We must look to Christ at all times and especially on dark and stormy nights.
He must have felt especially poignant quoting Elder Hales mere hours after his death.
Faith is a crucial element of religion, this having a ready answer for all things would be counterproductive.
Early one morning, I saw a hungry and well-camouflaged caterpillar on a beautiful rosebush. From the look of some of the leafless shoots, it was obvious to even the casual observer that it had been gnawing its way through the tender leaves with its menacing jaws. Allegorically, I could not help but think that there are some people who are like this caterpillar; they are found throughout the world, and some are so cleverly disguised that we may allow them into our lives, and before we know it, they have eaten away at our spiritual roots and those of our family members and friends.
The Apostle Paul sounded a warning in his day that is applicable to our day: “For I know this, … of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”
His warning and those of our prophets and apostles remind us that we must do all we can to fortify ourselves spiritually against words of opposition and deception. As I visit wards and stakes of the Church, I am uplifted by what I see, hear, and feel as Saints positively and faithfully respond to the teachings of the Savior and His servants.
The increase in Sabbath day observance is but one example of members spiritually fortifying themselves by heeding prophetic invitations. Further strengthening is evidenced in the increase in temple and family history work as families gather their ancestors through temple ordinances. Our spiritual roots go deeper as sincere personal and family prayer become bastions of our faith and as we repent daily, seek the companionship of the Holy Ghost, and learn of our Savior and His attributes and strive to become like Him.
Elder Robert D. Hales taught us, “Unless you are fully engaged in living the gospel—living it with all of your ‘heart, might, mind and strength’—you cannot generate enough spiritual light to push back the darkness” (“Out of Darkness into His Marvelous Light,” Ensign, May 2002). Surely, our desire to follow Christ, who is the Light of the World, means we must act on His teachings. We are spiritually strengthened, fortified, and protected as we act on the word of God.
The greater the light in our lives, the fewer the shadows. However, even in an abundance of light, we are exposed to people and comments that misrepresent our beliefs and try our faith. The Apostle James wrote that “the trying of [our] faith worketh patience.” With this insight, Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, “A patient disciple … will not be surprised nor undone when the Church is misrepresented” (“Patience” [Brigham Young University devotional, Nov. 27, 1979], speeches.byu.edu).
The home is an ideal place for families to study and share valuable insights from the scriptures and the words of the prophets and to access Church material at LDS.org. There you will find an abundance of information about gospel topics such as the First Vision accounts. As we study from the best books, we protect ourselves against the menacing jaws of those that seek to gnaw at our spiritual roots.
With all our prayer, study, and pondering, there may still remain some yet-to-be-answered questions, but we must not let that extinguish the flame of faith that flickers within us. Such questions are an invitation to build our faith and should not fuel a passing moment of deceiving doubt. It is the very essence of religion not to have a sure answer to every question, for this is one of the purposes of faith. In that regard, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has taught us that “when those moments come and issues surface, the resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes.”
Let each of us live so that the menacing jaws of camouflaged caterpillars find no place, not now or ever, in our lives so that we will remain “firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end.” In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Leave a Reply