How Can I Be Strong Enough to Choose Faith in a Faltering World?
With people I knew and loved leaving the Church, general conference provided me the hope and help that I needed.
“I still love you all who are choosing to stay, but it’s time for me to step away from the Church.”
I felt a pain in my heart as sharp as a knife when I read these words in my cousin’s Instagram post.
I hadn’t connected with her in a while, but I never expected her to step away from the Church. I had always admired her for her faith, especially since she was one of the only active members in her immediate family and had served a mission.
Her message rattled me. I felt a mixture of anger, grief, frustration, and sorrow. But I mostly felt unsettled and afraid. “Will my faith dwindle over time too?” I wondered.
This wasn’t the first time I had seen someone I knew and loved step away from the Church or struggle spiritually. But no matter how many times it happens, my heart always aches.
I have seen friends and acquaintances choosing to follow the opinions of social media influencers who contradict the gospel instead of the direction of our inspired leaders. I see many who acknowledge and believe the revelation from our leaders until they hear them share a principle they don’t agree with. More and more I see contention everywhere I turn as opposing sides try to persuade each other that what they believe is true.
And I have even been afraid to share my testimony at times out of fear of backlash from those who have left.
So Many Questions
In all honesty, I’ve felt weary lately. Spiritually I have been doing fine. But I have always been a bit of an emotional sponge, so I’ve been absorbing the difficult feelings of others and feeling my own emotions strongly too. Seeing such harsh words, especially from those I love and respect, directed at the faith I cherish, has left me feeling like I’m just one minor inconvenience away from having a full-blown meltdown. (Perhaps you’ve been there before.)
Sometimes I just have to ask: Why is this happening? Why are so many struggling spiritually? Why is there so much hatred in the world?
Of course, I’ve always known the truth that in the last days, men’s hearts will fail them, contentions and divisions between people will run rampant, and other faith-testing struggles will happen (see Doctrine and Covenants 45:26). But I never imagined it would be so heart-wrenching and hard at times to be a disciple of Christ in this day and age.
Ultimately, the question my soul has been asking for a while is this: How in the world am I going to be strong enough to choose faith when things are only going to get worse?
And that is the question I had in my heart when the October 2021 general conference began.
Revelation from the Prophet
I waited for that spark of the Spirit that ignites my soul when I hear words I desperately need to hear.
And then there it was—the Spirit hit me like a lightning bolt (in a good way) when I watched our beloved prophet walk up to the pulpit in the Sunday morning session. I had been praying for help in addressing this inner turmoil I’d been experiencing for a while and instantly felt an intense warmth when President Russell M. Nelson began to speak about the ongoing process of strengthening the foundation of the Salt Lake Temple.
At first, I felt a smidge of anxiety when I heard him say, “If you and I are to withstand the forthcoming perils and pressures, it is imperative that we each have a firm spiritual foundation built upon the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.”1
My first thought was, “Great. Things really are going to get worse.”
But then I felt my hope soar as I heard him testify of this truth:
“Whenever any kind of upheaval occurs in your life, the safest place to be spiritually is living inside your temple covenants!
“Please believe me when I say that when your spiritual foundation is built solidly upon Jesus Christ, you have no need to fear. As you are true to your covenants made in the temple, you will be strengthened by His power. Then, when spiritual earthquakes occur, you will be able to stand strong because your spiritual foundation is solid and immovable.”2
Tears filled my eyes at his words “Please believe me.” Because I do. I do believe him.
The Simplicity of Building a Firm Foundation
Here I was thinking I was weak in my foundation and that I would have to do so much to become unshakable. But the prophet taught me that building a spiritual foundation on Christ is as simple as keeping my covenants. And that’s the keyword of staying true to the gospel of Jesus Christ: simple. I heard that same message reiterated throughout the entire conference—how doing the small things can sustain our faith and make it unyielding.
Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared that “the gospel of Jesus Christ is ‘simply beautiful and beautifully simple.’”3 Elder Michael A. Dunn of the Seventy explained that doing only “one percent better”4 could make significant differences in our spiritual strength. And even President Nelson said that “His plan of eternal progression is not complicated.”5
Ultimately, the answer to my question of how I could stay strong and faithful in the gospel even when the world was faltering was simple and doable: stay true to my covenants, make a little extra time for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in my life, share truth, and choose to move forward with faith. Do these simple things, and I will not have to fear, no matter what anyone else chooses to do.
Relying on Christ When Things Are Hard
I realize that while building a foundation in the gospel may be simple, life won’t always be easy. The choices of those we love may break our hearts, we might have difficult questions at times, and there may be moments when we are unsure of how to move forward.
But President Nelson reminded us that Heavenly Father’s plan “honors your agency. You are free to choose.”6
And we always have the ability to choose faith.
I can tell you that because of Heavenly Father’s promises, because of Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice for me, and because of the love and peace and hope They provide in my life, I will choose to follow Them—no matter how hard things get.
I know now that when I’m feeling alone in my faith and that weariness hits me, I can rely on my firm foundation in the Savior and His sustaining power to keep me unshaken. And even when I see posts on social media that contradict my faith, I can find courage through Him to share the simple truths of His gospel anyway.
As we make time for the Lord in our lives every day, I know that we will be led by the Spirit rather than the opinions of the world. He will lead us and keep us steady through even the most turbulent and confusing times in our lives. Even if we feel like we are one of few who are staying on the covenant path, we can always have hope, joy, and peace in Christ as we strive for a steady foundation on our way back home.