We often wait for the fog to lift before taking another step. Learning instead to walk through it is real faith.
The modern world is a chaotic echo chamber, reinforcing our own thoughts about who to be and how to plan our lives. We may try to rely on our own limited strength, but true spiritual progression requires us to look upward and move forward while anchoring our lives in the unchanging laws of heaven.
Photo by Omar Ramadan
In his April 2003 general conference address, “The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing,” Elder Richard G. Scott reminds us that “faith is not illusion nor magic but a power rooted in eternal principles.” In Alma 32, we see one of those eternal principles explained: We are invited to plant the word of God in our hearts and nourish it with diligence and patience. But just as a seed needs time to grow, our faith requires uncertainty in order to take root. These moments of not knowing are not signs of divine abandonment; they are evidence of a loving Heavenly Father who trusts us enough to allow us to grow.
As a college student, I often feel the pressure to have my future mapped out. I have learned that God rarely provides a detailed itinerary. Instead, he often remains silent while we move forward—a process that mirrors the “nourishing” Alma describes (Alma 32:42). We do not gain a perfect knowledge of God’s will by demanding immediate results, but by moving forward in the dark, trusting that as we nourish our faith, it will flourish. Viewing uncertainty not as a void, but as a crucible for growth, has changed how I make decisions.
When the world demands and echoes immediate certainty, we are called to a different standard. We must choose to step into the unknown because our faith is rooted in the principle that God is all-loving. By exercising faith through patient obedience, we grow into a resilient character sustained by eternal principles, capable of withstanding any future struggle.
For the rest of the message on faith, read Elder Richard G. Scott’s complete talk, “The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing.”
Source: General Conference
—Natalie Fernsten, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY AARON BURDEN
Read Abby Crimm’s Latter-day Saint Insights article “Facing Ambiguity with Faith” for more insights on how to exercise faith when we don’t receive the answers we want from God.
To understand more about accepting the in-between phases of our faith, read Natalie Fernsten’s Latter-day Saint Insights article “Finding Peace in the Liminality.”