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Similar a TFOT July 2015 Returning to Faith, by Sister Rosemary Wixom
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TFOT July 2015 Returning to Faith, by Sister Rosemary Wixom
- 1. RETURNING TO FAITH By Rosemary M. Wixom Primary General President April 2015
- 2. JOURNEY TO RE-GAIN FAITH • Focus on truths she did believe • Prayer and Scripture study incredible important • In the face of doubt, “Stop, and look at whole picture” • You have to have your own spiritual experience
- 3. SPIRITUAL DARKNESS WHAT IS THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL?
- 4. SPIRITUAL DARKNESS WHAT IS THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL? • Crisis of faith • Questioning one’s testimony • Feelings of abandonment and absence of the spirit • Thought that God may not exist, and if he does He does not answer prayers!
- 5. MOTHER TERESA’S DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL In my soul I feel just that terrible pain of loss – of God not wanting me – of God not being God – of God not really existing … That darkness that surrounds me on all sides –
- 6. PERSONAL DARK NIGHTS Spiritual Darkness will Come to All
- 7. CAUSES OF THE “DARK NIGHT”
- 8. CAUSES OF THE “DARK NIGHT” • Condition of Mortality • “dark veil of unbelief” (Alma 19:6) • “… I do not know the meaning of all things” (1 Nep 11:17) • Rage against God for perceived injustice, tragedy, or sickness • Path to Apostasy • Disobedience • Focusing on critical, deceptive, and misleading information • Little by little our light burns out! • Read Quote 1 (President Uchtdorf)
- 9. WHY DO WE HAVE TO HAVE EXPERIENCES THAT TRY OUR FAITH; WHY IS GOD SOMETIMES SO SLOW TO MAKE HIS PRESENCE KNOWN – ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE PROMISED TO HAVE HIS SPIRIT WITH US ALWAYS?
- 10. OPPOSITION IN ALL THINGS • Read Quote 2 (Elder Hunter) • “There must be grounds for doubt as well as belief, in order to render the choice [to believe] more truly a choice, and therefore the more deliberate, and laden with personal vulnerability and investment” • (Givens, The God Who Weeps).
- 11. GOD WILL HAVE A TRIED PEOPLE •Read D&C 136:31 •Read Quote 3 (Brigham Young) •We are forced to answer the question - “Will ye also go away?”
- 12. GOD WANTS TO MAKE US INDEPENDENT IN OUR SPHERE/SPIRITUALLY MATURE • Brigham Young thought God’s intention was to make us as independent in our sphere is he is in His… it may be for this reason that the heavens close from time to time, to give us room for self- direction. • ….To be an agent unto oneself may very well require that we operate in the valley of incertitude. … Like the sand in the oyster shell, the torment of uncertainty is at the same time the spur to our spiritual vitality and growth. (Givens, Crucible of Doubt).
- 13. ANSWERS ALWAYS COME BUT NOT ON OUR TIME TABLE AND NOT ALWAYS IN THE MANNER EXPECTED • It is also possible that God’s answers are sometimes too indirect, too oblique, for us to recognize because we are looking for something more palpable • Sometimes the problem may be that our expectations are too paltry, not too grandiose. We so strain to hear the voice in the whirlwind that we fail to see light breaking in the east. We are waiting for the message even as our world has been miraculously reconstituted around us. (Givens, Crucible of Doubt)
- 14. “I THIRST” • Mother Teresa came to believe the darkness helped her identify not only with the abandonment that Jesus Christ felt during the crucifixion, but also with the abandonment that the poor faced daily. In this way she hoped to enter, in her words, the “dark holes” of the lives of the people with whom she worked.
