Faith was so much easier when I was a
child and sometimes I miss my childlike faith. It came so easily when
you believed all Bishops were perfect, all choices were black and white,
everyone who made bad choices was evil, and the church itself, if not
the people in it, was perfect. Sometimes, I think my parents were too
good and made life look too easy. I have a pretty blessed life myself,
but it is disillusioning to look around at my friends and neighbors and
family and see the things they struggle with. Somehow, it's easy as
adults to lose sight of our faith. I don't pretend to know exactly what
faith is or what the best way to nourish it, but as an adult, I've
found my faith is different. When I was a child, I doubted nothing. As
an adult, I try not to be too skeptical, but some things and some
people just pull the skepticism from wherever I've tried to bury it.
I've
been serving in the Primary for almost three years. I don't really
ever want to serve any where else. I love being surrounded by the faith
of children and just teaching the simple doctrines of the gospel. Last
year, we spent the summer memorizing the Articles of Faith any my faith
was strengthened as I reviewed the simple basics of the gospel. The
songs we sing teach such profound truths and doctrine and I know the
children will learn so much about the gospel through the Primary songs.
We never have to wade into anything too controversial in Primary.. I
guess in some ways wading through controversy is necessary, but I feel
happier when I focus on the basics and don't worry too much about the
details (that's kind of my general approach to life, so I guess it's no
surprise). I know the scriptures teach that we should become as little
children and I've found the best way for me to do that is to be
surrounded by them. On my best days, my faith is solid and secure and
never doubting. On other days, I feel tossed about with every wind of
doctrine. Even on my worst days, I feel like I've seen too much
evidence of God and the truthfulness of the gospel to deny it and I
don't have to look far to see how much happiness comes by choosing to
follow gospel principles and the teachings of our prophets. I'm forever
grateful for the lessons I've learned in life, but when I'm surrounded
by children, I miss having faith that had never been doubted or tested.
No comments:
Post a Comment