When the Answers Are Not Clear

"I find that if I pray not only to have a witness of the truthfulness of the scriptures but also to have the Spirit with me as I read, my sensitivity is heightened, and I see ever so much more clearly. I can see where I am in my life and where my Heavenly Father wants me to be. I can understand principles of truth, and I can see how to make the needed changes in my life. I can feel assured that the Lord will help and strengthen me to accomplish the task. Thus the scriptures become written in my life.

"When we read the scriptures we are hearing the voice of the Savior. He is not absent from our lives. He is actively positioned in the verses of these holy books."

(Cheryl C. Lant, "My Soul Delighteth in the Scriptures," Ensign, Nov. 2005, 77)

I love the gospel. I mean, really, really love the word of God and treasure it in my heart, mind and spirit. I have studied the scriptures, read the words of modern-day apostles and prophets and theologians. I have searched, pondered and prayed and always the answer comes. But sometimes not in the ways I expect or as soon as I would like.

In Doctrine & Covenants 9: 7-9 we read:

Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.

But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.

This is such a simple, straightforward scripture and yet at times the answers seem so far away. Really, we must pray constantly for discernment that we know truth from error (or downright lie.) If your heart is filled with confusion or there is a "stupor of thought," that is not truth. When there is a certainty which comes upon your heart wrapped in the comfort and knowledge of truth, then it is truth. That is the Holy Ghost's main job, to testify of truth. That is his purpose in the Godhead. Please, let him do his job.

The world throws so much at us so that our minds and spirits exist in a cacophony of sound, sin and despair. Satan would have us wallow in this sad existence never learning truth. Never reaching toward the heavens for that truth and light. Jesus Christ came to us. He taught and restored the truths as they had been given to Adam at the beginning of days.

He wishes for us to bathe in light, truth and eternal glory. He will not leave us to walk this path alone.

Satan will misdirect and straight out lie. His only goal in his miserable existence is to destroy us as he has destroyed himself and a full 1/3 of the hosts of heaven. He will swirl half-truths and lies around your mind and spirit, filling you with pain and confusion as you attempt to seek the truth.

Jesus Christ tells only truth. Jesus is a god of truth. He is a god of light. He is a god of goodness. He is a god of peace. He is our Redeemer, our Savior, our Messiah . . . He is the Son of God and the God of this world.

If your heart is filled with pain over something you have not understood . . . then go to the temples of the Lord, pray and ponder within the glorious walls of the Celestial Room and listen to the answer. Go the tops of the mountains or to the a quiet beach in the early morning light, anywhere there is pureness and beauty, there you will find truth will come. The answers are there. When peace fills your heart, when the truths align with the scriptures and the words of prophets and apostles, when you are fully at peace, then you have found the answer. It may come through the words of a teacher, a religious leader or adviser, a parent, a spouse, a friend or a sibling . . . it may come in a flash of understanding where confusion once reigned. It may come in a new understanding of a scripture you have read so many times. He answers us in so many ways.

Jesus Christ is God. As much as some may wish otherwise, HE does exist. He is Jehovah, the God of the Old New Testament and He is the long prophesied Messiah of the New Testament. He came to this earth, in the lowliest of circumstances, at the meridian of time and He saved the world as well as untold numbers of other worlds. He suffered for our sins, grief, sorrow, pain and illness in the Garden of Gethsemane. He broke the bands of death, suffered once again for ALL of us and then died on the cross. Three days later He rose triumphant from the grave and provided for us immortality and the possibility of eternal life.

Do you really think, after all of that, when you seek truth, He will not answer? I promise you, He will.

There are those who say there is no god. There is a God. Our God. We have Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Denying them will not make them less real.

There are those who say religion is the opiate of the masses to fully give themselves permission to indulge in whatever behavior they desire, believing that happiness can be found in the ways of the world and not in the path Jesus Christ has laid for us is oh so very wrong.

The precious truths found within the gospel of Jesus Christ bring happiness, light and progress. Saying it is not so does not make it so.

And so I testify to you that Jesus is the Christ and He is the Son of God. Jesus is a member of The Godhead which is comprised of Heavenly Father (God the Father), Jesus Christ (God the Redeemer) and the Holy Ghost (God the Testator). One in purpose, heart and mind, they are three distinct personages, two of flesh and bone and one of spirit. He is God. Seek and ye shall find . . .

Recommended Reading: The Plan of Salvation - Doctrinal Notes and Commentary by Matthew B. Brown

Something I wrote a year or more ago: He Does Answer Prayers.

Tip: Before reading anything of gospel doctrine, kneel and ask the Father for light and understanding so that you may learn what He would have you learn.

Artwork by Greg Olsen and Derek Hegsted.

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Blog Spotlight of the Week

Each week I recommend a blog that made me laugh, cry, think or act.

This week I couldn't break it down to just one. There were two that filled my heart and tickled my funny bone. So -- we have two spotlights this week.

Week 5: This week's recommended blog is Contest Finalists hosted by author Anne Bradshaw. People from across the world submitted the youth they believed to be the best and why. As I read the nominations of the finalists my heart was filled to overflowing. Thanks, Anne.

And yes, we have a second blog that I had me giggling so hard I almost fell off my chair. Cheri Crane's Ode to the Splendor of the Grain Field just about finished me off. It took me back to that unholy summer of moving pipes. I thought I'd been tossed, at least, into the fifth level of Dante's hell.