- 15. WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES IN THE “DARK AND DREARY WASTE” • “As she reflected back, she said, ‘My testimony had become like a pile of ashes. It had all burned down. All that remained was Jesus Christ’” • Read Isaiah 61:3
- 16. JOURNEY TO RE-GAIN FAITH • Focus on truths she did believe • Prayer and Scripture study incredible important • In the face of doubt, “Stop, and look at whole picture” • You have to have your own spiritual experience
- 17. ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THOSE IN DARKNESS SEEKING THE LIGHT •Sister Wixom taught that ward members did not hesitate to give love and courtesy and support during her crisis of faith. •Read Quote 10
- 18. “ WE ARE ALL PILGRIMS SEEKING GOD’S LIGHT AS WE JOURNEY ON THE PATH OF DISCIPLESHIP. WE DO NOT CONDEMN OTHERS FOR THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT THEY MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE; RATHER, WE NOURISH AND ENCOURAGE ALL LIGHT UNTIL IT GROWS CLEAR, BRIGHT, AND TRUE.” • President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Notas del editor
- Sister Wixom shares story of Young Mother who had an “inquiring mind.” But as the questions got harder, so did the answers. And sometimes there were no answers. She began to doubt the foundations of her faith and eventually separated herself from the Church. During this time, ward and family members did not hesitate to give love, and she always felt included. While in this crisis of faith, she read Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the “Saint of Calcutta.” In this book, Mother Teresa confides about her own personal “Dark Night of the Soul.” Mother Teresa experienced the dark night of the soul for 50 years, yet continued on her path that she felt called to. If Mother Teresa could live her religion without all the answers and without a feeling of clarity in all things, maybe she could too. (Terryly Givens refers to this as “Fellowship of the Desolate”)
- Her journey to re-gain faith included the following: As she reflected back, she said, “My testimony had become like a pile of ashes. It had all burned down. All that remained was Jesus Christ.” (Beauty for Ashes, Isaiah 61:3) Focus on the truths she did believe and let those truths fill her mind and heart Prayer and scripture study became incredible important in her life. She learned that when she came up against a statement that caused her to doubt, she “could stop, look at the whole picture. (#i.e., Not using keyhole approach, See Elder Oaks) You have to have your own spiritual experiences (#What Givens calls “Private life of discipleship; private temples)
- What is the Dark Night of the Soul? (lots of scriptural references to “darkness” – darkest abyss, dark and dreary waste, etc. Allow for brief discussion)
- Taken from the poetry of St John of the Cross, it is a Crisis of Faith; questioning ones testimony; Feelings of Abandonment and Absence of the Spirit! The thought that God does not hear our prayers;
- Quotes from Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the “Saint of Calcutta.” She writes of “this terrible sense of loss – this untold darkness – this loneliness – this continual longing for God – which gives me that pain deep down in my heart. – Darkness is such that I really do not see – the place of God in my soul is blank. There is no God in me. – When the pain of longing is so great – I just long and long for God – and then it is that I feel – He does not want me – He is not there. -- … God does not want me. – Sometimes – I just hear my own heart cry out – “My God” and nothing else comes. – The torture and pain I can’t explain. Elsewhere she writes (quoted by Sister Wixom) “Please pray for me that I may not spoil His work and that Our Lord may show Himself – for there is such terrible darkness within me, as if everything was dead. It has been like this more or less from the time I started “the work.” Ask Our Lord to give me courage” (149). In the darkness … I call, I cling, I want – and there is no One to answer – no One on Whom I can cling – no, No One, -- alone. The darkness is so dark – and I am alone. – Unwanted, forsaken. … Where is my faith? – I have no faith. – I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart -- & make me suffer untold agony. So many unanswered questions live within me – I am afraid to uncover them. – If there be God, please forgive me (186-187). They say people in hell suffer eternal pain because of the loss of God – they would go through all that suffereing if they had just a little hope of possessing God. – In my soul I feel just that terrible pain of loss – of God not wanting me – of God not being God – of God not really existing … That darkness that surrounds me on all sides – (193). And again, “That terrible longing keeps growing – and then that darkness, that loneliness, that feeling of terrible aloneness. Heaven from every side is closed.” (202) (# commentators suggest that she interpreted this as her experiencing “Christ’s thirst” on the cross. Or parallel to the darkness the poor of the slums feel. Mother Teresa concluded that these painful experiences could help her identify not only with the abandonment that Jesus Christ felt during the crucifixion, but also with the abandonment that the poor faced daily. In this way she hoped to enter, in her words, the “dark holes” of the lives of the people with whom she worked. Paradoxically, then, Mother Teresa’s doubt may have contributed to the efficacy of one of the more notable faith-based initiatives of the last century (nytimes.com August 29, 2007)
