Facing Life and Faith Challenges
Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults
Sunday, November 19, 2023
Elder Quentin L. Cook: As Mary and I have reviewed the question of facing life and faith challenges, we recognize that every generation faces circumstances that can lead to a challenge of their faith. When we search the scriptures and review God’s dealings with His children, two themes are emphasized.
First, because there is opposition in all things and there is an adversary who does not want us to have faith in God, each generation needs to discover and obtain their own knowledge and testimony of God.
Second, each generation needs to understand who they are and their eternal identity. Both of these are difficult to discern because the adversary does not want you to have a clear understanding of God the Father and Jesus Christ and Their plan of happiness for you and who you are in relation to Them.
In the 1960s, Mary and I were young adults. I graduated from Stanford Law School and began to practice law. Mary had done graduate work at Stanford and was a young mother. The life and faith challenges and societal disruptions were different yet very similar to what young adults face today.
Mary, what were some of the challenges that existed at that time?
Sister Mary Cook: A major drug culture was celebrated, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we lived. Huge riots and protests over societal issues were common. The United States’ participation in the conflict in Vietnam was very unpopular, and student protests paralyzed universities. And at the personal level for me, instead of traditional melodic music where couples faced each other when dancing, the music changed. It had a strong beat and was very loud—and people danced separately.
Across the world, some of these challenges and many more were often used to attack religion in general and belief in God.
Elder Cook: On April 8, 1966, Time magazine, which had high readership at that time, chose as its cover story this provocative and disrespectful title: “Is God Dead?”
In the opening letter from the publisher of the magazine, he indicated that the idea came because of the “growing concern among theologians about God and the secularized world in the mid-1960s.”1 The substance of the article was primarily secular and did not cover religion or faith in a satisfactory way.2
Of course, questions of faith didn’t just exist in the 1960s or today. They have always been present. When the Apostle Paul visited Athens, he tried to teach of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Of his effort we read in Acts, “For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.”3
Doesn’t this just sound like the social media world of today?
When the crowd realized the simple religious, faith-based nature of Paul’s message, including his testimony of Jesus Christ, they rejected it.
In addition to faith in God, anxiety about our true identity has also been challenged throughout recorded history. We do not intend to address all the issues in respect to identity in today’s world. But the answer has always been the same. We are all spirit children of the same loving Heavenly Father. President Russell M. Nelson has addressed this in a powerful way. He has emphasized three enduring designations: “child of God,” “child of the covenant,” and “disciple of Jesus Christ.”4
He has also encouraged us to not label ourselves or label others. Many of the problems we face would be resolved if we recognized ourselves as children of a loving Heavenly Father.
Those who desire to destroy faith often assert that faith is no longer relevant. They mistakenly want their personal predilections with respect to the social issues of the day to replace God-given revelation and commandments. They assume and assert that large numbers of people have the same social preferences and are no longer faithful members.
For your information, youth and young adults are not less active or leaving the Church in higher numbers than in the past, as has been widely circulated. The number of missionaries called to serve has significantly increased. The percentage of church participation for the rising generation shows a continuous upward trend.5 Moreover, the number of young adults attending institute has also been increasing.
Please understand that I am not criticizing those with doubts; however, I am suggesting that how you face them is important. The answer to this challenge is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I promise you: If you faithfully read the scriptures, pray, and have religious observance in your lives, you will, over time, find answers to your questions and resolve doubts that may arise from time to time.
One of my favorite scriptural accounts is found in the gospel of Mark about the father who wanted his son to be delivered from an evil spirit. In the scriptural account the Savior essentially asked the father if he believed his son could be healed. The father, with tears in his eyes, said, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”6 This was acceptable to the Lord, and He rebuked the spirit and healed the son.
The lesson is to not let doubts or disbelief overcome our faith. Diligent scripture study, sincere prayer, conscientious religious observance, and following the counsel of the Lord’s prophet will allow you to overcome faith challenges.