The Gift To Believe

To others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful.” (D&C 46:14). Which is the greater gift - to know without a shadow of a doubt, or to be kept in the dark with no sure knowledge but choosing to believe anyway? After Jesus Christ's resurrection, Thomas was not present when Jesus first appeared to all of the other apostles. He had been offered the gift to not see the resurrected Lord but to believe in the testimony of others. Thomas would not accept this gift of believing in things he did not see and could not know, but was eventually blessed with the lesser portion of witnessing His resurrected Lord. “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29). It seems that most of us would side with Thomas most of the time and would always seek to exchange the gift of belief for the gift of knowing first-hand and without a shadow of a doubt. But rushing to know everything before we are ready to receive the full and unvarnished truth would be to give up on some of the many amazing blessings that come from believing but not knowing. Believing forces us to hold tight to our hope, to boldly exercise faith and try things that we would never dare if we were filled with cold and certain knowledge, to lose ourselves in the adventure of a lifetime as we discover and unfold the mysteries of God. The gift of belief is not a placeholder gift to keep us occupied until our gift of knowledge is ready. Even those of us who do not know for ourselves can still believe on the testimony of others and still be saved and have eternal life if we remain faithful and hold onto our beliefs. I am so grateful for the gift of belief in my life, and that even when I don't understand or agree with certain doctrines or principles of the gospel, I can nevertheless keep pressing forward continuously by relying on the strength and the testimony of others and we all have the opportunity to take advantage of our gift of belief.