Digital Only: Young Adults
My Questions and Christ’s Love
I have found that viewing my questions as a “weakness in understanding” helps me move forward with faith in Christ.
At the end of a devotional with President Russell M. Nelson given to young adults, he blessed us “to be able to discern between right and wrong, between the laws of God and the conflicting voices of the world.” He blessed us “with power to detect the adversary’s deceptions … [and] with greater capacity to receive revelation.”1 What a great blessing for us as young adults! I’ve had my own experiences with receiving revelation regarding questions.
I am a naturally curious person who generally overthinks everything. Questioning and a longing for answers has always been part of my nature, and truth has always been so important to me. But over the years, I’ve sometimes felt alone or ashamed about having questions and even doubts about the gospel and the Church. After all, the scriptures tell us to “doubt not” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:36). And the Savior asked Peter, “Thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).
Realizing the Weaknesses in Our Understanding
At one point, my faith felt pretty bleak. Yet God was able to teach me a beautiful lesson as I read the Book of Mormon. After Christ preached to the Nephites, He noticed something. He said, “I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time” (3 Nephi 17:2).
I felt like Christ was speaking those words to me. I too felt weak, and I could not understand everything He wanted me to know. Christ’s reaction to this weakness touched me: Christ saw the Nephites’ love, and although they were too weak to understand His words, He ministered to and loved them in a way that they could understand.
In moments where I feel too weak, too tired, or too fragile to understand Christ’s words, He blesses me with compassion and understanding. His love is what gives me the strength to keep going and to keep searching for the truths I seek.
Feeling Christ’s Love as We Seek Truth
If you are grappling with truth or doctrine right now, don’t worry. It’s OK to grapple with hard things and have questions or concerns that sometimes shake you to the core. While you search for truth, remember that God understands you, loves you, and is happy when you use your agency to seek light. That is nothing to be ashamed of. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “Fighting through darkness and despair and pleading for the light is what opened this dispensation. It is what keeps it going, and it is what will keep you going.”2
We can know the truth of all things through the power of the Holy Ghost (see Moroni 10:5), but it rarely comes immediately or when we necessarily want it to. Instead we learn “line upon line, precept upon precept” (2 Nephi 28:30). Truth comes in the Lord’s timing. He knows when we are ready for knowledge, and He knows what we need to experience before receiving it.
I am grateful for a God who will teach us in our weaknesses and who lets us first hope, then believe, and then know. And I know that we can receive truth through personal revelation, just as President Nelson has promised. Heavenly Father cares about our questions, and He will guide us through them. Sometimes His answer is to change our hearts so we can see things in a different light, and sometimes we’re simply asked to be patient and faithful and “prepare [our] minds for the morrow” for Him to come teach us later (see 3 Nephi 17:3).
I know that no matter what understanding we lack, we can continue forward with hope and faith that everything will one day be revealed. And until then, we can continue to draw closer to Christ, who sees our weakness and loves us all the same.