What are the reasons I should answer questions regarding god to someone god is not speaking to

[let’s roll]

I expect some will find the title a bit cheeky, although it’s not meant to be.  We’re taught in James that Godwill share His wisdom with anyone of anyone of any creed if they ask with the requisite intent.  That requisite intent is described as an unwavering faith.  We’re also taught that those who waver should not think they will receive anything from God.

I expect many who post here and pose questions regarding God and His Church and Kingdom would self-identify as wavering with respect to faith in God while others acknowledge no faith at all in Deity.

If God withholds His perfect and infinite wisdom from those without unwavering faith, is there any efficacy in me sharing my limited and imperfect knowledge on topics regarding Deity and the Church?

I think there is.  I use a somewhat amorphous construct when deciding when to do so.  The result is that I comment much less frequently than some.  If there turns out to be any interest in this thread I will share that construct as part of the discussion but I’m interested in finding out how others view this question.

Thoughts?

 

Edited July 6, 2021 by let’s roll

[Kenngo1969]

Is "Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering" simply God's good excuse to ignore the vast majority of humanity, since they do not exercise enough faith?  Or is it an invitation to embark upon a quest to increase one's faith?  If it is the former, then what of Alma's instruction, "If ye can do no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you"?  Alma 32:27.  What of the very real, yet, still, very tentative, very tenuous faith of the man who asked the Savior to cast an evil spirit out of his son, who, in response to the Savior's injunction, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth," responded, "Lord, I believe.  Help Thou mine unbelief."  Mark 9:23-24.  What of the Parable of the Mustard Seed (see Mark 4:30-32).

While I agree that there might not be a lot one can do to help someone else develop faith (or to help someone else increase one's faith) and that the onus to develop faith has to be on the person wishing to do so (one can lead a horse to water, but cannot make him drink, as the old saying goes), perhaps these scriptures indicate where the process probably must start.

[let’s roll]

49 minutes ago, Kenngo1969 said:

Is "Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering" simply God's good excuse to ignore the vast majority of humanity, since they do not exercise enough faith?  Or is it an invitation to embark upon a quest to increase one's faith?  If it is the former, then what of Alma's instruction, "If ye can do no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you"?  Alma 32:27.  What of the very real, yet, still, very tentative, very tenuous faith of the man who asked the Savior to cast an evil spirit out of his son, who, in response to the Savior's injunction, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth," responded, "Lord, I believe.  Help Thou mine unbelief."  Mark 9:23-24.  What of the Parable of the Mustard Seed (see Mark 4:30-32).

While I agree that there might not be a lot one can do to help someone else develop faith (or to help someone else increase one's faith) and that the onus to develop faith has to be on the person wishing to do so (one can lead a horse to water, but cannot make him drink, as the old saying goes), perhaps these scriptures indicate where the process probably must start.

My experience has been that the humility of the meek often results in them understating the depth of their faith.  As you illustrated in your comment, faith need not be long held nor the result of prescribed study to be sufficient to be deemed by Deity to be unwavering.

My belief is that God desires to commune with all of His children and withholds Himself only so as not to have such communion condemn rather than inspire.

[Rain]

President Kimball: The Lord does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.

---------

Maybe some won't be ready for an answer yet.   Maybe we are part of the path to help them be ready.

[Fether]

13 hours ago, let’s roll said:

I expect some will find the title a bit cheeky, although it’s not meant to be.  We’re taught in James that Godwill share His wisdom with anyone of anyone of any creed if they ask with the requisite intent.  That requisite intent is described as an unwavering faith.  We’re also taught that those who waver should not think they will receive anything from God.

I expect many who post here and pose questions regarding God and His Church and Kingdom would self-identify as wavering with respect to faith in God while others acknowledge no faith at all in Deity.

If God withholds His perfect and infinite wisdom from those without unwavering faith, is there any efficacy in me sharing my limited and imperfect knowledge on topics regarding Deity and the Church?

I think there is.  I use a somewhat amorphous construct when deciding when to do so.  The result is that I comment much less frequently than some.  If there turns out to be any interest in this thread I will share that construct as part of the discussion but I’m interested in finding out how others view this question.

Thoughts?

 

I heard a great anaology the other day from a doctor.

