Doctrine and Covenants 88:91 “And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.”

Luke 21:26 “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”

At a time like this it is clear that scriptural prophecies are being fulfilled in the last days. People are increasingly fearful as we e are faced with a world changing quickly on all fronts; in spirit we face changing standards of morality, rights and freedoms, and political differences while in body we fight a virus, tornadoes, earthquakes, and all sorts of destruction. It is intriguing at a time like this to note the reactions of all people to the situations we face. For example with rushes to a local grocery store for toilet paper and oreos, only the essentials of course, we see how a bit of “group think hysteria” mixed into our lives can reveal whether we are faithful or fearful. That line of thinking shook loose some thoughts I have had recently regarding those two scriptures above.

When we are faithful we are prepared and when fearful we fall short. We all fear many things. We may feel that with faith we can overcome all things but we all, at times, fear things we cannot control. In a time like this it is clear to so many that they cannot control the winds, rain, movements of the earth but even more clearly the smallest virus. We cannot control our children’s decisions, our best friends beliefs, and/or the standards prevalent in the world today. In the areas out of our control we truly find whether we will be faithful or fearful and whether or not our hearts will fail us for fear.

It is like this…. When we begin to see how little we control it is like going on an adventure. We start with a rough idea of where we are meant to go and create a spotty plan for how to get there. Having determined how to get where we are going we convince ourselves that it is the only sure way to make it there. Then we rush outside with excitement to see all of the neighbors who, intent on finishing the same adventure we have just begun, are each confidently marching in different directions towards the same end goal. Having seen this fabulous disarray we make our way somewhat less confidently inside to rethink some things. This is the Journey we are meant to go on. Our plan must be perfect for us to make it but how can it be perfect if everyone is going in different directions? So we do all we can to prepare a decent plan and with a little faith set out once more on this adventure. Having walked a portion of the way on perfectly paved cement and the safety of well lit sidewalks, we began to gain a little more confidence in ourselves and in our plan. After all, we had planned out our route with all the stops including bathroom breaks, snacks at the local corner store, and even some wonderful spots to rest. We quickly forget the other worldly faith it took to curb our initial unsurety and doubt. Then the road seemingly ends…. quickly ripped from underneath us is the safety of our plans and what we felt we could control. That is where mens hearts fail. This is where morality and immorality wander. In the space between pressing toward what we know to be true and what we do not know. There are times when answers to the most difficult questions of morality are found by resolving concerns about what we do not know rather than what we do not believe. That is where we may fear we were wrong to start the journey and more wrong to have thought we could finish it. When we began it was all so clear but then came the variables, the friends, the decisions to be made and futures to ensure… those things that you must be conscious of to be an adult….

If we choose fear we may return to our homes and our plans and our control… but that road we left untraveled will always remind us of how little we control. Then we rationalize, with much deep thinking and observation, that those families who wander outside are all heading in different directions not because they seek the same Truth but because truth is entirely relative. We conquer fear and our lack of control in a superfluous way when we eliminate the realities of absolute truth and deny ourselves opportunities to find them. It creates a domino effect of half truths. In order to feel in control and safe, without having continued on the journey, we fill in doubts by guessing at truths we have not yet learned. We build our lives on sandy beliefs and convince ourselves they are concrete. No one builds a house on sand without convincing his/her self that it is a sure foundation. This drawn out simile could go on and on describing many different aspects of our society and ourselves but the point is that this is about making it home and we cannot do that if we give up where we are going because we lose sight of how to get there. We cannot throw away the truth we gain because there is truth we have not yet received.

If we choose faith we may work towards the end goal slowly and may even backtrack a time or to but we inch ever towards it. Somewhere along the way we realize that we were never meant to make it entirely by ourselves. Not that we lose hope of making it to the end but that we find it in understanding that the way to make it there is given line upon line until we have made it home. We lose hope for redemption while preoccupied with fear. We miss adventure while we ponder indecision. We forfeit joy when our hearts fail us for fear but by choosing to act faithfully we grow stronger and stronger. 

I hope that we can be conscious of times where we are held up in indecision, heed the feelings we receive about what to do, and then act. Act hopefully and act faithfully. I hope that we can cultivate hope more deliberately. That means we must “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (Doctrine and Covenants 81:5). It means we must fortify our own hearts and the hearts of all we know with faith and hope. Those are the attributes that will help point us all in the same direction towards the Absolute Truth. Towards the Savior, the Author and Finisher of our faith and the Conquerer of our fears. Jesus Christ.

Ether 4:11-12 “For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good. And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.”