Lesson
by Rebecca
“Lord
I Believe”
Conference
Talk by
Elder
Jeffrey R. Holland
April,
2013 General Conference
Rebecca began her lesson by
reading the opening paragraphs from Elder Holland’s talk:
“On one occasion Jesus came upon a
group arguing vehemently with His disciples.
When the Savior inquired as to the cause of this contention, the father
of an afflicted child stepped forward,
saying he had approached Jesus’s disciples for a blessing for his son, but they
were not able to provide it. With the
boy still gnashing his teeth, foaming from the mouth, and thrashing on the
ground in front of them, the father appealed to Jesus with what must have been
last-resort desperation in his voice:
“If thou canst do any thing,” he
said, “have compassion on us, and help us.
“Jesus said unto him, If thou
canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
“And straightway the father of the
child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine
unbelief.”
“This man’s initial conviction, by
his own admission, is limited. But he
has an urgent, emphatic desire in behalf of his only child. We are told that is good enough for a beginning. “Even if ye can no more than desire to believe,” Alma declares, “let
this desire work in you, even until ye believe.” With no other hope remaining, this father
asserts what faith he has and pleads with the Savior of the world, “If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” I can hardly read those words without
weeping. The plural pronoun us is obviously used intentionally. This man is saying, in effect, “Our whole
family is pleading. Our struggle never
ceases. We are exhausted. Our son falls into the water. He falls into the fire. He is continually in danger, and we are
continually afraid. We don’t know where
else to turn. Can you help us? We will be grateful for anything—a partial blessing, a glimmer of hope, some small lifting
of the burden carried by this boy’s mother every day of her life.”
“If thou canst do any thing,”
spoken by the father, comes back to him “If thou
canst believe,” spoken by the
Master.
“Straightway,” the scripture
says—not slowly nor skeptically nor cynically but “straightway”—the father
cries out in his unvarnished parental pain, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine
unbelief.” In response to new and still
partial faith, Jesus heals the boy, almost literally raising him from the dead,
as Mark describes the incident.”
Elder Holland in this talk speaks
to the young of the church—young in age, young in years of membership, or young
in years of faith and he has three observations.
The first observation that Elder
Holland mentions is facing the challenges of faith assert your strengths first
and then acknowledge your limitations.
He said, “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.”
Rebecca asked, “How do we hold
fast and stand strong when doubts arise or serious challenges overwhelm us?”
Some responses were: Count on friends, family; count on the faith
of others. Continually persevere in good
times and bad and make commitments now to the Church, the Lord, etc. so when
challenges come we will be able to persevere. Having the desire for faith is
powerful. Obedience is important when
faith waivers.
Rebecca said that the thirteenth
article of faith always helps her when she has doubts or struggles because it
reminds her to surround herself with uplifting, benevolent or virtuous people,
books, etc.:
We believe in being honest, true, chaste,
benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we
follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we
have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is
anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after
these things.
Rebecca likes Paul speaking to the
Colossians: “…ye continue in the faith grounded
and settled, and be not moved away from the hope
of the gospel, which ye have heard…” (Colossians 1:23)
“Now faith
is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)
Faith no matter how small is very
powerful.
“And Jesus said unto them, Because
of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say
unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and
nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
(Matt 17:20)
Elder Holland said, “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.”
Struggles in our life have a
place. Everyone has to come to the
gospel from a different place and a different way. Anything we work hard for and struggle with,
we appreciate more. A person willing to
work for something and have real desire versus an “I don’t care” attitude will
help them in the long run.
It is important to mention to our
children about our struggles of faith, so they understand that they aren’t
different when they have their own struggles.
Everyone learns through their own experiences and this time on earth is
a journey.
Elder Holland states his second
observation this way, “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.”…”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.”
Rebecca’s second question related
to this is: How do we demonstrate
integrity to the faith we do have?
Some responses were: We acknowledge the things we do know and rely
on that; don’t let your doubt be more
important than your faith; give time for your faith; approach from a more
humble attitude; make the assumption
you’re not understanding it correctly…not that it’s false.
Elder Holland said, “Be as candid
about your questions as you need to be; life is full of them on one subject or
another. But if you and your family want
to be healed, don’t let those questions stand in the way of faith working its
miracle.”
Rebecca’s third question was, “How
do we help our children, both young and old when they have significant doubts
and questions about the church?”
Some responses were: It is important to acknowledge their doubts
and concerns; lead by example.
Rebecca read some advice that her
father gave her: “We all want the very
best for our children and we agonize so deeply when they hurt or when they struggle
but know that they are seeking to find themselves and for some of those that
process is difficult and takes longer than either we or they would want. Never lose heart; never lessen your faith and
try not to impose your agency upon them.
Encourage, support, pray for and set the example and they will
follow. In the process, try so hard to
look for the positive in them and in your own self. When you dwell on the good and a brighter
future, you will project that back to others, especially those you love and
they will sense that and emulate it.”
President Monson said, “Never let
a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.”
It is important to actively listen
to your children and practice patience.
Elder Holland said, “Brothers and
sisters, this is a divine work in process, with the manifestations and
blessings of it abounding in every direction, so please don’t hyperventilate if
from time to time issues arise that need to be examined, understood, and
resolved. They do and they will. In this
Church, what we know will always trump what we do not know. And remember, in this world, everyone is to
walk by faith.”
Elder Holland’s third observation
was, “When doubt or difficulty come, do not be afraid to ask for help.”
This was touched on previously but
we shouldn’t be afraid to ask our friends, the bishop, family. We can receive a lot of strength from these
sources during times of doubts or trials.
In conclusion, Rebecca read Elder
Holland’s closing statement from his conference talk: “Hope on.
Journey on. 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.”
