Friday, April 3, 2015

"I know the Church is true, even when I wish it wasn't."

One of my local church leaders some time ago shared the following quote from a 16-year-old's testimony in a previous Stake Conference:

"I know the Church is true, even when I wish it wasn't."

The person who said it was struggling with some aspects of the Church, including attending regularly, but he had received an answer to a prayer that "the Church is true". He was saying that there were times he wished he hadn't felt what he'd felt, and that he sometimes wished he could just stop attending, but that he still believed what he had felt.

I understand that kind of conflict, although I wouldn't have worded it that way for myself.  Starting when I was about seven, I realized I see things differently than a lot of people. I would have worded it more like,

"I love the Church even while disagreeing with a lot of what others say. I wish more people believed like I do."

The leader who was speaking didn't go into any details of the young man's struggle, other than regular church attendance, but he ended his talk by listing some things he knows - and then he added:

"Even though there are lots of things I don't know and don't understand, I do know those things."

I could nit-pick words and definitions, but it was wonderful to hear the young man's statement affirmed by a church leader, even though his experience and wording was not the same. He is a good man, and his talk was an excellent one. He didn't get into specific concerns and issues in any of his talks, but it is clear he cares about people and understands that members struggle with various things at various times - and that he cares far more about effort and service than about uniformity of thought.  

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