A Step of Faith

(Keil's note: I asked my brother Spencer to write today's post. He shared a post from his blog Inspiration Through Perspiration. I recommend it to everyone along with this post.)

One of my all time favorite scriptures comes from D&C 6:36 "look unto me in every though, doubt not, fear not" this scripture was brought to my attention years ago as I was a young student in the LDS seminary program. though it was not until I was in my mission that I really looked at the verses that proceeded this. in particular verses 33 and 34:

"33. Fear not to to good my sons, for whatsoever yo sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good, ye shall also reap good for your reward.

34. Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; Let the earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built  upon my rock, they can not prevail"

When I read these the first time I was serving a mission and my first thought was "heck yeah I am doing good" but as time has gone on and I have settled back into my post-mission life they have taken a new meaning, it is no longer the battle cry of prevailing against the forces of "earth and hell"  but rather it is now a comfort in how the Lord calls to me, with the call to do good "MY SON" and the comfort the he provides when says "little flock". These are the words of a loving father who is comforting a scared child, and is that not what we are at times? In fact I would venture to say is that not how we are at most times?

Before my mission I always knew what my purpose in life was, if you would have asked premie Spencer what he was doing in life you have heard the resounding response "going on a mission of course" I knew who I was and where I was going, but the thing that most premies don't understand is that missions end and adulthood begins and it is like you are constantly in a state of uncertainty, questions constantly surround you such as, what will I study, who will I marry, where will I go to school. and then as you start to answer these questions they are replaced with new questions, "ok now that I am in school how will I pay for this"... I had one institute teacher who called this the greenie principle, we are always in a state of learning because right when we think we got it all figured out life changes and we are back as a greenie. with this in mind it is no small wonder that as we face this life we a re filled with a certain amount of fear.

But fear is not of the Lord, it is something that satan has established to hold us back from our full potential. it says in 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us the spirit of fear..." there it is right there! fear is not of the Lord, in fact in is the opposite of what he teaches us. The Lord has on many occasions told us to "fear not", or "be not afraid" we should all take courage for the Lord is with us and he does not forget his children. But as any loving father would, the Lord wants us to grow and see the power and potential that we have in ourselves the Lord has given us a spirit "of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim 1:7) with that in mind it is no wonder that the Lord often does not allow us to see the blessing after the trial of our faith, after we have taken courage and faced our fear. remember how the children of Israel under the direction of Joshua faced the daunting task of transporting the Ark across a river? They stood on the banks of the river for sometime, waiting for something to happen, and why wouldn't they? they had seen Moses part the Red sea! surely a river would be no problem, right? but it was not until after the trial of their faith by first stepping into the river and getting their feet wet did the Lord make a way (Joshua 3:7-17). I would that I could be like Nephi who when searching for the plates went forth "Led by the spirit not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless I went forth..." (1 Nephi 4:6-7). as a parting thought I love the Experience that Elder Packer shares, it is about a time when he did not know how to accomplish some counsel that he received from President David O. McKay. not knowing how to move forward he sought further counsel from then elder Herold B. Lee who stated the following.

“The trouble with you is you want to see the end from the beginning.” I replied that I would like to see at least a step or two ahead. Then came the lesson of a lifetime: “You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you.” (Boyd K. Packer "The Edge of Light")

Trust the Lord that he knows what lies ahead and will light the way only when we step into the darkness, we  have no reason to fear for the Lord is with us and we are his children. "It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is in our light not our darkness that most frightens us. we ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?  you are a child of God... we are born to make manifest the glory of God that is with in us." (Marianne Williamson)