we read “that faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen—that is, with their natural eyes—and the principle of action in all intelligent beings.” (Lectures on Faith 1:9). Faith is the power that drives us forward to what is true despite our lack of assurance so often sought by what nature has endowed us withas our senses.

In a similar vein, the exercise of faith, like a muscle, occurs when there is opposition to it. The muscle that is strengthened is the one that persists to perform despite the weight that works against it. This muscle of faith therefore demands that we continue in our belief and hope for that which is true even in the very presence of that which not only fails to confirm our belief, but actually challenges it!

Consider faith in the same light as courage. Does the lion tamer, who raised the deadly giant creature, require courage when putting his head in the mouth of the feline he raised from a cub? Perhaps it requires some, but what about the little old lady in the third row? She knows nothing of the animal, and its propensities. She has only heard its roar, seen its threatening teeth, and shrunk at the glistening muscles that drive it. Ask her to do the same as the lion tamer. Which of these two will show the most courage for the very same act? It is the one who faces the greatest fear! Even so it is with our faith.

Those who know no doubt rely upon faith, but it is exercised most greatly by those who face doubt in large and threatening ways because they actually know less. For these, persistence in behavior – being “faith full” –draws upon their reservoir of trust in God much more so than those whose personality or experience delivers no such doubts.

When I have seen people who were otherwise stalwart in faith shrink in the face of adversity. It is usually because they cling too tightly to some element of belief that itself is not some solid monolith as they might have supposed, but turns out to have shifting elements like sand. As they increase their grip on the granules, the shifting nature lets the grains slip one by one out of their hand until there is not enough for them to hold to.

The actual topics of conversation in this regard could be myriad. It is almost always some teaching that is culturalized such that it becomes unofficially canonized in Mormon lore, or is perhaps something that was once taught and is no longer adhered to. We see this most markedly when the Church changes a policy or decision. Two large examples include the cessation of the practice of polygamy, and the lifting of the restriction of priesthood ordination of people from African ancestry. When polygamy stopped, some people clung to practices of prior years, and could not handle the shifting sands of practice. In the case of the priesthood ban, some could not let go of faulty teachings that sought to justify it, and they abandoned their faith because of it.

People who cling so tightly to teachings and beliefs like this which can change are generally referred to as “fundamentalists”. These are people who cannot manage threats to their faith because of changes to what they had anchored themselves to. They leave no room for ongoing revelation, presuming that what was must always remain. Rather than reconsider their own thinking or assumptions, they conclude that the Church itself has moved away from truth and they find themselves rejecting it all! It is not because they lacked spiritual confirmations of gospel truths, or genuine communication with God. Rather, it is because the changes forced them to re-evaluate their thinking, and forced them to consider their faith all over again. Their assumptions – the grains of fundamental issues in their handful of beliefs – must be reconsidered.

Because of one element that is now questioned, they must rethink it all (or so they suppose). In the end, they find themselves exchanging what they know for the doubts they now have forced upon them! The result is the proverbial baby swirling the drain with the bath wash.

Our friends and neighbors who seek the safety of the tent are those who look back on the naïve safety of what was really just a temporary shelter, believing they can regain the sense of security they once knew. These people have often had affirming experiences that touched them, and changed them. However, they generally failed to move on to house their faith in fundamental beliefs that has both a firm foundation and walls that cannot be shaken or penetrated. Unfortunately, some bells cannot be un-rung! When the safety of their prior perceptions are called into question, all that can be done is to press forward and leave the seeming but deceptive safety of the tent and seek that shelter that comes from a more firm foundation.

There are many topics that can shake our faith and threaten the security of what we “know”. I need not recount them here. The topics that shake one are not an issue for another. Some people are seemingly never shaken. For those who endure, however, there is a predictable pattern that others might do well to follow. Such who endure are those who are not fundamentalist, but who focus on fundamentals. These are not those who cling to elements of belief, but who get a grip on faith!

