In What Ways Does God Test Our Faith?

[stemelbow]

I have my fair share of trials, but i would not want to trade VGJ his.  I have family members with mental health struggles and it is one of the least 'easy' things to deal with.  

 

Carry on VGJ!  You are doing awesome.  

 

I wouldn't disagree at all.  I was just being playful. 

 

You are doing awesome VGJ, at least it seems that way to me.

[VideoGameJunkie]

Thanks guys! Mental health struggles are not easy, but I'm giving it my all and trying to have a positive outlook on life. But I feel worse for one of my closest friends who has Chrohns disease and that has greatly affected his life.

[bluebell]

What good? It seems to me the people with resources tend to get richer while the poorer get poorer. I ain't worth any more than the next person. I'm just some fool who happened to be placed in circumstances privilege me in a temporal way. But as LDS I'm also taught I somehow happened to be placed in circumstances to privilege me spiritually/eternally as well. I hate this feeling. I want to shed myself of it and be the lowest of the low. If people don't want me hanging with them just tell me. Them danged Mormons send me that message plenty. But I can't escape. You kidding me?

 

Sorry, i'm really not sure what you are saying here.  

 

If some people chose to misuse their resources or their privileges, that has no bearing on you or your choices.   Neither does it mean that it is the existence of the resources or the privileges that is the problem.  

 

I have been very poor at times in my life (financially speaking-but still rich compared to most people in the world, i realize) and the help and comfort came from those who had the ability to help me out of those situations.  My family and I didn't need sympathy or to surround ourselves with people who had purposefully chosen to be in the same struggles we were in.  What good are people who give up everything because they don't want to feel guilty anymore for having it?  No, give me the people who saw our need and used their excess and resources to help.  Those were the people I still pray and thank my Heavenly Father for.    

[bluebell]

I wouldn't disagree at all.  I was just being playful. 

 

You are doing awesome VGJ, at least it seems that way to me.

 

Got it!  

[VideoGameJunkie]

The one thing I'm worried about though is having children. I'm worried about passing on any illnesses to a child and I don't know if I can take care of children the way I would want to. I'll need one very supportive and understanding sweet wife.

[stemelbow]

Sorry, i'm really not sure what you are saying here.  

 

 

 

Don't worry about it.  I've tried many times to explain myself on these matters to others only to confuse myself and all others.  So I'll leave what I said as it is.  As I said, don't worry, the problem is all on this end and I'll be ok.

[AZ in GA]

I believe that our faith is absolutely tested. At some point it happens to everyone.

For me, I struggled, and to some extent still struggle mightily with the process of extending callings. I grew up believing that all callings were given through inspiration, and that God placed people into different callings either because of their abilities, or to help them grow.

For me it was a harsh awakening to move into the ward I am now a part of and seeing how callings are handled here. Huge groups in the ward routinely say no to callings they feel are beneath them. These same people are then moved into the callings they want for whatever reason.

Leadership in our ward tends to consist of a singular group of friends who rotate themselves around to the desired callings.

It was a very difficult thing for me to learn how to sustain leaders who made assignments based on who was part of their clique. I still struggle with it. I don't know that I will ever be perfect at it. However, I did come to learn that sustaining leaders is even more critical when you don't understand or agree with the decisions they are making. It's easy to sustain decisions you agree with, the true test comes when you disagree with the decisions being made, and how you respond to that.

[Flyonthewall]

My biggest struggle is Prayer. To be taught all your life that we must pray night and day, in secret and for anything and everything. To read scriptures that say: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:, but then when the chips are down and I really need help, to have my prayers answered with silence. Deafening silence. Not even a "hang in there" or a "it will get better" or anything.

The conclusions I have drawn go against all teachings from any source but it is my experience.

[Calm]

Never mind, saw it was a joke...

Edited July 14, 2014 by calmoriah

[Ahab]

My biggest struggle is Prayer. To be taught all your life that we must pray night and day, in secret and for anything and everything. To read scriptures that say: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:, but then when the chips are down and I really need help, to have my prayers answered with silence. Deafening silence. Not even a "hang in there" or a "it will get better" or anything.

The conclusions I have drawn go against all teachings from any source but it is my experience.

No, you are simply mistaken if you believe God hasn't answered your prayers, even your informal prayers as you try to think of a good idea or a good solution to your problems. All good ideas are God's ideas and I know for a fact that you have at keast one good idea in each day of your life. You may not like or agree with all the good ideas that you get but you do get them and what you do with them is all up to you.

[Flyonthewall]

No, you are simply mistaken if you believe God hasn't answered your prayers, even your informal prayers as you try to think of a good idea or a good solution to your problems. All good ideas are God's ideas and I know for a fact that you have at keast one good idea in each day of your life. You may not like or agree with all the good ideas that you get but you do get them and what you do with them is all up to you.

One of the conclusions I have come to is that it doesn't do any good to pray for something because God knows what we need most and He Gives as He sees fit, regardless of what we ask for. The drawback to that is I have to recognize what was given(very difficult) and know what to do with it.

[Flyonthewall]

No, you are simply mistaken if you believe God hasn't answered your prayers, even your informal prayers as you try to think of a good idea or a good solution to your problems. All good ideas are God's ideas and I know for a fact that you have at keast one good idea in each day of your life. You may not like or agree with all the good ideas that you get but you do get them and what you do with them is all up to you.

One of the conclusions I have come to is that it doesn't do any good to pray for something because God knows what we need most and He Gives as He sees fit, regardless of what we ask for. The drawback to that is I have to recognize what was given(very difficult) and know what to do with it.

