Sunday's lesson-Be Not Afraid, Only Believe

We can choose to believe!!!  It's a choice!!

We had a great discussion on Sunday about Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk from last General Conference.  It was given in the Priesthood Session.  But it applies to all of us!!

It starts out telling the story of Daniel. He was one of the best and brightest young men that had been captured at the time Babylon invaded Nineveh, Egypt's capital.  He was between 12-17 years old at the time.  He was forced from his home and marched 500 miles to a foreign city, and indoctrinated in the religion of his enemies...Daniel was raised to follow Christ.  He studied the words of the prophets, and he knew of God's interaction with man.  He was taught to abandon his beliefs, but he stayed true to his faith--in word and in deed.
Many of us know how it feels to defend an unpopular truth.  In the Internet slang of today, we talk about getting "flamed" by those who disagree with us.  But Daniel wasn't just risking public ridicule.  In Babylon, those who challenged the religious authorities understood what it means---figuratively and literally--to be "flamed."  Just ask Daniel's friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego..
Some people are just blessed with a believing heart--for them, faith seems to come as a gift from heaven.  But I imagine that Daniel was like many of us who have to work for our testimonies.  I'm confident that Daniel spent many hours on his knees praying, laying his questions and fears on the altar of faith, and waiting upon the Lord for understanding and wisdom.  He was blessed and he believed with no doubts.
King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream.  A very troubling dream.  No one could interpret the dream.  Daniel prayed to be able to interpret it for the king.  He saw it in a vision.  You have to remember that Daniel had been bullied and persecuted for believing in his strange religion, but he went before the king and revealed to him the dream.  From that day on, Daniel became a trusted counselor to the king.  The boy who believed and lived his faith had become a man of God.  A prophet.  A prince of righteousness.

ARE WE LIKE DANIEL?

Do we stand loyal to God?
Do we practice what we preach, or are we Sunday Christians only?
Do our daily actions reflect clearly what we claim to believe?
Do we help the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted?
Do we just talk the talk, or do we enthusiastically walk the walk?

The ancient city of Babylon is in ruins.  Its splendor is long gone.  But Babylon's worldliness and wickedness live on..  Now it falls to us to live as believers in a world of disbelief.  The challenge is ours to daily practice the principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and to live true to God's commandments.  We will have to stay calm under peer pressure, not be impressed b popular trends or false prophets, disregard the ridicule of the ungodly, resist the temptations of the evil one, and overcome our own laziness.

I wish I could help everyone to understand this one simple fact:  We believe in God because of things we know with our heart and mind, not because of things we do not know.  Our spiritual experiences are sometimes too sacred to explain in worldly terms, but that doesn't mean they are not real.

If we make no effort to believe, we are like the man who unplugs a spotlight and then blames the spotlight for not giving any light.

Being cynical is easy.  Skepticism is easy---anyone can do it.  It is the faithful life that requires moral strength, dedication , and courage.  Those who hold fast to faith are far more impressive than those who give in to doubt when mysterious questions or concerns arise.

We have promises!!!
When we choose to believe, exercise faith unto repentance, and follow our Savior, Jesus Christ, we open our spiritual eyes to splendors we can scarcely imagine.  Thus our belief and faith will grow stronger, and we will see even more.

We will find PEACE!!

Have the courage to believe!!

Stand like Daniel...  

Thanks, Mandy, it was a great lesson!!