In this earthly life, we will all have fears. In the Saturday morning session of the most recent General Conference, Elder Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a talk entitled, "Be Not Troubled" in which he stated "Fear is not new. As Christ's disciples today, we have fears. Our single adults fear making commitments such as getting married. Young marrieds can fear bringing children into an increasingly wicked world. Missionaries fear lots of things, especially approaching strangers. Widows fear going forward alone. Teenagers fear not being accepted; grade schoolers fear the first day of school; university students fear getting back a test. *We fear failure, rejection, disappointment, and the unknown. We fear hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires that ravage our land and our lives. We fear not being chosen, and on the flip side, we fear being chosen. We fear not being good enough; we fear the Lord has no blessings for us. We fear change, and our fears escalate to terror."*
Fear has inhibited God's children throughout all of human history, but the good news is that we can overcome all of the fears that we may have through faith and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
FAITH IS THE OPPOSITE OF FEAR!!!
Faith is having a hope and a belief in things that we cannot necessarily see. It should be our goal to be faithful disciples and instruments in the hands of our Heavenly Father. But how do we change our fears into faith?
In his October 1977 General Conference address entitled "Turning Fear into Faith", Russell H. Bishop tells the story of a seemingly fearless missionary. When he asked the young elder how he kept any fears he had at bay, the humble missionary responded, "It's never been hard at all President....once I realized who I was and who I was working for."
This simple phrase that this young man told his mission president summarizes the principle for changing fear into faith that will work well for all of us. When we recognize who we truly are - sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father - and who we are working for, there will be no room for fear in our hearts and our minds.
Take, for instance, the story of the stripling warriors. These young men are often depicted as being tall, strong and intimidating. The work stripling, however, infers an appearance different than what we may imagine. When Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, the word stripling meant "a youth in the state of adolescence, or just passing from boy to manhood; a lad." I don't know about you guys, but when I imagine an adolescent boy, I don't see a big muscular dude. These boys were probably short and skinny. Even their leader Helaman said that these boys were "very young" and called them his "little sons" They were facing older, more experienced, and bigger opponents. I would have been terrified if I were them. However, they took courage and exercised their faith in the Lord and relied on Him. In fact, in Alma 56:47 it says that these striplings "did not fear death." Helaman says in verse 45, "never had I seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites."
We can learn a lot from these stripling warriors. Though the trials and difficulties around us may seem large and thought our opponent - the adversary - is more experienced, older, and bigger than we are, we need not fear if we have faith in the Lord. This is not to say that we will emerge from our battles unscathed. Like the stripling warriors, we will likely get beat up along the way. But none of our injuries will be fatal. We will come out on the other side of our trials and fears and we will be okay.
Doctrine and Covenants 38:30 says, "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear." Brothers and sisters, you have no idea how much I relate to this verse. Let me give you a scenario that you may find relatable. Have you ever not been prepared for a test? Whether you forgot about it and didn't study or Netflix was calling your name a little louder than your notes were, I think we can all relate to not being prepared for some kind of test. This past semester at Utah State, I had an experience where I was not prepared for a quiz. I had forgotten to do the reading for my history class and when my professor informed the class that we would be having a reading quiz I was terrified. My grade was already on the edge of a B and I didn't want to reason my grade in the class went down to be that I forgot to study. For the previous reading quizzes, I wasn't scared because I had prepared beforehand.
This same principle applies to our lives. When tests and trials come our way, our fears may overwhelm us if we are not prepared. So how can we be prepared in our lives for the fears and trials we ill surely face? I have a few suggestions.
