We all know of what God said about faith and what diminishes it. The most common thing is sin, or to be wicked, to abide in Satan’s rule or influence and so forth, but what many people do not realize is there are other things that also diminishes faith, such as the act of remaining in fear or fear based thoughts, choices and actions. Allow me to explain.
Everyone has shortcomings, personal faults that affect their life. God gave us shortcomings so that we may be made humble by them (Ether 12:27), but also by them, through faith and enduring, God can help us make these weaknesses into a strength when these shortcomings or faults are overcome in the right way (2 Nephi 3:13 / 2 Corinthians 12:10 / Hebrews 11:34).
What many do not realize is that by these inward personal faults, a person can easily diminish his or her faith instead of increasing it and this is all by their own doing, in how they use free will and choice and the manner of beliefs they carry and choose to live. This speaks of two sides, the good and the bad.
When a person chooses to overcome their shortcomings or personal faults, this is the good side, but only if they choose the help of the Holy Spirit and that person allows the Spirit to humble them. Then that person’s faith is increased, made deeper and more rooted and he or she gains an inner spiritual strength that withstands negative spiritual influences. This is a process that takes time if a person perseveres, abides in the Spirit, journals, prays, repents, remains obedient, that person will overcome their fault, made stronger and faith surer.
When a person chooses not to overcome their shortcomings or personal faults, ignores the Holy Spirit, whether or not they pray, chooses to forsake humbleness as part of the process, gives in to their faults or justifies them in any way to keep them, ignore them or both, that person’s faith is diminished, and the scriptures say so.
Please read the following:
2 Corinthians 7:10
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
To suffer sorrow in a godly manner, is to our salvation and this is a good thing, but sorrow in a personal way, that is of the world or a worldly way, works toward death and anything that works toward or promotes spiritual death is a clear loss of faith (2 Nephi 9:39 / Romans 6:23). The latter obviously saying that faith is diminished, because death refers to spiritual death and that is someone with no light of God.
Let us look at examples.
IN the scriptures, please read Luke 9:57–62 before you read further here, then return and continue.
Luke 9:57–62 are examples of people with little or no faith. The first example is the man who wanted to return home to bury his father and Jesus told him to let the dead bury their dead, to forsake it, not return but to continue faithfully with Jesus to preach life to people. IN the next example, a man wanted to return to his family to bid them farewell, but Jesus retorted saying any man who puts his hand to the plough, but turns back is not fit for the kingdom of God.
Both examples display worldly sorrow, the suffering of loss or emotional pain based from worldly beliefs. The death part is the loss of faith or diminished faith because those two men chose to abide in their personal worldly sorrows and desires first. Granted the scriptures do not say if these two men listened and obeyed Jesus Christ or if they did not, but we know the result if they did not.
Lets now move these examples from Luke 9:57–62 into contemporary circumstances, in order to get the just of what this means to our faith.
A person feels fear about something or unsettled. This is a shortcoming they carry and suffer from time to time, lets say for example, the fear of communicating. They dislike answering questions, or standing up and speaking when needed, or communicating their true feelings and thoughts when needed, especially in marriage or relationships. When they suffer this fear and choose not to face it in faith, to do what is right first and seek to overcome this shortcoming through prayer, enduring and abiding in the Holy Spirit, they then lead themselves to seek self-justification through others. Seeking others who support having their fears or unsettled feelings and thoughts is opinion shopping and when they do this, they will eventually find someone who will appease, making them feel “self-justified”. Yet, this self-justification from the world bears no power and no substance under God, no matter how positive others can be. It provides a deaden affect, spiritually speaking, because it does not carry any life to it as would the seed of truth from God’s Holy Spirit. This self-justification is called worldly sorrow, to deal with sorrowful things as these fears, anxieties or unsettled things in the way the world does. In this, friendship holds bad counsel and so does the world.
Carry this example into the Church environment of membership. How would a person who abides in their personal fears, issues and so forth, help God build Zion? What happens with a person who abides in his or her fears, shortcomings or issues, a person falls into a battle between these shortcomings and the spiritual things of God. This is termed as the “carnal mind” which is an enmity to God (Romans 8:7) and those who abide in the carnal mind cannot ever learn truth from God (2 Timothy 3:1–8). This is where so many ex-members carry issue toward this Church, its people or its doctrine. Simply, they have chosen worldly sorrow over godly sorrow and sought out self-justification for their shortcomings or fears, which is never found in God’s word or his Church, but is only found in the world, the very place that remains an enmity to God (James 4:4)
Let’s carry this example further, into to the latter part of these latter-days, when the faith of all Christians will undergo severe testing, as to whether they will abide in Christ or not. This will clearly be a time of great stress and persecution, so how would a person who still carries this fault about communicating, fair in these circumstances?
