We live in a world of instant gratification. Someone can send a text message or an email, and receive an response within minutes if not seconds. If someone needs the answer to a question, they can simply Google it and find what they are seeking without having to move an inch or having to wait a single second. In this kind of world, often times we forget the importance of one of the Christ’s strongest attributes - patience. We must never forget that things of a spiritual nature work according to God’s time, not to our own time. Many times, after teaching someone about the Book of Mormon and the promise contained in Moroni 10:3-5, which promises us that if we pray with faith, that we will receive an answer, I hear from the same person just hours if not minutes later, and they will tell me, “I’ve prayed about the Book of Mormon, and I know it’s not true. I didn’t receive an answer. I read three whole verses, prayed about it, and waited for a good fifteen minutes, and didn’t receive a notification pop-up on my iPhone telling me your Church is true, so it obviously cannot be so.” When we have this attitude, especially in things of the Spirit, then we will not be able to find the answers we will seek. As the scriptures teach us, we find the answers to deep, meaningful questions through long hours of study, pondering, and prayer. We will receive the answers in God’s time, when He knows that they will be the most meaningful to us.
While we wait for our answers, that doesn’t mean that we can sit idly by, hoping that our answers will come after we have made a single attempt to seek for them. Instead, we must continue to search - without searching, we will never find anything. Like so many things, the answers to the questions of our souls will come through faith and action. When we act upon our faith and continue to do the things that we know are right, that is when we will find the answers we seek. That is when God will bless us for our faith and diligence by giving us a greater understanding of Him and His gospel. This can apply to any question - what is the purpose of our lives here on Earth, whether or not the Book of Mormon is true, whether Thomas S. Monson is truly a prophet of God, called to lead us in these modern days, or even whether God, our Heavenly Father, is really there, watching over us and cheering us on as we each do our best to seek the answers to these deep questions. As we continue to have patience and to do our part, the Lord will bless us, and we will find the answers to these and many other questions. I know that this is what I personally have done in order to find these answers, and to continue to find answers, and that everyone else can do the same. By having faith, acting on that faith, and finally, having patience that God will answer in due time, everything can and will be made known to us.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Patience is not one of my strong suits. In this digital age, as you said, we can get instant answers to anything thanks to cell phones and Google and so forth. Someone who prays to see whether or not the Book of Mormon is true and feels like he/she got a negative response within minutes shows that they weren't earnestly and sincerely praying in the first place and may have already had their minds made up.
It also can be difficult to be patient with someone whom we are sharing the Restored Gospel with. Someone can come from so much hurt and closed-mindedness that it can seem like we are talking to a brick wall, or we don't see any progress being made after repeated attempts. It is easy to fall into the mindset of "Well, it is just so true! How can they not see it?!"
We are talking about serious, life-changing questions, and responses do not come easy, nor should (I think) we feel that they should. True conversion takes time. Coming to the truth takes time. And it is a shame that so many people seek that instant gratification and cut themselves off from something much more powerful.