Enduring Faith

In “Faithful to the End“, Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus asks, “Have you ever wondered how you can be faithful to God while living in a world of sin? Where do you get the strength to go forward and continue doing good? How do you experience true joy?” There have been times in my life when I have asked these questions. Here is what I have found to help.

Big Questions, and Feelings of Tiredness, and Exhaustion

It’s easy to ask ourselves the above questions. It’s also easy to have feelings of tiredness and exhaustion in this life. Sister Spannaus lists six ways to answer these questions and rejuvenate ourselves. These six areas are nothing innovative or earth-shattering. They are areas I know to work because I have used them in my life. The six areas are:

1. Our Love for God
2. Our Faith in Jesus Christ
3. Our Knowledge of Our True Identity
4. Our Daily Repentance
5. Our Access to God’s Power
6. Our Testimony

Our Love for God

I have related the story of how I came to know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God’s church on earth. The witness of the Holy Spirit that night in my dorm room is something I cannot deny. I felt the love of God at that moment. I also felt my love for Him. Since that day, I have tried to increase my love for God. It hasn’t been a clean path, but it’s something I have kept in the forefront of my mind.

Loving God means knowing that He is the Source. He has the answers. He has provided us with a plan to alleviate tiredness and exhaustion.

My testimony is that of Peter when several followers of Christ decided to turn away from His teachings, “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:66-69).

My love for God echoes the words of Peter. To whom would I go? I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the words of eternal life. I know that Jesus is “that Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Our Faith in Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is central to the Father’s plan. Having faith in Him means we know that he completed the Atonement. We must do as Helaman counseled his sons, “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12). When we build on the rock that is Christ, we can endure any storm that comes our way.

As a parent, I’ve had the opportunity to watch my children grow and make choices. Some of these choices have caused me sadness. Especially when a child chooses to leave behind the gospel. However, my faith in Christ strengthens me. It helps me to continue to love my children and to pray for them. It also allows me to help them and set an example of Christ’s love for them. I hope that one day they will come back to the gospel. My faith in Christ supports that hope

Our Knowledge of Our True Identity

The 2024 Youth Theme song is called “I’m a Disciple of Christ“. The song describes our identity as children of our Heavenly Father and followers of His Son. “Out of all the paths I could take, giving him my life was the only way.” He called God, Father, meaning He is God’s Son. We call God Father. We are God’s children as well. Jesus Christ showed us our true identity as children of God. He also showed us how to return to the Father. We can do this by following in Jesus’s footsteps and being a disciple of Christ.

Our Daily Repentance

Trusting in God and Christ is paramount to being able to repent. That trust can keep us on the covenant path. It also enables us to return when we have strayed. Nephi, in 2 Nephi 4, states what we must do to trust in God, “O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm” (2 Nephi 4:34).

Nephi’s statement comes after lamenting his weaknesses. He even states that he has succumbed to sin from time to time. However, Nephi knows “in whom [he has] trusted” (2 Nephi 4:19). I understand this as Nephi understanding the need to repent daily and afford himself the relief that Christ’s Atonement provides.

I make mistakes every day. Some of them weigh on me at the end of the day. I have found that when I go to God in earnest prayer asking for forgiveness of my mistakes, I feel relief. There is a lightening of my burden and I get a better night’s sleep.

Our Access to God’s Power

After being baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the baptized person is confirmed as a member of the church and is told to “receive the Holy Ghost.” The Holy Ghost is a gift given to every baptized member of the Church. His role is to inspire, enlighten, guide, comfort, and a host of other things. It is through the Holy Ghost that we receive our testimonies. This gift gives us access to God’s Power.

When I was a recently returned missionary, I was back at home and my younger siblings were watching my niece. She was crying and they couldn’t comfort her. I remember being inspired to give my niece a blessing. I went downstairs and took her into my arms. I pronounced a blessing and afterward told my siblings that she would sleep through the night. She did. I was inspired that evening by the Holy Ghost and was given access to God’s Power to bless my niece in her time of distress.

Our Testimony

Joseph Smith, recounting his history, made the following statement, “For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation” (Joseph Smith – History 1:25). When we have received a testimony of the truth, Sister Spannaus states, “No one can take that knowledge from us.”

No matter what has happened, what I’ve learned, and what doubts try to creep in, receiving a testimony of God’s truth through the Holy Ghost trumps everything. God is perfect. Mortal man is not. Who can I trust more then? Always trust God first.

Conclusion

The questions posed by Sister Spannaus can be posed in our lives. However, through love of God, faith in Jesus Christ, knowledge of our true identity, daily repentance, accessing God’s power, and a testimony of the truth, we can find answers. We can find enduring faith that gives us the strength to continue on the path our Savior created for us to return home.