President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“What about doubts and questions in principle? How do you
find out that the gospel is true? Is it all right to have questions about the
Church or its doctrine? My dear young friends, we are a question-asking people.
We have always been, because we know that inquiry leads to truth. That is the
way that the Church got its start, from a young man who had questions. In fact,
I’m not sure how one can discover truth without asking questions.
“In the scriptures, you will rarely discover a revelation
that didn’t come in response to a question. Whenever a question arose and
Joseph Smith wasn’t sure of the answer, he approached the Lord, and the results
are the wonderful revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants. Often, the
knowledge Joseph received extended far beyond the original question. That is
because not only can the Lord answer the questions we ask, but even more
importantly, He can give us answers to questions we should have asked. Let us
listen to those answers. The missionary effort of the Church is founded upon
honest investigators asking heartfelt questions. Inquiry is the birthplace of
testimony. Some might feel embarrassed or unworthy because they have searching
questions regarding the gospel.
“But they needn’t feel that way. Asking questions isn’t a sign
of weakness. It’s a precursor of growth. God commands us to seek answers to our
questions [see James 1:5–6] and asks only that we seek ‘with a sincere heart,
with real intent, having faith in Christ’ [Moroni 10:4]. When we do so, the
truth of all things can be manifested to us ‘by the power of the Holy Ghost’
[Moroni 10:5]. Fear not. Ask questions. Be curious, but doubt not. Doubt not.
Always hold fast to faith and to the light you have already received. Because
we see imperfectly in mortality, not everything is going to make sense right
now. In fact, I should think that if everything did make sense to us, it would
be evidence that it had all been made up by a mortal mind.
“Remember that God has said, ‘My thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. … For as the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts’ [Isaiah 55:8–9]. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Reflection in the Water”
[Church Educational System fireside for young adults, Nov. 1, 2009],
broadcasts.lds.org).
