Doubting My Doubts

As I struggled to gain a testimony of the gospel, a general conference talk helped me put my doubts into perspective. “I’m just not sure if I believe in the Church anymore,” I said as I kept my eyes fixed on the distant waters of Utah Lake. I saw Niel… Continue reading

Contest Winner: “Are You Really There?”

The world confuses us about our relationship with God. But a simple children’s song reminds us to send our questions heavenward. “So, do you believe in God or not?” My friend Jane was the kind of person to dig deep into a person’s soul, and tonight my brother was the specimen… Continue reading

Confronting Uncertainty the Right Way

When we confront uncertainty in our lives, there are three ways we can face it. Which will you choose?  At some point, we learn that not everything is in our control. We become aware that there is a gap between the real and the ideal. And with these realizations, uncertainty… Continue reading

Church History and Doubt: Trusting in the Lord

glasses on top of scriptures

When aspects of Church history raise doubts, study and faith can help us navigate historical facts and lead us to answers. Sometimes learning about Church history can build testimonies, but other times, it can shake them. In his Ensign and Liahona article “Understanding Church History by Study and Faith,” Keith… Continue reading

Action: A Product of Our Thoughts and Words

snowy mountain view

The way you think about yourself directly impacts your level of success. Choose to think positively, and your own ability might surprise you.  “I am so bad at math—my brain just doesn’t work that way!” “I forget things all the time!” “I’m never going to be able to manage all of… Continue reading

Taking Back My Faith

man looking at mountains at sunset

I used to believe blindly. But then I found out you can’t believe everything you hear from a Church leader.  Whenever I got a calling, I used to think, “I don’t need to pray about it because of course the answer will be yes.” If I was told something in sacrament… Continue reading

Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones: Coming to Grips with Troubling Information in Church History

sketch of Joseph Smith showing the golden plates to a group of men

Paradigm shifts can rock our world, but they can also bring greater understanding. Before 1697, Westerners believed the idiom “all swans are white.” But when a Dutch explorer discovered a black swan in Australia, his discovery “instantly demolished an apparent reality while also enabling a new, more informed state of… Continue reading

Faith in Revelation: Learning from Joseph Smith’s Civil War Prophecy

Statue of Joseph Smith

Sometimes the revelation we receive can be confusing. But we can learn how to overcome our doubts from the experience of Joseph Smith. Just before Christmas in 1832, the South Carolina legislature established tariffs that challenged the federal government’s right to enforce its own laws. US president Andrew Jackson warned the… Continue reading

3 Ways to Explain the Unexplainable

We can still have faith in Christ, even when we struggle to understand the gospel. With modern technology, we have so much knowledge at our fingertips—yet, having resources that are only a few taps away doesn’t mean we can answer all of life’s questions. Our current scientific theories can’t explain… Continue reading

Contest Winner: Finding Faith amidst Our Failings

silhouette of man at sunset

When we ask ourselves “What lack I yet?” most of us (if we are being honest) would have to respond with a long list of faults and failings. Is there any reason to hope for anything better? In the world that many of us imagine for ourselves, each of us… Continue reading