- What causes the Dark Night – (Allow for brief discussion)
- The more we incline our hearts and minds toward God, the more heavenly light distills upon our souls. And each time we willingly and earnestly seek that light, we indicate to God our readiness to receive more light. Gradually, things that before seemed hazy, dark, and remote become clear, bright, and familiar to us. By the same token, if we remove ourselves from the light of the gospel, our own light begins to dim—not in a day or a week but gradually over time—until we look back and can’t quite understand why we had ever believed the gospel was true. Our previous knowledge might even seem foolish to us because what once was so clear has again become blurred, hazy, and distant. (Uchtdorf, Gaining a Testimony of truth and Light)
- Opposition in all things: Quote 2: We came to mortal life to encounter resistance. It was part of the plan for our eternal progress. Without temptation, sickness, pain, and sorrow, there could be no goodness, virtue, appreciation for well-being, or joy. The law of opposition makes freedom of choice possible; therefore, our Heavenly Father has commanded his children, “Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you” (Hunter, The Lord Will Have a Tried People, May 1980) there must be enough evidence to not believe to make faith or disbelief a true choice! “There must be grounds for doubt as well as belief, in order to render the choice more truly a choice, and therefore the more deliberate, and laden with personal vulnerability and investment” (Givens, The God Who Weeps).
- God will have a tried and tested people; D&C 101: 2, 4; 2 Nephi 2:2; D&C 136:31. Quote 3: President Brigham Young said: “Let any people enjoy peace and quietness, unmolested, undisturbed,—never be persecuted for their religion, and they are very likely to neglect their duty, to become cold and indifferent, and lose their faith” (in Journal of Discourses, 7:42). Today other biographies of faith are being written—Saints who, like Job, suffer physical pain, emotional sorrow, and even disloyalty from friends—yet remain faithful; Saints who, like Jacob, see sons and daughters not so valiant as they should be, but who bless them for their potential; Saints who, like Paul, endure great ridicule and endure to the end; Saints who, like Nephi, must separate themselves from family because of their commitment to the gospel. There are those who know pain and sorrow because of loss of loved ones; who know spiritual sorrow because children go astray; who experience loss of health, financial reverses, and emotional distress, and yet, like Job, resolve, “When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10) (Hunter, The Lord Will Have a Tried People, May 1980. “Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we were to close the doors upon sorrow and distress, we might be excluding our greatest friends and benefactors. Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery” (Faith Precedes the Miracle, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1972, p. 98). We are forced to answer the question - “Will ye also go away?”
- he wants to make us independent in our sphere/spiritually mature. Brigham Young thought God’s intention was to make us as independent in our sphere is he is in His… it may be for this reason that the heavens close from time to time, to give us room for self-direction. … Lord tutors us to replace immediacy with memory in D&C 6…cast your mind upon the night….To be an agent unto oneself may very well require that we operate in the valley of incertitude. … Like the sand in the oyster shell, the torment of uncertainty is at the same time the spur to our spiritual vitality and growth. (Givens, Crucible of Doubt).
- Answers always come but not on our time table and not always in the manner expected. It is also possible that God’s answers are sometimes too indirect, too oblique, for us to recognize because we are looking for something more palpable. … that we often, even unknowingly, impose expectations and preconditions on the kind of answer we anticipate. We want a discernible voice—though scriptures note such occurrences infrequently. We wait for a burning in the bosom—though that scriptural allusion was in reference to the gift of translation, not prayer. … Sometimes the problem may be that our expectations are too paltry, not too grandiose. We so strain to hear the voice in the whirlwind that we fail to see light breaking in the east. We are waiting for the message even as our world has been miraculously reconstituted around us. (Givens, Crucible of Doubt)
- Mother Teresa came to believe the darkness helped her identify not only with the abandonment that Jesus Christ felt during the crucifixion, but also with the abandonment that the poor faced daily. In this way she hoped to enter, in her words, the “dark holes” of the lives of the people with whom she worked.
