We should always be willing to ask questions in this life, and being mindful about the questions we ask will help us progress.
When was the last time you asked an earnest question? Not a rhetorical or half-hearted question, but a question to which you truly wish you had an answer? Earnest questions take more effort to ask; they might require us to wrestle with our beliefs or investigate our understanding of the world. It might seem daunting to face up to these kinds of questions, but a willingness to do so will benefit us in the long run.
Photo by Dayan Rodio
In a devotional titled “The Importance of Asking Questions,” Elder Cecil O. Samuelson explores how deeply interconnected our gospel is with question asking. “Ours is a gospel of questions, and our lives in all of their spheres require thoughtful and appropriate inquiry if we are going to progress,” he says.
“Thoughtful and appropriate inquiry,” as Elder Samuelson explains, means that we avoid questions that are “silly, inappropriate, tasteless, or nonsensical.” By avoiding questions that are ultimately unimportant, we can focus on the most important questions, such as those dealing with religious truths or personal revelation.
This is not to say that all of our questions must have eternal significance. For example, “What sort of shoes was Joseph Smith wearing when he had the first vision?” may be a perfectly fine question in a historical context. However, there are certainly more important religious questions we could ask about the Restoration of the gospel.
The skill of asking good questions is one we develop with practice. It requires an open mind and humility, which isn’t always easy. Yet questions are an essential part of life, and mindfulness in asking them will serve us well in our goal of progression.
Find more insights on asking questions in Cecil O. Samuelson’s talk, “The Importance of Asking Questions.”
Source: BYU Speeches
—Simon Laraway, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY COTTONBRO
Find more insights
Take a look at Haley Roper’s article “How to Face Unanswered Questions” if you feel like you are lacking answers to your questions.
For more insights on how questions can help us grow, read Brooklyn Bird’s article “How Can Your Gospel Questions Make You Stronger?”