Firstly, we need to have a knowledge of the gospel. The more knowledge of the gospel that we have in our heads, the less space there is for Satan to distract us with fear. Second, we need to have a strong testimony. As we grow and develop our testimony through daily scripture study (and notice I say study and not simply read), sincere daily prayers, and attending our church meetings our testimonies will grow and we will be better prepared to face the storms that we may face in this life. Third, we must love our fellowmen. Oftentimes when we are scared or going through trials, we understandably turn inward and focus on ourselves. However, if we focus on others, we will not notice our fears and it will help us to overcome them. One good way to show our love for our fellowmen in by serving them. As we serve others, we will invite the light and love of Christ into our lives and this light will drive out the darkness that fear puts into our lives. Elder Stevenson tells a story when he and his wife presided over a mission. He told of times when missionaries would come to his office discouraged, tired, anxious, and scared. his wife would them implement the "cookie therapy." She would give the troubled missionary the ingredients necessary to make cookies and would then give the instruction to make a batch of cookies every morning before heading out for the day. She then told them to pray about someone they could give those cookies to in order to brighten their lives. After a week or two of participating in the cookie therapy, the missionary's mental health would have improved immensely, often to the point where they had no more fear or anxiety afflicting them.
The drastic improvement in these missionaries was due to selflessly serving those around them. By turning their focus from inward to outward, the missionary's problems were remedied. This miraculous transformation can happen in our lives as well if we simply look for opportunities to serve those around us. Elder Stevenson says it best, "The warm golden glow that accompanies service and selflessness has the power to melt away doubts and fears."
We can drive away fear by standing in holy places. When we are in holy places we cannot be scared. Elder Rasband says, "There is no room for fear in these holy places of God or in the hearts of his children. Why? Because of love. God loves us - always - and we love Him. Our love of God counters all fears, and His love abounds in holy places." A week ago, I had the opportunity to go through the London Temple and receive my own endowment. Previous to going to the temple, I had some anxiety because I didn't really know what to expect. However, the love of the temple matron and my super cool parents helped me through the unfamiliar territory and helped me to not feel so nervous. Even more though was the overwhelming feeling of peace, calm, and clarity I felt as I continued through the session completely calmed me. I don't think I've ever felt more at peace than when I prayed in the Celestial Room. I would encourage you all to increase your temple attendance because I know as we do so, we will have questions answered, fears calmed, and greater peace brought to our lives.
Thankfully, the temple is not the only holy place on this earth. I asked my family places they thought could be considered to be holy places. Some of their responses included our homes, the church building, institute buildings, girls camp, mutual activities, and nature. Anywhere can be a holy place as long as we are living worthily so we can have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Anywhere we go and anywhere we are is a holy place and a place where fear cannot affect us.
Another way to be prepared and to consequently overcome fear is to realize the nature of opposition, or in other words, to know our enemy. The adversary will do whatever he can to exaggerate our feelings of personal inadequacy. And when we recognize and realize this we start to understand our enemy. Every time you feel hesitancy in yourself, each time you recognize your fears, you have recognized the presence of evil. But recognizing this fear is only part of the solution. Russell H. Bishop said it best by giving us the advice to drive out fear with faith by turning to the Lord in prayer. This doesn't mean that you're ignoring the fear, it simply means that you're letting the Lord do what he does best: taking something bad and making it good.
We cannot, however, just pray on time and expect all of our problems and fears to improve and go away. We need to make praying a part of our life, a lifestyle of prayer if you will. As we continue to pray and exercise faith in the Lord, he can take our weaknesses and fears and make us STRONG! Elder Anderson said, "Prayer can call down the strength and the revelation that we need to center our thoughts on Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice." As we pray and keep our thoughts focused on the Savior, our fears will disappear.
Doctrine and Covenants 10:5 says "Pray always that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants that do uphold his work." The next time you are scared or fearful, I would encourage you to say a prayer. It will help increase your faith and reduce your fears.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "Faith, to be faith, must go beyond that which there is confirming evidence. Faith, to be faith, must go into the unknown. Faith, to be faith, must walk to the edge of the light and then take a few steps into the darkness." Faith is an action word. In order to exercise faith, we need to take the plunge into what isn't certain. I know that as we exercise faith, that the fears we may have will be dispelled. We need to put our hand in the Lord's and rely on Him and have faith that He will help us through. WE MUST ACT FIRST IN FAITH.
