In times of doubt, we can make the decision to believe in and follow Jesus Christ so that his light will guide us throughout our lives.
photo by davide cantelli
What are some important choices you’ve made in your life? Choosing a career? Deciding to get married? Selecting a place to live?
Although all these decisions are important, they are not the most important. In his conference address “Choose to Believe,” Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy remarks that choosing to believe, specifically in Jesus Christ, is the most important choice we will ever make.
Just as no one forces us to choose what career to pursue, which person to marry, or what location to live in, God does not force us to believe. But he does invite us to choose Jesus Christ, even when we feel that our spiritual progression is slow or stagnant. If we can choose Christ, even in the darkest of moments, we can rely on our hope and his grace to overcome doubt.
Throughout life, we will inevitably encounter questions and situations that may make us feel lost, confused, or frustrated. In those moments, we have to make the choice: will we believe, or will we give up? Fortunately, there will always be spiritual light to guide us forward, and the source of that light is Jesus Christ. We can experience his eternal light in our lives and feel his divine love and mercy as we strive to believe in him.
Read or watch Elder L. Whitney Clayton’s full talk “Choose to Believe.”
Source: lds.org
—Sarah Brown, Mormon Insights
feature image courtesy of ben white
Find more insights
Take a look at Rosemary M. Wixom’s talk “Returning to Faith” to learn how to grow your faith and testimony.
Read Alma 32:26–43 to discover how even one small particle of faith can flourish.
Read or watch Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s talk “‘Lord, I Believe’” to strengthen your belief in Jesus Christ.
It is so easy to feel discouraged when we are faced with lots of important decisions and uncertainty. This was a nice reminder that even when we struggle with those decisions, the most important decision is to follow Christ, and that choice will give us peace.
This is such a great reminder. Especially after April’s General Conference. Christ needs to be the center of our lives and when we decide to put him first everything else falls into play.
One of my favorite quotes says, “Do not be afraid of moving forward, be only afraid of standing still.” When we trust in Christ and believe in Christ we choose to move forward with faith. When we doubt it only keeps us from our potential and distances us from the Lord. I love Elder Clayton’s talk so much!
This piece’s reminders of how choosing faith takes place in “times” and “moments,” and may feel “slow,” distinguishes this decision significantly from other big life choices, which can often be made just once and then followed through with simplicity and confidence. But we must choose to believe time and again, to trust in spiritual confirmations of testimony, even when we can only recall them in the past and such impressions seem to be absent for a while. For me, this has always been a challenge of consistency, of constancy. But I know, too, that blessings await us every time we recommit and choose to remain true to our faith.
This is a great article. If we follow Christ each day we will have peace during uncertain times.
I love this talk and I love what you’ve said!! It’s easy to lose sight of that most important choice among all of the tumultuous, hectic, seemingly “more important” choices we wade through each day. But focusing in on and believing the Savior is the greatest choice we can make, and it no doubt influences the rest of those smaller choices.
When it comes down to it, I think this is one of the most important choices we will make in our lives. It shapes the big life decisions but also how we will live on a day-to-day basis.
SO true. Choosing to believe, trust, and have faith in Jesus Christ and in the hope that His atonement provides is the best decision we can make in this life. When things aren’t going our way, when doubts and uncertainties plague us, I know that turning to our Savior is the quickest way to find and feel peace.