If this person depends on the opinions of others, as their friends and their friends have fallen in faith, where do you suppose this person will also go? Especially when self-justification is so important to this person that Satan promotes self-justification to deny Christ, even to fear the “communication, the speaking out” the name of Christ? Do you see how a fault and fear is used against a person to cause a failure or diminishing of faith?
Let us look at the inward affect of this example of “fear of communication”. Those who are unable to perceive themselves as to their inward state, will find, unbeknown to them, this fear affecting their ability to pray and speak to God. They feel unworthy, not good enough, or feel it is not needed, so they seek the opinions of others as a means to establish their idea of faith in God, in other words to seek others to speak for them or even think and choose for them. When there is “self-justification”, such a person will (again) shop for opinions and will likely find someone to side with their fears or issues, but that does not make what they fear or issue as justified in God’s eyes. A person who justifies their shortcomings within them, is to justify not doing something that is faithful, to avert faithful things, to ignore faithful duties, to choose in fearful ways and abscond from doing what is faithful and right in any circumstance. Such a person has effectively diminished their own faith. In short, they have taken the worldly road and not the godly road and in this has placed themselves as an enmity to God (James 4:4). Where then is their faith?
Personal shortcomings are many, and all shortcomings (weaknesses), if sustained, will diminish a persons faith or prevent faith from growing and developing. It will block spiritual development because in fear or in issue, there is no growth, only stagnation and eventually spiritual death. This is where the devil wants us to stay, this is why he breeds fear.
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
How can any person who abides in personal fear, personal issue, then claim they have good faith in God and be correct? Simply, they cannot be correct for then they do not know God, neither his scriptures and most certainly do not know God’s power and works, which are all necessary for our salvation (1 Peter 1:5 / D&C 68:4).
A person who has, for example, the fear of communication, will find their fear undermining their ability to communicate God’s word, even to themselves, which by the way says they will generally have trouble reading the scriptures, since reading the word is also a manner of communication. In line with this, taking the same example of fear of communication, the ability to listen is affected as well since a person who fears communication, cannot hear it either. It is when the fear is accepted and acted on, that these problems arise. When the fear is subdued or not active, things seem to be fine, but this also says that when the fear is triggered, that is a cue there is a personal weakness or shortcoming which the person must address.
All weaknesses or shortcomings affect the person and their life. The example of communication says they will have trouble communicating to themselves in many aspects of life and the manner of communication they perform, privately will reflect its weakness, such as only able to talk to themselves but not to others. The limitations that are self-imposed can be very great.
Another example is a fear of relationships. This fear will affect a person’s ability to relate to others around them, but also to themselves as this fear, when used as a basis of living life, will run itself in all things a person does. This includes the inability of a person to ‘relate’ to God.
When you see a person who abides in fear, which is also anger, resentment, contention and so forth, justifying fear or even promoting it, as some have done, then that person does not abide in faith of God, but instead will abide in any and all things that are fearful, which are not the things of God. Ideas that God loves us no matter what is a defeatist belief when used to justify fear, using the good word of God to allow, promote, sustain or support a fear that divides a person from God. Then, what love can they receive from God in that? Simply, it is not what God is or can do, the imperative question here is what are you doing or accepting that distances yourself from God?
What can any person do about these things called weaknesses or shortcomings?
Mainly take action for yourself and about yourself. Pay mind to what you do know you fear or have issue with, even if it is, by chance, the example I gave above about fear of communication. Never seek others in the world to get “opinions” of what to do or what they think of your fear, unless you are dealing with a professionally trained counselor. There are too many people in the world with false and damaging beliefs that will harm your faith, your self-esteem, and mislead you, intended or not. For members of God’s Church, seek the counsel of your Bishop or home teachers for they are tasked to steer you right. For yourself, seek the Lord in prayer, journal your fears or issues and in that journal ask God to help you overcome your fear and from that point, continue to journal what comes your way, even in thought and feeling. The key word to this is “endure”, which means to not give in to negative feelings or thoughts, to continue to journal, pray to God asking for help and be patient. God knows what to do, trust in his arm, not yours in this. Remember, this journal is not for the eyes of friends or others at work. A journal is just between you and God. There is great value to self-improvement with God in private.
As you “work out” your fears, you are then “working out your salvation”, as Paul teaches in Philippians 2:12. In this passage, the “fear and trembling” refers to faith and humbleness. To work out your salvation in faith and humbleness, where humbleness includes to be teachable as a child.
What I speak of here is not fantasy, it is truth because I have done these very things myself to work out my salvation. I know these things are true because I have done them with God and experienced his blessings of guidance and works in my life. God, who does provide an inner cleansing of fears, issues and any shortcomings. Turning them from a weakness and powerlessness into a strength and that strengthens faith in God for sure. This is why so many Anti-Mormons fail to convince me that this Church is false, for I know by the works of God within me this Church is true, all because I seek the Father in the name of Jesus Christ to help me overcome inner weaknesses. There is so much to gain in this and so much to loose if ignored.
Amen
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