It has been a difficult few days for us, as our sweet little Ruby Rabbit has been quite sick, along with the other trials we've been facing. I pulled out a copy of Elder Holland's classic talk, "However Long and Hard the Road," and as I read through it, I was struck by a part where he talked about the difficulties the early Latter-day Saints faced as they struggled to build the Salt Lake temple--an undertaking that took FORTY years. And in the midst of those struggles, they were called upon to build several other temples as well. Elder Holland quotes Brigham Young and his comments to the people:
"'Can you accomplish this work, you Latter-day Saints of these several counties?' he asked. And then in his own inimitable way he answered. 'Yes; that is a question I can answer readily. You are perfectly able to do it. The question is, have you the necessary faith? Have you sufficient of the Spirit of God in your hearts to say, yes, by the help of God our Father we will erect these buildings to His name? Go to now, with your might and with your means, and finish this Temple.”'
As I focused on his question--"Have you the necessary faith?"--I was reminded of the story in Mark 9:17-29, when a loving father brings his son to the Master to be healed after the apostles have tried and failed to rebuke the spirit that possesses the boy.
"And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
"And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
"He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
"And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
"And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
"And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
"When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
"And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
"But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose."
The father's response is so interesting--"Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." How does he believe and yet not believe, all at once? He had faith enough to bring his son to the Lord, but did He have faith enough to believe that the Lord would heal his son?
I think that's something that I struggle with; I believe that the Lord can, but I don't necessarily believe that He will. I expect the answer to be "No." But sometimes, as in this case, the answer is "Yes." The Lord just told this father that if he believed, all things were possible, essentially, I think, telling him that if he believed, his son would be healed. And the father had to drum up the courage to believe that "yes", to believe not just that the Lord could but also that He would.
I think I really struggle with believing that the answer will ever be yes--despite the fact that the Lord HAS said "yes" in many instances in my life. Although it's a little too personal to share in this blog, I did, after pondering and reflecting on this story, sit down and make a list of some experiences when the Lord has said "yes." And while I probably will still be plagued by doubts sometimes, it definitely helped my unbelief--it helped me to see that not only can the Lord help me but He will.
