To my friends and family,
I am happy to report that this week was awesome! We had two
investigators come to church and we have found so many new people that want to
talk to us and want to hear about the gospel of Christ. Today I want to spend
most of my time comparing the situations of two people that I met. For privacy
I will obviously not include names. Instead one will be Kim and one will be Lee.
Kim is an active member of the church and a recent convert.
Recently he met with us and told us about his concerns that he cannot find direction
in his life. He is worried that he is drifting from the path and the light of
his conversion is not as bright as it was when he was first baptized. He is
concerned and confused about what he wants to do in his life. Lee is also a
member of the church who has been active most of his life but his problem is
different. He too is experiencing the same feeling of being lost and not
knowing where to go in his life. Unfortunately, unlike Kim, he is not keeping
all of the commandments and is struggling with an addiction.
I cannot emphasis this enough: there is a difference between
being lost and confused due to the trials and inherent difficulties in this
life and being lost because of the bondage of sin. There is a difference. The
Prophet Lehi describes this natural condition on earth in his vision on the
tree of life.
And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea,
even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had
commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.
An essential part of our time on this earth is to be tested.
The mist of darkness and the confusion is absolutely mandatory for our growth.
How can we be expected to grow in faith if we can see God and Christ at all
times? What kind of test would it be if we always knew the answers to the
questions? How could we grow?
Just like there are two different diseases, there are two
different remedies. You do not use an antibiotic for a virus; instead you must
treat the diseases differently even if the symptoms are similar. If you have
sinned, you must repent. To find the path again if you have walked off of the
path returning to God, you have to ask God in prayer for forgiveness. But today
I don't want to talk about that, I want to talk about the people who are
dwindling in conversion or just can't seem to put everything together.
Let me first say this: weakness and doubt are not sins. You
don't need to apologize for struggling in this life when you are doing all you
can to follow the Savior. You don't need to feel alone when you are lost in
what seems like a mist of darkness in this life. To continue the metaphor I
used earlier, the Savior Jesus Christ is the great healer.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
When we are lost in this world which is an inevitable part
of our sojourn in this life, we can look to our lighthouse and our guide.
Christ has sent the example and he is the one that will help us overcome the
mists of darkness in our life. Christ gave us this promise:
32 Behold, the hour
cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and
shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
33 These things I
have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John
16:32-33)
Christ is the antidote to the poison of hopelessness. He is
the remedy for the disease of fear and anxiety. He has promised us peace in
this world if we but look to him. Pray and ask him for guidance and comfort,
then follow what he says. Keep his commandments, keep reading and praying, keep
going to church, do all of the things that brought conversion in the first
place. Then you will be able to see the light.
I love you all,
Elder Coleman
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