How to cultivate faith

[Sunday21]

Dear Bros & Sis's,

It seems that I have developed a serious health problem. I am in the midst of medical test hell. Please does anyone know of an article on how to strengthen or develop faith? Something with a list of steps would be ideal. I have looked on lds.org but all I can find are general talks on the importance of faith. I know that faith is important but how do I develop faith?

Please help!

[Connie]

https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-18-faith-in-jesus-christ?lang=eng

(scroll down to section on increasing faith)

[Guest]

Elder Anderson said:

But true faith requires work. The difference between the devils and the faithful members of this Church is not belief but work. Faith grows by keeping the commandments. We must work at keeping the commandments. From the Bible Dictionary we read that “miracles do not produce faith but strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in other words, faith comes by righteousness.”

When we strive to keep the commandments of God, repenting of our sins and promising our best efforts to follow the Savior, we begin to grow in confidence that through the Atonement everything will be all right. Those feelings are confirmed by the Holy Ghost, who drives from us what our pioneer mothers and fathers called “our useless cares.” In spite of our trials, we are filled with a sense of well-being and feel to sing with them that indeed “all is well.”

I feel compelled to share with you a talk I gave a few years ago right before I was hit with a major health trial. It has to do with the connection of faith and hope. The resources I quoted in the talk were a great boon to me during that time. Here is a link, if you care to read it:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wFzUijlSQyUFhznCGx45EDy9ufPhDQiO1M0CwTguEd0/edit?usp=sharing

[Sunday21]

Thank you. This talk is very helpful. I will read it many times. Bless you.

[Quin]

This is one of my favorite pieces, for lack of a better word.

As I've found it so insufferably true in my own life.

https://www.lds.org/new-era/2005/07/wrong-roads-and-revelation?lang=eng. -written

-video

_______

Also, at the risk of coming of exceptionally irritating, I always forget how little experience most people have with medicine. Then I'm reminded, go on an explanation, and find I'm talking to a doctor or someone whose been living in hospitals for years with their kids.

If you're one of the latter, just stop reading, now.

Seriously. If you're a pro on either side (paid or paying), the following will be annoying. Save yourself the urge to throw something and go have a milkshake instead.

all my best to you and yours.

Q

_______________

If not... And this is your first "who do I have to kill to get some answers" foray into medicine... Here's part of the learning curve you can hopefully avoid with everything else going on:

Even growing up in medicine, even working in medicine, and even having my son in hospital... Tests are one of the most annoying things, ever. But it helps (me, at least) knowing WHY they take so long, and why there are so many of them. Even if I still want to pound my head against the drywall when yet another comes back negative or inconclusive.

Medical testing is like soothing a baby.

(And just as much fun, when they won't stop crying, and you're scared, exhausted, sleep deprived, and hurting).

Most of the time, a crying baby means that they're wet, hungry, or scared. So you check those things.

Still crying. Okay. Move onto the next: pain.

So you check gas, teeth, and ears. None of those. Still crying.

But Tylenol helps. So it's pain of some kind. So you head to the doctor. Clean bill of health. Still crying.

Eventually, days and days and nights and nights, weeks, months, later....

Do you find out that someone is sneaking into your child's room and pinching them.

Mystery solved!

But that's NEVER the first thing you check.

A crying baby doesn't trigger the - let's set up surveillance to see if someone is breaking and entering and pinching them!

It triggers... Let's look and see if they're wet, hungry, etc.

Medical testing is the same way.

The first tests run are the most common things.

The next tests, the next most common things.

And the next and the next and the next.

Each test rules out what it isn't, and might even shed a clue as to what it is (like Tylenol = pain), but that clue might not be enough to determine what's actually wrong.

The good news is that each set of tests IS ruling out tens of thousands of things, with each round.

The bad news is that starting out with 10,000,000 things it might be, down to 10,000 doesn't FEEL like progress, because you still don't know what it is.

The best news is that very few people are like my girlfriend I met in hospital,,whose son was one of only 3 children in the last century to have XYZ (it's now named after him). Even so, eventually, they got a diagnosis. Even though her son turned out to BE the diagnosis, they got one.

So there is an end in sight.

Even when it doesn't feel like it.

And most of the time, even when you're still in testing, (vexingly though it may be) treatment plans are often part of the testing. Whether or not you respond to XYZ. But very few things have no treatment to ease suffering or help expiate things (Ebola is one of those few things, as an example).

Testing Hell.

Yep.

'Zactly that.

HTH.

Q

Edited February 18, 2014 by Quin

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

I believe that faith grows by holding onto it during times like you are experiencing right now.

The best advice I received when I faced a frightening health issue, was this: Don't be afraid to take your fears to the Lord.

Why would I be afraid to take my fear to the Lord? Because I had been taught that fear signifies a lack of faith. So feeling fearful made me feel unfaithful, and less likely to pray about how I felt. BUT that is not what the Lord wants. He wants us to come to him with our fears, only when we come to him can he make our weaknesses into strengths. As you go to him with your fears and trust him as a child, your faith will grow.

I have experienced this over and over throughout my life (my patriarchal blessing says you will experience many trials and tribulations, and the Lord does not exaggerate.) Most recently, I learned that I can also take my anger and confusion to the Lord and he will convert that into a stronger faith as well. Just keep returning to him, that's what it takes.

[Sunday21]

Thank you. You are both wise and kind!