Saturday, January 7, 2017

3 Nephi 1:30-Doubt Your Doubts

3 Nephi 1:30

Doubt Your Doubts
What
 30 And thus were the Lamanites afflicted also, and began to decrease as to their faith and righteousness, because of the wickedness of the rising generation.

Why
The young people fell away and were able to convince others to follow them in their unbelief.

Pattern

UNBELIEF

See also Belief, Believe
Lack of faith in God and his gospel.
  • He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief:Matt. 13:58;
  • Because of their unbelief Jesus’ disciples could not cast out a devil:Matt. 17:14–21;
  • Help thou mine unbelief:Mark 9:23–24;
  • Jesus upbraided his Apostles with their unbelief and hardness of heart:Mark 16:14;
  • Shall unbelief make the faith of God without effect?:Rom. 3:3;
  • It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief:1 Ne. 4:13;
  • When the time cometh that they dwindle in unbelief, he will cause them to be scattered and smitten:2 Ne. 1:10–11; ( D&C 3:18; )
  • Because of their unbelief they could not understand the word of God:Mosiah 26:1–5;
  • I could not show unto the Jews so great miracles, because of their unbelief:3 Ne. 19:35;
  • Your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief:D&C 84:54–58;
Christ
Unbelief means lack of faith and God and his gospel.

Conference
OCTOBER 2003 Lord, I Believe; Help Thou Mine Unbelief
James E. Faust Second Counselor in the First Presidency

Sustaining faith can be the ultimate comfort in life. All of us must find our own testimonies.
This morning I would like to bear a humble testimony to those who have personal struggles and doubts concerning the divine mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many of us are at times like the father who asked the Savior to heal his child with the “dumb spirit.” The father of the child cried out, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”1 To all those with lingering doubts and questions, there are ways to help your unbelief. In the process of accepting and rejecting information in the search for light, truth, and knowledge, almost everyone has—at one time or another—some private questions. That is part of the learning process.
Sustaining faith can be the ultimate comfort in life. All of us must find our own testimonies.
A testimony begins with the acceptance by faith of the divine mission of Jesus Christ, the head of this Church; and the prophet of the Restoration, Joseph Smith. The gospel as restored by Joseph Smith is either true or it is not. To receive all of the promised blessings we must accept the gospel in faith and in full. However, this certain faith does not usually come all at once. We learn spiritually line upon line and “If this … work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it.”11
This all being true, however, every person must have a spiritual confirmation by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is more powerful than all the senses combined. To those who say, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief,” may I suggest that “you look forward with an eye of faith.”12 To those who do this, the Lord has promised, “I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.”13
precept upon precept.
...he gap between what is popular and what is righteous is widening. As prophesied by Isaiah, many today “call evil good, and good evil.”18Revelations from the prophets of God are not like offerings at the cafeteria, some to be selected and others disregarded. We are greatly indebted to the Prophet Joseph Smith for the many great revelations which came through him. He was without peer in restoring spiritual knowledge.19 There has been a fulfillment of the revelation given to Joseph Smith in March 1839:
The ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name, and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell shall rage against thee;
While the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel, and authority, and blessings constantly from under thy hand.”20
I believe that every person’s individual testimony of Jesus as the Christ comes as a spiritual gift. No one can successfully dispute or challenge it because it is so personal a gift to the one to whom it has been given. It will be as an ever-recharging spiritual energizer to keep our spiritual light running to show us the way to eternal happiness. But I testify that it can be more—much, much more. By covenanting with “God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days,” our “hearts are changed through faith on [Christ’s] name.” Thus we may be “born of him and … become his sons and his daughters.”23 I have a certain knowledge of this, which I declare in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.



OCTOBER 2013 Come, Join with Us
By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf Second Counselor in the First Presidency

To Those Who Leave

The search for truth has led millions of people to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, there are some who leave the Church they once loved.
One might ask, “If the gospel is so wonderful, why would anyone leave?”
Sometimes we assume it is because they have been offended or lazy or sinful. Actually, it is not that simple. In fact, there is not just one reason that applies to the variety of situations.
Some of our dear members struggle for years with the question whether they should separate themselves from the Church.
In this Church that honors personal agency so strongly, that was restored by a young man who asked questions and sought answers, we respect those who honestly search for truth. It may break our hearts when their journey takes them away from the Church we love and the truth we have found, but we honor their right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience, just as we claim that privilege for ourselves.5

There Is Room for You

To those who have separated themselves from the Church, I say, my dear friends, there is yet a place for you here.
Come and add your talents, gifts, and energies to ours. We will all become better as a result.
Some might ask, “But what about my doubts?”
It’s natural to have questions—the acorn of honest inquiry has often sprouted and matured into a great oak of understanding. There are few members of the Church who, at one time or another, have not wrestled with serious or sensitive questions. One of the purposes of the Church is to nurture and cultivate the seed of faith—even in the sometimes sandy soil of doubt and uncertainty. Faith is to hope for things which are not seen but which are true.7
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters—my dear friends—please, first doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.8 We must never allow doubt to hold us prisoner and keep us from the divine love, peace, and gifts that come through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.



Apply
Choose carefully the path that you will follow. Be consistent in honoring your callings in prayer and temple work. Keep your faith bright through study and actively choosing the right. Bear your testimony to others.



Hymns
254- True To The Faith



Children
96-Faith











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