He spoke how he will often get visit from people who are grossly overweight and experiencing knee pain. They come to him and ask him to fix their knee. He then explains to them that nothing he does will really fix the knee, that THEY need to start taking care of their body by eating better and exercise. He could give shots or do surgeries, but If they don't change their lifestyle, they will keep coming back over and over again for the rest of their lives. He then proceeds to provide a steroid shot or surgery and let them decide what to do.

Essentially, we ought to help them, but also explain to them what needs to happen for this problem or question to be solved.

Ive often used this approach when people come to me with critical gospel questions. I ask them “what have you looked into to find answers for this?”. Most of the time they say “nothing”. Then, depending on the seriousness of the question, I may just give them a source to look to and leave it at that.

Edited July 6, 2021 by Fether

[MrShorty]

On 7/5/2021 at 5:13 PM, let’s roll said:

I expect many who post here and pose questions regarding God and His Church and Kingdom would self-identify as wavering with respect to faith in God while others acknowledge no faith at all in Deity.

This part of the question stood out to me, perhaps because I think your right about the "many", I also think there are many who pose question about the nature of God and His Church and Kingdom who also have staunch faith in the existence of God and the atonement of Christ. If we drop the assumption that questioners are somewhere on the (or headed towards) the agnostic/atheist spectrum, does our discussion in this thread change at all?

[let’s roll]

32 minutes ago, MrShorty said:

This part of the question stood out to me, perhaps because I think your right about the "many", I also think there are many who pose question about the nature of God and His Church and Kingdom who also have staunch faith in the existence of God and the atonement of Christ. If we drop the assumption that questioners are somewhere on the (or headed towards) the agnostic/atheist spectrum, does our discussion in this thread change at all?

This is the crux of the OP.  In reading through threads I try to discern which questions/comments are sincere and engender respectful dialogue even if consensus may not be possible.  I choose to participate in those dialogues.

I try to avoid responding to questions/comments I believe are made solely to provoke or mock.

That said, I’m not really concerned as much about what someone currently believes, I’m more interested in what they’re open to consider and evaluate.

I also try to be careful in responding to questions about the will/intent of Deity.  Such responses can point to scripture and share understanding, but I think most of us far too often look to someone else to tell us the will of Deity, instead of going to the source, so I’m trying to remember to remind myself and others to never rely solely on a “ middleman.”

[smac97]

On 7/5/2021 at 5:13 PM, let’s roll said:

I expect some will find the title a bit cheeky, although it’s not meant to be.  We’re taught in James that Godwill share His wisdom with anyone of anyone of any creed if they ask with the requisite intent.  That requisite intent is described as an unwavering faith.  We’re also taught that those who waver should not think they will receive anything from God.

I expect many who post here and pose questions regarding God and His Church and Kingdom would self-identify as wavering with respect to faith in God while others acknowledge no faith at all in Deity.

If God withholds His perfect and infinite wisdom from those without unwavering faith,

Perhaps we should re-examine the "if."  I don't think revelation comes as an all-or-nothing sort of thing.  It's more often an incremental, gradual thing.

I think God allows us to have a blinkered, finite perspective on things, with the idea that further light and knowledge will be provided.  "For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have."  (2 Nephi 28:30.)

See also these remarks by Elder Holland:

Quote

“In this Church there is an enormous amount of room—and scriptural commandment—for studying and learning, for comparing and considering, for discussion and awaiting further revelation. We all learn ‘line upon line, precept upon precept,’ with the goal being authentic religious faith informing genuine Christlike living. In this there is no place for coercion or manipulation, no place for intimidation or hypocrisy.”

– Jeffrey R. Holland, “A Prayer for the Children,” Ensign, May 2003

Sage words.

On 7/5/2021 at 5:13 PM, let’s roll said:

is there any efficacy in me sharing my limited and imperfect knowledge on topics regarding Deity and the Church?  I think there is.  

I agree with you.  As the old proverb says: “Thee lift me and I’ll lift thee, and we’ll ascend together.”

On 7/5/2021 at 5:13 PM, let’s roll said:

I use a somewhat amorphous construct when deciding when to do so.  The result is that I comment much less frequently than some.  If there turns out to be any interest in this thread I will share that construct as part of the discussion but I’m interested in finding out how others view this question.

