Lord I Believe

As Carol Griffin stated, she is awfully lucky to be able to teach these lessons. She gets to share the words of the prophets with us and we are all grateful.
Elder Holland gave a powerful talk last Conference in which he admonished us as a supportive parent would, to "Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe." Good discussion followed these words as we all endeavored to clarify the differences between belief and faith.
The talk was centered around the story in the Bible where a father pleads with Jesus to save his son, a son who has suffered with fits his whole life. This is a very poignant story, filled with emotion of a family's anguish and their desire to find help. Jesus tells the father that  all things are possible if he will believe. The father responds, "And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."
We need to be honest with ourselves so we can find help, as this father has shown. Even in his desperation, he cries out a belief but then immediately questions it. This situation is probably quite familiar to many of us who desire our Lord's help. We believe and then wonder if we have enough faith to deserve our righteous desires. "Even if ye can no more than desire to believe,” Alma declares, “let this desire work in you, even until ye believe.” The father cries out for any kind of help. The entire family is even afflicted as they all care and share in the care of the son. They will be thankful for any help Jesus can give, a partial blessing, a glimmer of hope. With this, Jesus heals the boy, almost raising him from the dead.
"Observation number one regarding this account is that when facing the challenge of faith, the father asserts his strength first and only then acknowledges his limitation. His initial declaration is affirmative and without hesitation: “Lord, I believe.” I would say to all who wish for more faith, remember this man! In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited." Be patient with yourself and know that you have already come a long way in your quest for perfection. Look at all you have done so far and give yourself credit and acknowledge the Lord's will in your efforts to be faithful. Hold fast to the gospel no matter what is happening and know that our Father in Heaven in mindful of your efforts. Think of what this family experienced, a trail of their faith and their perseverance in belief.
I love the comment Elder Holland made.  "The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know." Never compare yourself to someone else; you are unique and valuable as a child of God. Help this poor world by showing strength through integrity.
The father questioned his faith, whether he had enough or not, something that I am certain we have all done. " I am not asking you to pretend to faith you do not have. I am asking you to be true to the faith you do have. Sometimes we act as if an honest declaration of doubt is a higher manifestation of moral courage than is an honest declaration of faith. It is not! So let us all remember the clear message of this scriptural account: Be as candid about your questions as you need to be; life is full of them on one subject or another. But if you and your family want to be healed, don’t let those questions stand in the way of faith working its miracle." Don't be afraid to challenge yourself with truly honest questions and dare to look at them openly, honestly. Each day can be a "New Years'" resolution for our beliefs.
I remember my mother telling me one day, as I was raising our children with as much focus as I could, "Relax a little bit." Elder Holland says the same thing about our part in this divine plan.   "please don’t hyperventilate if from time to time issues arise that need to be examined, understood, and resolved. They do and they will. In this Church, what we know will always trump what we do not know. And remember, in this world, everyone is to walk by faith." Sounds like good parental advise.( See, I tried to change the font 6 times and then said, ahhh-- who cares.) Chill, right? Don't hyperventilate.)
"As one gifted writer has suggested, when the infinite fullness is poured forth, it is not the oil’s fault if there is some loss because finite vessels can’t quite contain it all.¹⁰ Those finite vessels include you and me, so be patient and kind and forgiving." I couldn't have said it better myself!
your imperfect yet bloggess,
Janice