- What do we do when we find ourselves in the “dark and dreary waste” Let us return to Sister Wixom’s talk – the young mother’s journey to re-gain her faith included serveral steps. But first “As she reflected back, she said, ‘My testimony had become like a pile of ashes. It had all burned down. All that remained was Jesus Christ.’ This is a wonderful reference and imagery. Not sure it the young mother or Sister Wixom had Isaiah in mind or not, it is not cited. But the Messianic scripture in Isaiah 61:3 tells us the Lord will give Beauty for Ashes! (Isaiah 61:3). Thus as she still had her testimony in the Saviour he was able to heal her and give Beauty for Ashes. Returning to the Savior gives us Beauty for Ashes (Isaiah 61:3) & replaces the Darkness with Light!
- Focus on the truths she did believe and let those truths fill her mind and heart Quote 4: In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited. When those moments come and issues surface, the resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes. 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 (Holland, Lord, I believe). Prayer and scripture study became incredible important in her life. Quote 5: When problems come and questions arise, do not start your quest for faith by saying how much you do not have, leading as it were with your “unbelief.” That is like trying to stuff a turkey through the beak! Let me be clear on this point: 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 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. (Holland, Lord, I believe) Quote 6: In other words, when you are trying to verify the truth of gospel principles, you must first live them. The more we incline our hearts and minds toward God, the more heavenly light distills upon our souls. And each time we willingly and earnestly seek that light, we indicate to God our readiness to receive more light. Gradually, things that before seemed hazy, dark, and remote become clear, bright, and familiar to us (Uctdorf, Receiving a testimony of light and truth) She learned that when she came up against a statement that caused her to doubt, she “could stop, look at the whole picture. (#i.e., Not using keyhole approach, See Elder Oaks) Quote 7: Another potential destroyer of spiritual roots—accelerated by current technology but not unique to it—is the keyhole view of the gospel or the Church. This limited view focuses on a particular doctrine or practice or perceived deficiency in a leader and ignores the grand panorama of the gospel plan and the personal and communal fruits of its harvest. … It is up to each of us to set the priorities and to do the things that make our soil good and our harvest plentiful. We must seek to be firmly rooted and converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ (see Colossians 2:6–7) (Oaks, Parable of the Sower, April 2015) You have to have your own spiritual experiences (#What Givens calls “Private life of discipleship; private temples) Quote 8: We should recognize, first, that we are responsible for our own spiritual diet, and second, that sources of inspiration are sprinkled indiscriminately throughout time and place. Mormons should feel empowered and inspired to fill our own wells with nourishing waters. The challenge, then, and the enticing opportunity, is to find a pattern of devotion and nourishment that extends beyond the confines of a Sunday curriculum, one that constitutes our private life of discipleship. … it is in the secret chambers of our private temples that we must have ultimate recourse to the inspiration and revelation that guide our discipleship. Ultimately, we are responsible for our own life of discipleship, for finding spiritual nourishment in our own sacred spaces. (Givens, Crucible of Doubt) Quote 9: Nevertheless, we would hope, for skeptic, believer, and everyone in between, that humility, faith, and the influence of the Holy Spirit would always be elements of every quest for truth, that foundational truths would always be the reference points in that quest, and that all other issues which may yet need resolving are pursued “by study and also by faith.” (Holland, An Evening with Elder Holland).
- Encouragement for those in Darkness Seeking the Light Sister Wixom taught that ward members did not hesitate to give love and courtesy and support during her crisis of faith. Quote 10: Quote Creator God of Genesis is a Being who revels in distinctions, difference, and variation. This is why the body of Christ needs its full complements of members – the devout, the wayward, the uncomfortable, the struggling. Not only unique backgrounds, but “unique talents and perspectives and diversity of persons and peoples are strength of this Church. (Uctdorf, Come Join with Us) Come and add your talents, gifts, and energies to ours. We will all become better as a result. Room for those with doubts and uncertainty. One of the purposes of the Church is to nurture and cultivate the seed of faith—even in the sometimes sandy soil of doubt and uncertainty. There Is No Litmus Test The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place for people with all kinds of testimonies. There are some members of the Church whose testimony is sure and burns brightly within them. Others are still striving to know for themselves. The Church is a home for all to come together, regardless of the depth or the height of our testimony.
- Sis Wixom quotes President Uchdorf, “We are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright, and true.” (#We should show support and patience with those who struggle with testimony)