[Ahab]

One of the conclusions I have come to is that it doesn't do any good to pray for something because God knows what we need most and He Gives as He sees fit, regardless of what we ask for. The drawback to that is I have to recognize what was given(very difficult) and know what to do with it.

Instead of using the word "prayer" it would help to use another word or at least think of it as talking with our Father, because your idea that it doesn't do any good to "talk with God" about sonething/anything/everything is just not right. And yes you can ask him to clarify things for you and help you to understand things, so if you get stuck he can help to get you unstuck in your ideas

[Flyonthewall]

Instead of using the word "prayer" it would help to use another word or at least think of it as talking with our Father, because your idea that it doesn't do any good to "talk with God" about sonething/anything/everything is just not right. And yes you can ask him to clarify things for you and help you to understand things, so if you get stuck he can help to get you unstuck in your ideas

Then perhaps He could communicate in a way I can understand. I see His influence in the lives of others so I know He is merciful to others, but I feel like I am on the outside looking in.

[Calm]

For three years due to medication I couldn't feel the Spirit. Knowing from past experience it was there I started looking fot it in other ways. I got to the point of starting to recognize it in what others were saying to me here and there and what they would do. There was a distinction between their usual talk somehow (not sure if I could do the same now).

Not saying this is something that will work for you, just explaining we all have different limitations and I believe God is willing to work with us within them. Even if hard perhaps you have picked up on what you need to make some connection with him even if indirect. You seem satisfied though dissapointed. I can see why you would feel that way given the evidence around you of others appearing to have a much more direct mode.

I do believe there are physical reasons that are often not our fault that can impede communication. God will not hold us accountable in those cases as he would those who have a much clearer channel.

Edited July 15, 2014 by calmoriah

[Investigating]

So in a recent thread (I think the BOA thread) a poster said something to the effect of "Does God purposefully put stumbling blocks in the way to our faith?" I think that question is worth discussing in more detail.

 

I firmly believe after the few years I have spent living and after reading a few verses of scripture in my day that the answer to that question is a solid YES.

 

Here are my basic assumptions:

 

1. Life is meant to be a test.
2. The blessing for passing that test is exaltation and deification.
3. Exaltation is something we couldn't possibly comprehend, but we can say absolutely that it is wonderful and glorious.
4. Given that the blessing is so grand the corresponding test must be brutal. Passing it has to mean something. As Elder Holland has said, Christ had to suffer, and so how can we who call ourselves Christians expect our lives to be rosey and not at least get a small taste, even if only a fraction of a fraction of silver of Gethsemane?

Faith is the first principal of the Gospel. For the most part living on faith is okay for most of us. But I think there comes a time in everybody's life where that faith is bent to the extreme; where that faith is tested. For some that might be living a life as a single man/woman, not being able to get pregnant, death of a spouse/child, same sex attraction, seeming inequality in the Church, and yes even tough Church history issues.

 

But in the world we live in people don't want to have faith because they want answers and in many cases the answers are "We don't know." The Lord gets to reveal what he wants to and when he wants to. Whatever your test of faith will be, and there will be one (or more), if you don't give room for the faith to work (even to explain what seems when viewed through a worldly perspective to be impossible or illogical) then your faith will fail. People like to throw around the term cognitive dissonance. The way the term is used, however, it would seem is to make it synonymous with faith.

 

So I believe the Lord will put stumbling blocks in our way to test our faith. Those tests are meant to be near impossible. What if a woman who would be the ideal wife and has only wanted her entire life to be loved, touched, kissed, held, and to be a mother, was physically unable to attract a spouse? Why would the Lord do that to her? What if a person who has only wanted to serve the Lord and to have a family is gay? Why would the Lord do that to him? Or what if a person who was particularly inclined to academics and was naturally a skeptic discovered the various theories and issues surrounding the Book of Abraham? Why should he be any different than the others. They have hard, terrible trials. Why shouldn't he? I have no problem with the Lord creating or at least allowing those difficult issues to try faith, but overcoming those issues all require faith. That faith will be mocked and ridiculed by many.

 

Without the necessary faith to endure such trials, our heavenly reward is in peril.

Does He ever make it hard for us to believe?

 

And does he ever send us promptings that can be misunderstood, and cause doubt after things didn't turn out the way we thought they would?

 

Is there anything in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, or the Pearl of Great Price about that?

[VideoGameJunkie]

It's important for Heavenly Father to test our faith so we can prove that we have courage and bring a smile across His face when we succeed.

[Investigating]

It's important for Heavenly Father to test our faith so we can prove that we have courage and bring a smile across His face when we succeed.

 

Doesn't He already know what we will do?

 

Didn't he already know that Joseph would lose the 116 pages when Nephi was writing on the large and small plates, and isn't that why He told Nephi to make two sets?

[Calm]

Doesn't He already know what we will do?

 

Didn't he already know that Joseph would lose the 116 pages when Nephi was writing on the large and small plates, and isn't that why He told Nephi to make two sets?

But we don't.

His smile is for our joy in discovering what we are.

[Investigating]

But we don't.

His smile is for our joy in discovering what we are.

 

That makes some sense.

 

Thank you.

 

So does He ever make it hard for us to believe?

 

And does he ever send us promptings that can be misunderstood, and cause doubt after things didn't turn out the way we thought they would?

 

Is there anything in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, or the Pearl of Great Price about that?