The fundamental issues in the restored gospel are not expansive. They are really quite simple. I tend to think of them as the following: First, the priesthood of God has been restored through Joseph Smith, a prophet of God. Second, that very priesthood persists in the Church in the leadership of a First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve Apostles, men ordained with keys which control the covenant exercise of the ordinances that bind us and our Father in commitments and promises. Third, the Lord continues to govern His church through these leaders, and the process of revelation available to them is available to me individually so that like Nephi, I can know for myself what they know. Fourth, the Lord has revealed scriptures in addition to the Bible that can help me govern my spiritual life, including and especially the Book of Mormon. Fifth, Jesus Christ loves me such that he willingly suffered what I rightly deserve to suffer for my mistakes, but he freely gives to me the opportunity to let go of my guilt such that my confidence can be regained in the presence of God and I can return to Him as His child!

These five fundamentals I can hold to. I have had spiritual confirmations that I can rely on that affirm the same to me. These issues I need not exchange for temporary questions that arise from Church history, political commentary, or changes in practice. Virtually everything else, I need not cling to.

When it comes down to it, I need to base myself in these fundamentals, and avoid the fundamentalism that leads me to question the leaders who are so basic to the fundamental principle of ongoing revelation. If God does indeed provide ongoing revelation, and he teaches line upon line, precept upon precept, then it leads to reason that those in the past taught things that sometime in the future may not be believed. That is OK! We need not think that because God used one infallible prophet to guide us that the next infallible prophet cannot guide us even closer to what is right. Or, that the shifting needs of time and circumstances might not call for changing actions today compared to yesterday.

When I do encounter that which threatens my belief, the healthiest thing for me to do is return not to the thin fabric of tent of some tangential experience, but reaffirm for myself the fundamental teachings I already “know”. I don’t need to cling to the shifting uncertainty of my assumptions, but to hold simply to the basic teachings foundational in the gospel. In this light I can persist, despite my doubts, across the chasm of uncertainty until I am able to reconcile what I know with what I don’t. I do this by recalling how merciful the Lord has been with me, and with all his Children. My journal, the scriptures, and the experiences of others can remind me of the affirmations I have already received on these fundamental issues. I do this by continuing to do what I know in my heart of hearts is right so that the Spirit,who can quickly withdraw when offended, is comfortable with me in His presence. I do this by keeping close to my Father in Heaven, expressing myself to him freely, and letting him express freely to me. And, I do this by letting go of my own assumptions, and letting God guide me in wisdoms paths. In so doing, I can find the strength to persist.

As I venture out of the deceptive safety of my thinly veiled tent, I may need to re-evaluate some of my original assumptions. This can be challenging, but necessary. Do I associate my faith with that which is not fundamental? It doesn’t really matter if the ward I attended as a youth has the deacons line up on the side of the chapel, or in the front when passing the sacrament! It doesn’t matter whether Joseph translated the Book of Mormon using a seer stone in a hat or aUrim and Thummim set in spectacles. It doesn’t matter if polygamy started with Joseph or Brigham. What matters is that I know the fundamentals, and that I have a spiritual grounding in them.

So a brief bit of advice. As you sojourn out in the online world where “anything goes” and truth and falsehood share equal billing, don’t be a fundamentalist, but focus on the fundamentals themselves. And don’t cling to your assumptions of belief so tightly that the Lord cannot guide you through the progressive world of ongoing revelation. Rather, get a grip on your faith! Focus on the simple truths you know by staying close to the Father that loves you. Then, as you learn more, you will have the patience with your faith to cross the chasms of uncertainty you are sure to encounter. After all, if God didn’t expect you to journey through life with doubts, he would be here himself telling you what to do. No, he give us doubts so that we might exercise faith, and when we do, we become strong enough to be useful to Him and His kingdom, and earn for ourselves a seat at His marriage feast.

This article also appeared in Meridian Magazine.