Thoughts?

Share away!

Thanks,

-Smac

[CV75]

On 7/5/2021 at 7:13 PM, let’s roll said:

I expect some will find the title a bit cheeky, although it’s not meant to be.  We’re taught in James that Godwill share His wisdom with anyone of anyone of any creed if they ask with the requisite intent.  That requisite intent is described as an unwavering faith.  We’re also taught that those who waver should not think they will receive anything from God.

I expect many who post here and pose questions regarding God and His Church and Kingdom would self-identify as wavering with respect to faith in God while others acknowledge no faith at all in Deity.

If God withholds His perfect and infinite wisdom from those without unwavering faith, is there any efficacy in me sharing my limited and imperfect knowledge on topics regarding Deity and the Church?

I think there is.  I use a somewhat amorphous construct when deciding when to do so.  The result is that I comment much less frequently than some.  If there turns out to be any interest in this thread I will share that construct as part of the discussion but I’m interested in finding out how others view this question.

Thoughts?

 

I think the "wavering" has to do with harboring doubt (at least that is what the footnote indicates. I don't see why anyone would approach God with any degree doubt. Even "experimenting" and a "desire to believe" (rom Alma 32) are the the antithesis of doubt, so doubt is set aside in making the effort, so there is no "double mindedness" (from James 1:7-8).

[MrShorty]

3 hours ago, let’s roll said:

This is the crux of the OP.  In reading through threads I try to discern which questions/comments are sincere and engender respectful dialogue even if consensus may not be possible.  I choose to participate in those dialogues.

I try to avoid responding to questions/comments I believe are made solely to provoke or mock.

This makes sense to me. Regarding discussions around race and priesthood, I find that I don't even try to engage with DezNat types (with their BrighamDidNothingWrong hashtag) because it seems to me that they are unwilling to even consider or discuss the possibility that Brigham Young made mistakes.

I guess the next question, if it's mostly about finding respectful dialog and avoiding those who would refuse to respectfully engage with a different perspective, why assume that "I" am available and willing to receive God's word and "they" are not? It seems to me that a big part of many of these difficult conversations is trying to find God's word and will and truth amidst the differing perspectives. While I recognize that some are truly arguing from an agnostic/atheistic perspective, others aren't, and it seems a bit presumptuous to always assume that I have God's truth, if only the questioner(s) could see it.

Edited July 7, 2021 by MrShorty
typos

[mfbukowski]

On 7/5/2021 at 7:11 PM, let’s roll said:

My belief is that God desires to commune with all of His children and withholds Himself only so as not to have such communion condemn rather than inspire.

That's a really good point.  Outside this board I am dealing with some such folks.  Tough decision to continue or not!  But God wants us all back- it's a struggle to know how to handle this in real life.

[let’s roll]

53 minutes ago, MrShorty said:

This makes sense to me. Regarding discussions around race and priesthood, I find that I don't even try to engage with DezNat types (with their BrighamDidNothingWrong hashtag) because it seems to me that they are unwilling to even consider or discuss the possibility the Brigham Young made mistakes.

I guess the next question, if it's mostly about finding respectful dialog and avoiding those who would refuse to respectfully engage with a different perspective, why assume that "I" am available and willing to receive God's word and "they" are not? It seems to me that a big part of many of these difficult conversations is trying to find God's word and will and truth amidst the differeng perspectives. While I recognize that some are truly arguing from an agnostic/atheistic perspective, others aren't, and it seems a bit presumptuous to always assume that I have God's truth, if only the questioner(s) could see it.

Good points.  I confess to having little fear and doubt in my life which I typically attribute to abiding in the “rest” of the Lord described in the NT.  I concede there are undoubtedly times when that lack of fear and doubt may be attributed more to my spiritual sloth than to abiding in the rest of the Lord.  

That’s just one of the reasons I said this in my last post on this thread:  I also try to be careful in responding to questions about the will/intent of Deity.  Such responses can point to scripture and share understanding, but I think most of us far too often look to someone else to tell us the will of Deity, instead of going to the source, so I’m trying to remember to remind myself and others to never rely solely on a “ middleman.”

[Meadowchik]

What is the situation? What is your relationship with them and how did this questioning get started?