..."For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." Luke 12:48
"For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation." D and C 82:3
What do you do when you are afraid to sin against the greater light? Afraid to be who you were born to be. Afraid that if you pray to God and He answers you, what will be expected of you.
Those are legitimate fears. I was once asked the question of which comes first: faith or courage. I still answer it the same I did on that day. It takes courage to act in faith. You could talk yourself in circles. Many believe, yet few act on what they believe. You could argue that you won't even get to wanting to act without faith, but I still believe you need courage first. You've got to step into the dark and unknown. I think of the father of the boy with palsy that exclaimed "Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief." We want to believe, yet we're not sure sometimes and in spite of that we still need to act and then the belief is confirmed.
This overcoming of fear reminds me of my conversion. When I decided to actually pray to God about what path I should take in life. I wasn't proper in the forming of my inquiry, yet in my heart it was still humble in it's searching nature. After a failed attempt at trying to contact the missionaries myself, I told God: "If you want me to be a Mormon, you're going to have to send me the missionaries." I first sought out the solution on my own. Then I prayed, not really sure that I would get an answer, but I felt at that point I had served due diligence. Problem was the next night when the missionaries showed up at my door. What did I do? Ran to my room. Flung myself on my bed and pulled the covers over my head. I hid. I was scared. I was panicked. I felt power that I didn't know how to handle. The power to talk to God. The power for him to answer me. The fear of the commitment I had made to follow through.
This reminds me of someone else. This time from the Book of Mormon. The brother of Jared. Found in Ether Chapter 3
4 And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea.
6 And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear.
We seem to forget that in the "much required" there is also much given. Our capacity to deal with the requirements is increased. We don't have to know all the details. Just have some courage and step into the dark. Like the note of encouragement president Hinckley's dad gave to him before leaving on his mission "be not afraid, only believe."
Is it possible to live life without fear?
General George Patton stated, “ If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows not fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened. The courageous man is the man who forces himself, in spite of his fear, to carry on.”
A friend of mine, Tom S, recently said the following about courage:
"I believe that real courage comes from believing in what you are doing and why you are doing it. It is a willingness to sacrifice personal security and comfort for others. It is a willingness to do the things that other people are unable or unwilling to do. It comes from faith in the Lord and a desire to be the type of man that he wants you to become.
Real courage is exemplified in the sacrifice of the Savior as he approached the defining moment in human history in the Garden of Gethsemane…imagine the huge scope of his fear as the sacrifice drew near…”Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me”….but his fear was swallowed up by his courage. His courage was based upon his faith in His Father and his willingness to sacrifice for others as he finished the same sentence “…nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”
Courage is the willingness to live for…and even die for…the things we believe in and for those who are in our stewardship.
I pray to always have that kind of courage."
Gandalf: I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.
Bilbo: I should think so—in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them …
Gandalf: You’ll have a tale or two to tell when you come back
Bilbo: You can promise that I’ll come back?”
Gandalf: No. And if you do, you will not be the same
"Surely you don’t disbelieve the prophecies just because you helped them come about. You don’t really suppose do you that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck? Just for your sole benefit? You’re a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I’m quite fond of you. But you are really just a little fellow, in a wide world after all "– Gandalf
May we all have the courage to replace fear with faith and embark on the wonderful journey of discipleship and rise to our fullest potential as sons and daughters of Heavenly parents so that we may say when we see them again, "I served an honorable mission and I've brought many home with me" and our Father will say back to us "thou good and faithful servant in whom I am well pleased."
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