Elder Gerritt W. Gong said, "When we seek to live the gospel, we are filled with light, and there can be no darkness in us. Light and faith cannot coexist with darkness and fear. When we are filled with light, we feel happy and peaceful and safe." There's a lot to be afraid of in this world that just seems to keep getting worse. We shouldn't minimize the problems and complexities that we face in modern life, but we also shouldn't let them paralyze us. There is an antidote to fear and it requires us to stand with God.
The ever-increasing darkness in our world can easily make us feel troubled and bleak. These pessimistic feelings hinder our goal to decrease our fear. President Gordon B. Hinckley was known for his optimism and encouraged us to be optimistic and have positive attitudes. He advised, "Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight." Our optimism can be more than just a positive attitude. It can be a very powerful force emanating from us, rooted in our faith and trust in God. President Hinckley also counseled, "It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. If you do your best it will all work out. Put your trust in God and move forward with faith and confidence and faith in the future. The Lord will not forsake us."
In my psychology class, I learned that you can trick your mind into being happy. All you have to do is smile! The physical act of smiling tricks your mind into being happy so smile more! Moses 1:39 says, "This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Heavenly Father is here from us, He glories in helping us - it is His whole purpose. He will never forsake us. Though hard times will come and fears will arise, if we put our trust and faith in God, we cannot fail.
As I have said before, fear is part of our life here on earth. No one will make it through this life without experiencing fear. But looking at life through an eternal lens can help us overcome fear. This is all thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which gives us HOPE and STRENGTH! When we go through life with an eternal perspective, none of the fears that we deal with in life seem as significant. Through the atonement, we can conquer our fears. Choosing to live with an eternal perspective helps us keep the fears we face in this life on the back burner; it will prevent our fears from taking over our lives and will allow us to more fully live by faith.
I'm going to tell you guys about the most amazing thing that I think has ever happened to me. GETTING MY MISSION CALL!!! I was so, so nervous to see where I was going to go. Let me tell you though, as soon as I read where I was going all of the fear left me and was replaced with an indescribable feeling of peace and joy. Throughout my entire life, I had been told that God loved me. And that made sense because I'm his daughter. My thing was, I didn't think I had ever felt that love before, not until I read my call. Heavenly Father loved ME, Emily Moran, an insignificant girl. He loved me enough to send me to my DREAM MISSION! WHERE I WANTED TO GO! That never ever happens. I wish I could better describe what I was feeling at that moment because it was beautiful and overwhelming and honestly life-changing. I was, for the first time, able to recognize and feel God's love for me. And to think, that we can't even comprehend what God really feels for each and every one of His children. He loves me with a perfect love. He LOVES YOU with a perfect love. AND BECAUSE GOD LOVES US WE DON'T HAVE TO FEAR ANYTHING.
This perfect light and love that our Heavenly Father has for us casts out the darkness of fear, loneliness, anxiety, anger, and doubt that may be in our lives. Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "Fear and faith cannot coexist in our hearts at the same time. In days of difficulty, we can choose the road of faith." As we take the necessary steps to replace our fears with faith, we begin to see that "He that receiveth light and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day." Our questions, doubts, and fears are resolved or become less concerning to us. Our faith becomes simple and pure.
Elder Anderson said, "The opposite of fear is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." It is no surprise that Satan likes people to be scared. We aren't thinking about the Savior when we are scared. By focusing on our fears instead of faith we are letting Satan win. But by choosing to focus on our faith, by choosing Jesus Christ, we are winning. And let's face it, winning is fun and it's certainly more fun than losing; especially losing to Satan.
I think it's only appropriate to end with the words of Jesus Christ himself. In Mark 5:36, He says, "Be not afraid, only believe." This simple phrase spoken by the Savior gives us all of the knowledge we need. Faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ will make our fears vanish.
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