THE BELIEVING HEART
We live in sophisticated times. We are naturally inclined to regard
what might be a
genuine spiritual experience as a
coincidence, unless
there is conclusive evidence
that spiritual
forces were indeed involved.
However, we are sometimes required
to make decisions
that require
action before compelling proof
is available.
The scriptures teach that God deliberately, and for wise purposes,
uses restraint in
manifesting himself to us.
Yet, paradoxically, he remains
deeply interested and involved
in our lives. Because of his
restraint in the
midst of such interest, we must
learn to perceive the
hand of the Lord in
situations where his presence
may be still and small. Our willingness
to "be believing" helps make
such perception possible.
The act of believing originates in the heart of the beholder through
his
or her voluntary
action. (p. 3-4)
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It is not always easy to know at first which influences are of divine
origin. (p. 4)
It just might be that the Lord planned it that way--so we are not
forced
by the circumstances
to believe. There are so many things he could
do to
rend the veil. But
"we walk by faith, not by sight."
(2 Corin. 5:7)
Scholars in the philosophy of knowledge tell us that people tend
to
see what they
want to see, especially when the
evidence is ambiguous.
God has chosen to leave us free,
amid circumstances that do not compel
our belief. Here we may
determine for ourselves, as
an act of will, whether
to grasp the iron rod in the
midst of the mortal darkness. All four of
Lehi's
sons were born of those same
"goodly parents." The difference between
the believers
(Nephi and Sam) and the unbelievers (Laman and Lemuel)
was not so much in
what happened to them, but in their
attitude toward
what happened. That attitude
originated within
their own hearts, with
each making his own free choice
about being willing to be believing.
Certainly Christ might have been born under circumstances so
overwhelming and
miraculous that all who lived at
the time of his birth
could not have questioned his
supernatural origin.
It was all part of a plan carefully and deliberately designed not to
compel belief.
Further indications of the deliberateness
of that plan
appear throughout the accounts
of the Savior's
life. Frequently he told
those who were blessed by a miracle
that they "should tell
no man what
was done." (Luke
8:56, Matt. 8:4).
Hugh Nibley has described this guiding principle as the "policy of
reticence," which the
Lord has always followed to "to protect
sacred
things from common misunderstandings
and to protect
the unworthy
from damaging themselves with
them."
The Lord has also made it plain that it is not good to seek signs.
(Matt. 12:39; Mark 8:12).
Moreover, miracles are not proof of divine
authority. Satan can also
work wonders so marvelous "that, if it were
possible, they shall deceive
the very elect." (Matt. 24:24).
A key reason for the Lord's unwillingness to compel our belief is
suggested by those
scriptural phrases about doing the
will of the Father
and "receiving him." Something
happens to people
who receive him--
who do his will. They learn.
They develop Christlike capacities and
skills
beyond the reach of other people.
Following his will changes them.
These changes
do not occur within the lives of
those who merely see the
sign or hear the word.
Such changes in
character and spirit also do not
happen without our active, voluntary
participation. Thus, by being
believing, by receiving the Lord,
and by following him, the process of
becoming like him is
set into motion. That is a
point he does not want us
to miss.
Knowing these reasons for the Lord's restraint should make us less
inclined to wait for
irrefutable evidence before we will
act like believers.
The Lord is not likely to make
the case miraculously
irresistible. That
would be contrary to the purpose
of mortality, because it would inhibit
the growth and development that
a free environment is designed to
permit.
The Lord has used the highly visible forms of his power very
sparingly--enough to leave
us with clear witnesses, but not
enough to
compel us to believe.
Once the conduct of a person's life has shown that he is indeed a
believer, the signs of
divine influence will follow him,
in part as a further
witness, but primarily to bless
others.
What a careful balance has been struck between too much and not
enough in the manifestations
of divine power! How essential, then, to
be willing to recognize the quiet
evidences for what they are.
(p. 6-8)
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President Harold B. Lee used to say, "Our Lord is not an absentee
father. He is closer
to the leaders of this church than
you have any idea."
(p. 10)
Moreover, a believing attitude affects not only how we think, but
also what we do in
response to our religious commitments.
The genuine
expectation that God will keep
his promises makes
the believing heart
also a faithful heart.
In this way belief leads to action.
The real confirmation that he actually fulfills his promises in our
own lives, often comes later--the
harvest of those early decisions to
be believing. "On the good
ground are they, which
in an honest and
good heart,
having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with
patience." (Luke 8:15).
After a few seasons of such harvesting, and
of doing what believers
do, the faithful, believing heart
becomes more
and more a
knowing heart.
Significantly, those experiences also bring with them increased
capacities of character
and spirit, and thus is brought to
partial fruition
the greatest miracle of all--our
own divine potential
to become Christlike.
That is a miracle nature's laws
simply do not, perhaps cannot, produce
without the trial of our faith.
And the beginning of it all is to doubt not,
but be
believing. That first step
and the conduct that follows it are under
our exclusive, personal
control. (p. 14-15).
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Someone once said you can't visually tell the difference between a
strand of cobweb
and a strand of powerful cable--until
stress is put on
the strand. Our testimonies
are that way, and
for most of us, the days
of stress for our testimonies
have already begun. It may not
be the death
of a loved one. We might
not yet have been asked to give up something
that is really precious to us,
though the time for such a test may well come
to us by and by.
Our current stress is more likely
to come in the form of
overpowering temptations, which
show us that a shallow acceptance
of
the gospel does not have the
power to cope with the full
fury of the powers
of darkness. Perhaps there
is a mission call to a place of illness and
disappointment, when we had planned
on a mission to a place of unbounded
opportunity.
Or perhaps there are too many questions
to which our limited
knowledge simply has no
answer.
When those times come, our testimonies must be more than the
cobweb strands of a
fair-weather faith. They need
to be like strands of
cable, powerful enough to resist
the shafts of him
who would destroy us.
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Having a testimony is setting an example for a friend who mocks
the Church, and after
beginning to wonder if you're the
one who is on the
wrong track, one day hearing
her say to you,
"Thank you for being the
way
you are, for being good to me
when I didn't deserve it. I know
this sounds
strange coming from me, but I
want to live a better life. Will you
help me?"
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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)
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