"...Help Thou Mine Unbelief."

In this second part of my blog post on Elder Holland's most recent General Conference talk, I'll be sharing Elder Holland's commentary on the scriptural account spoken of yesterday, and since I've already sort-of commented on the story itself, I'll now share my comments on Elder Holland's comments, trying to make them more relatable to people like me.

Observation number one regarding this account is that when facing the challenge of faith, the father asserts his strength first and only then acknowledges his limitation. His initial declaration is affirmative and without hesitation: “Lord, I believe.” I would say to all who wish for more faith, remember this man!

We'll talk more about this concept later, but right now, I just want to point out that not only did the father in the story start by declaring his faith, he did so immediately. "Straightway" was the term Mark used. Holland said "without hesitation." May we also be quick to declare the testimonies we have, even if they are limited.

It was of this very incident, this specific miracle, that Jesus said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know.

I once heard someone say something like, "If faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, I can't imagine how small my faith must be." If that person is reading this blog, let me repeat for emphasis, "The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know." (Emphasis Added)

Integrity is means being true to your beliefs and acting on them. Even if you have only a basic amount of faith: "I believe that there could be a God out there somewhere," you can act on that belief by looking for God and trying to communicate with Him. When you come to a level of faith where you feel you can say that there is a God and He is basically good, then you can act with integrity to that belief by trying to be good yourself and by trusting God, even when times are hard, because even when bad things are happening, you can remember and hold on to the fact that there is still a God in heaven, and He is still basically good.

I think I have a little bit more faith than that. Or at least, my faith in God is a little bit more specific. It is the integrity to my belief that I occasionally lack. I sometimes forget the logic: God loves me and wants me to be happy. > His commandments are for my benefit and keeping them will ultimately lead to greater happiness than breaking them. > It's in my own best interest to keep God's commandments. I think we all forget that sometimes.

The second observation is a variation of the first. When problems come and questions arise, do not start your quest for faith by saying how much you do not have, leading as it were with your “unbelief.” That is like trying to stuff a turkey through the beak!

Sometimes, I start a thought process with "I don't know a lot about such-and-such, but I do know this," or perhaps I describe myself as not being the fastest, or smartest, or strongest, or wisest person, but I still have some qualities. Do you see the danger there? By starting with the negative aspect of an honest evaluation, we run the risk of focusing on the negative aspect, forgetting that the positive aspect is also true. I do have some many positive qualities, and there are things that I do know. I sometimes doubt them, and I'm starting to wonder if that's because I sometimes put my doubts first, but when I sit myself down and really think about what I believe, I find that I have more faith than I led myself to believe.

Let me be clear on this point: I am not asking you to pretend to faith you do not have. I am asking you to be true to the faith you do have. Sometimes we act as if an honest declaration of doubt is a higher manifestation of moral courage than is an honest declaration of faith. It is not!

Let's be honest. Which is easier to say to a friend, co-worker, or stranger: "I don't know why we haven't found the rusted relics of the ancient Nephite-Lamanite wars," or "I know that the Book of Mormon is true"? I can tell you which one I would rather say, but I can also tell you that I'm a coward, and that should give you your answer. I believe it takes more courage to stand up for unpopular beliefs than it does to admit that you may be wrong. They both take courage. It's my opinion that a declaration of faith, especially when you feel your faith is limited, takes more.

Last observation: When doubt or difficulty come, do not be afraid to ask for help. If we want it as humbly and honestly as this father did, we can get it. The scriptures phrase such earnest desire as being of “real intent,” pursued “with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God.” I testify that in response to that kind of importuning, God will send help from both sides of the veil to strengthen our belief.

Sometimes, I fall into the trap of thinking that I have to do things by myself. Someone I know is famous for that, but he's the most capable man I know, so he could usually get way with it. I, on the other hand, can do a great deal without special assistance, but not everything. For many things I should do and need to do, I need extra help. So I need to humble myself before God, admit my inability, and ask for help. But perhaps first, I should start with my strengths. Perhaps before telling God "I can't do it," I should remind myself of what I can do, and thank God for giving me that strength. Then I can tell God and myself what can reasonably be expected of me, and ask only for the help that I actually need. That way, I can accomplish what would be impossible for me to do alone, but it will still make me stretch and grow because God's not simply doing it for me.

I think God likes pushing us to the limits of our abilities before He lends a hand. Perhaps He's the personal trainer that I wish Satan were, always pushing us to do all we can do. There was almost nothing the father in story could do to help his son, but Jesus still required him to push the limits of his faith and expand them, just as a personal trainer does with the limits of our strength. And when the father hit his limit, did all he could, and it wasn't enough, Jesus stepped in and cured the child.

There are many encouraging and inspiring lessons we can learn from this brief passage in Mark, and Elder Holland share more insights in his talk than I did in my commentary. If anything I said in these past two blog posts appeal to you, I'd encourage you to listen to the talk again. (Here's a Link.) I'm a fairly good writer, but he's an excellent speaker. It'll be worth the 15 to 20 minutes it'll take to listen to his words from his own mouth. His was a good talk. I'm glad I finally wrote about it.