Is it normal during mortality to have our faith tested through faith crisis off and on? I have a very strong faith and trust in the Lord and I have a very personal relationship with God and Jesus Christ. I am a convert of the LDS church and I come from a protestant evangelical born again Christian faith background with deep historical and doctrinal roots that are deeply rooted in me and a part of me. When I converted LDS in the restored gospel I was told that what I learned and believed in thar was good and true I could embrace and take with me which I have continued to embrace with me because I have felt the Holy Ghost burn in my bosom confirming the truths ive learned in Christianity are true. I also have a testimony of the fullness of the gospel being true but I am having doctrinal difficulties in cognitive dissonance with some basic mormon doctrines with Christology.
3 Responses to “Is it normal during mortality to have our faith tested…”
Ricardo Ramos
2014-11-16 22:15:45
Hi John. It's good to hear from a fellow San Diegan. If you'd like to discuss Christology specifically, I'm happy to answer any questions. As you well know, there are many scriptures that support the Mormon view. But I sense that your real question has more to do with doubts generally.
The answer to your more general question is "yes." It is normal to experience doubts. It would be abnormal, frankly, if your faith were never tested. Cognitive dissonance is something that we all struggle with, whether religious or not. It's simply part of being human and living in an absurd universe where contradictory things seem to sometimes be simultaneously true.
Cognitive dissonance related to religious things can often be resolved by additional study, open-mindedness, fasting, and prayer, but sometimes a resolution doesn't come immediately. It's important to know when to take your doubts and put them on a shelf for a time. I'm not suggesting you pretend like they aren't there. I'm suggesting you recognize that sometimes it takes time to understand certain doctrines. Revisiting these issues at a later time while life has provided more experience and insight is often very helpful. In the mean time, continue to cultivate your faith in other doctrines that are less difficult to wrap your head around.
The same is true for non-religious cognitive dissonance. That little photon is simultaneously a particle and a wave. I can't wrap my brain around it... so I'm putting that on the shelf too. :)
"Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." ~Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Pamela Bonta
2014-11-17 06:22:14
The story of Joseph Smith
I'm a convert, too, since 2001. It took me 8 years of researching for a religion where I believed the doctrine, and 6 years of investigating the church before I became a member. Without you telling us the specific aspects of 'Christology' that you are having difficulty with, all I can say is this: IF you believe the Book of Mormon is scripture and another testament of Jesus Christ, and IF you believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet who was given the keys to restore Christ's church on earth, and IF you believe in the sealing ordinances of our temples, then don't worry about anything else. Those three things are the only thing necessary to have faith. Everything else is complementary to those three things and when understood, helps to strengthen our testimonies of every other thing. If you provide some details that you are having trouble with, I, for one, would love to help you understand them better. God bless.
Grandpa Chet
2014-11-24 10:25:27
As this life is, basically, school (think of I as being off to college) It would be amazing if we were never tempted to doubt or even rebel. Even Jesus was tempted to doubt and fear.
The answer to your more general question is "yes." It is normal to experience doubts. It would be abnormal, frankly, if your faith were never tested. Cognitive dissonance is something that we all struggle with, whether religious or not. It's simply part of being human and living in an absurd universe where contradictory things seem to sometimes be simultaneously true.
Cognitive dissonance related to religious things can often be resolved by additional study, open-mindedness, fasting, and prayer, but sometimes a resolution doesn't come immediately. It's important to know when to take your doubts and put them on a shelf for a time. I'm not suggesting you pretend like they aren't there. I'm suggesting you recognize that sometimes it takes time to understand certain doctrines. Revisiting these issues at a later time while life has provided more experience and insight is often very helpful. In the mean time, continue to cultivate your faith in other doctrines that are less difficult to wrap your head around.
The same is true for non-religious cognitive dissonance. That little photon is simultaneously a particle and a wave. I can't wrap my brain around it... so I'm putting that on the shelf too. :)
"Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." ~Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf