Questions

I gave this talk last week in church and thought I would share it here, mostly because I've been too sick this week to do any other writing, so enjoy!

I was asked by the handsome guy in the middle [Josh but I felt funny calling him Josh in church and there was no way I was going to say Bishop Darrow so he became handsome guy] here to speak today on how asking gospel questions is part of gospel living. I think he gave this topic to me because he actually really wanted to give this talk and by having me do it, he could pepper me every evening with ideas. He tried to flatter me by saying it was because of my experience in journalism, which makes me  a professional question asker, but I know better.

When I was at BYU and taking my news writing class, our managing editor inspired us the first week of class with an analogy involving fishing. The actual analogy was lost on me since I don’t like fish but his point was that we need to get into the guts of the story and not just stay on the surface level. We need to do the same with the gospel. It can be very easy to skim along the surface of the gospel and and never really get into the guts of it, but asking questions can help us.

The Savior himself asked a lot of questions such as “Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye,” and “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him?” and “Why are ye fearful, o ye of little faith?” and “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” and “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” and “Whom say ye that I am?” “Who touched my clothes?” “Tell me, which of them will love him most?” “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” and “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?” “Why are ye troubled?” “Wilt thou be made whole?”  Why did he ask these questions? In every instance the question was meant to teach, instruct, edify and strengthen.

Let’s take a look at one of these specifically. I love the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers. Jesus was out walking and came across ten men diseased with leprosy, making them outcasts and unable to be with their families. This was a terrible disease and it ruined their lives completely, leaving them isolated and sick and in pain. They had to call to Jesus from afar off to ask for mercy. He told them to go and show themselves to the priests and as they went, they were cleansed. This meant their bodies were healed but that they could go back and live with their families and yet only one of them came back to thank Jesus. That is when he asks the apostles, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?” They said that no one else came and Jesus told the man it was his faith that had healed him and that is the end of the conversation. I don’t know exactly why Jesus asked this question but I think pondering it could give us greater understanding. Why did he draw attention to the fact that the majority of them did not return to give thanks? My thought is that he is trying to help the apostles appreciate the importance of gratitude, a lesson that is important for us to understand as well. We are constantly asking for blessings but how often do we express gratitude to him, or to our church leaders, or our friends or family members?

In speaking of the story of the 10 lepers, Elder Howard W. Hunter also stressed our need to thank our Heavenly Father for all the blessings that He gives to us: “Of the ten men who were healed, only one returned to express appreciation. This must have been a disappointment to the Master, but there are many who receive blessings, many who are endowed with good things in life, yet never take the time or go to the effort to show gratitude to the benefactor or express appreciation to God. Happiness and joy from blessings are never complete until there is a deep feeling of gratitude within oneself which moves an expression of appreciation”

If I could go back in time and be the reporter on the scene of this miracle, I would  want to ask who were these men, how did they feel about being healed, how did their families react, what were they going to do now, what did they first think when they saw they were healed, and why didn’t they go back and thank the man who had miraculously healed him? We can only learn information as we ask questions and seek understanding.

The disciples asked questions too like who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and why could we not cast him out and why speakest thou in parables? They learned great principles of the gospel from the Savior when they asked these questions. The Pharisees and those wanting to trick Jesus asked him lots of questions and often he responded with another question like, “Haven’t you read the scripture that said such and such,” or else a rebuke. I think it is wise to follow the example of the disciples and ask questions that lead us to learning and understanding the gospel better, instead of trying to discover commandment loop holes or justification for sin.

We are asked questions in a temple recommend interview, which gives us a chance to ponder our testimony. I love it when they ask me if I have a testimony of Jesus Christ and if I sustain our living prophets and I try not to squirm when I’m asked if I’m totally honest. Being asked these questions and pondering them can lead us to better live the gospel. It can lead to scripture study, repentance, seeing personal revelation and prayer.

The whole reason you and I are sitting here is because of a 14-year-old boy who had a question. He was confused and wanted to learn truth. He read the scriptures and was inspired by the Spirit to try to seek knowledge and understanding from God. He made the effort to be alone, was ready to follow the direction given, and asked in prayer which church was right. It seems a pretty simple question but him asking it has had profound and eternal repercussions. What would have happened if he hadn’t asked the question? What if he had never been seeking truth or was content to just float along with whatever was happening around him?

Most of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants came as a result of a question. Oliver and Joseph read about baptism and wondered what that was all about so they went and asked about it, which leads to the Aaronic priesthood being restored. Joseph and Sidney Rigdon were wondering about heaven while translating the Bible and the 76th section was given telling us all about the three degrees of glory. People came to Joseph wanting to know what to do and in answer to Joseph’s supplication and inquiry, revelation was received. What would have happened if they had never been curious or never wanted to understand the gospel better or know the Lord’s will for them?

The scriptures are full of good questions to ask. Alma asks us these profound questions in chapter 5 that we should ponder regularly. Have I spiritually been born of God? Do I exercise faith in the redemption of him who created me? Can I imagine being brought before the tribunal of God with my soul filled with guilt and remorse? Can I look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? Am I sufficiently humble? Stripped of pride? Am I repentant?

Back in the beginning of 9th grade, I had a very troubling situation going on in my life. I was in the middle of serious girl drama that had left me in a fight with my two best friends, meaning I was sitting alone at lunch in a new school. I was so bothered and upset by what was happening and I remember praying and asking Heavenly Father what I could do to fix it. I picked up my scriptures afterwards and just started reading where I had left off in Helaman 15:1. Now this verse certainly doesn’t say anything about 14-year-old girl drama, but the spirit whispered to me that I needed to repent, just like Samuel was commanding the Nephite people to do. I asked a question and received an answer that led me to repent of my bad feelings and when I did so, things got smoothed out and I thankfully I had friends again. But if I had never asked our counseled with the Lord about my problems, who knows how long the drama would have gone on.

I just finished taking the personal finance class which is a wonderful opportunity through the church’s self-reliance initiative. You’ll hear more about it in a few months but I’m going to do a quick PSA right now. This is a doctrinally based class to help each one of us be better stewards over what God has given us. We met for 12 weeks and it was a great experience for me. I literally saw miracles happen as I applied the principles we talked about in class and my testimony was strengthened. Some of the questions we asked and discussed as part of this class were Do you believe there are solutions to your problems? How can we quality for the Lord’s power to assist us? What does it mean to you that all things belong to the Lord? How can depending on others limit our personal growth? How can holding family council bless your family? How are repentance and obedience connected to self-reliance? What did the Savior do to achieve a balanced life? What is it important to hold yourself accountable? What does it mean to have integrity? What are some of the small ways people give away their souls to get things in this life? How do we learn to keep going even when the work is difficult? Why is it important to thoroughly assess a situation before you take action?  How does learning create opportunity? It was discussing these as a group that allowed the spirit to be with us and I know we all felt uplifted, we learned together, we were inspired and received answers to our prayers.

Questions are an important part of our church experience too. Leaders as they do interviews need to ask good questions that invite comfortable sharing and are asked in love and concern. Teachers need to ask good questions that will encourage learning and discussion; In the manual, Teaching the Savior’s Way, there is a great chapter on asking inspired questions.  There it says, “The Savior asked questions that invited learners to think and feel deeply about the truths He taught. Our questions can similarly inspire learners to ponder gospel truths and find ways to apply them in their lives. An inspired question is an invitation to learners to discover gospel truths on their own and to evaluate their understanding of and commitment to those truths. Inspired questions can make learning the gospel a more engaging and personally meaningful experience.”

I know I feel the spirit and get more out of a lesson where I am asked good application questions, like how has living this principle blessed your life, or what did you learn about Jesus Christ after reading this scripture? We also need to ask our children good, teaching questions, instead of how was your day you could ask “Who did you help today” or “What kinds of feelings did you have in Primary?” or “What difference do you see in our home when we take the time for family prayer and scripture study?”

Just like we need to take the time to ask ourselves good questions to encourage our gospel growth, we  need to stop asking unproductive questions like “Am I good enough?” “Why doesn’t she like me?” “What is wrong with me?” “Why is this happening to me?” and stick to the faith-filled questions and helpful self-examination kind of questions like those that Alma asks us or that we find throughout the scriptures. Elder Larry Lawrence gave us a great suggestion in his conference talk from October 2015. He said,”

The journey of discipleship is not an easy one. It has been called a “course of steady improvement.”2 As we travel along that strait and narrow path, the Spirit continually challenges us to be better and to climb higher. The Holy Ghost makes an ideal traveling companion. If we are humble and teachable, He will take us by the hand and lead us home.

However, we need to ask the Lord for directions along the way. We have to ask some difficult questions, like “What do I need to change?” “How can I improve?” “What weakness needs strengthening?”

Let’s consider the New Testament account of the rich young ruler. He was a righteous young man who was already keeping the Ten Commandments, but he wanted to become better. His goal was eternal life.

When he met the Savior, he asked, “What lack I yet?”3

Jesus answered immediately, giving counsel that was intended specifically for the rich young man. “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and … come and follow me.”4

The young man was stunned; he had never considered such a sacrifice. He was humble enough to ask the Lord but not faithful enough to follow the divine counsel he was given. We must be willing to act when we receive an answer.

President Harold B. Lee taught, “Every one of us, if we would reach perfection, must [at] one time ask ourselves this question, ‘What lack I yet?’”5

Brothers and sisters it is my hope that you will go home today and make a list of questions for you to study or ponder. Maybe a doctrinal question that has been bothering you that you want to take time to really learn about and understand through the scriptures and prayer. Maybe it will will include a self-examination kind of question, like who do I need to forgive? Maybe it will be more along the lines of what principle of the gospel you could work on living better, like how can my family better keep the sabbath day holy? Maybe it will be a testimony question, like do I really believe or do I know this to be true? Or you could start each day asking in prayer, Who should I help today? I hope that as you take the time to ask yourselves these gospel questions that it will lead to a change; a stronger testimony, improved effort to keep the commandments, a greater closeness to your family and the Savior and our loving Father in Heaven. I know that God the Father lives and is aware of us individually. I know our Savior loves us and wants to help us. I know that Joseph Smith saw them both as an answer to his simple question and that we too can receive appropriate answers to our questions too. Jesus said, “Ask and ye shall receive” and I know this promise to be true.