Latter-day Saint Life

What to Do When Doubting Your Faith

To one degree or another, every person will face doubt in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This isn’t because the gospel is weak, flawed, or because the Church stands on weak historical ground (spoiler: it doesn’t). Doubt occurs naturally, even with faithful, commandment-keeping members. Just like joy and sorrow or bitter and sweet, doubt and faith are two sides of the same coin.

Doubt is defined as “a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction”. In other words, what everyone feels before we have a testimony. And testimonies aren’t all in one packages. A testimony of Jesus doesn’t always mean a testimony of The Book of Mormon and testimony of Joseph Smith doesn’t necessarily mean a testimony of President Monson. Testimonies come “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little”. The pace and order at which a testimony comes is between God and His individual children. Judging someone for not being at a certain level of testimony, even if that testimony is one they once had and need to regain, is not in our job description as disciples of Christ. All any of us can do is share the testimonies we DO have and love each other in our struggles, including struggles with faith.

So what do we do when doubts come? It can be earth-shattering. Suddenly you are worried that everything you have learned might not be true. You begin to wonder if God can really deliver His promises that you have always relied on. That can be terrifying. So if you have any doubts, remember to relate to your life the story one of the world’s most famous doubters: Doubting Thomas.

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