“The Answer to All the Hard Questions,” Ensign, December 2014, 16–19

The questions life sends our way are not always easy to answer. Some of the personal challenges we have﻿—a child’s death, for example, the betrayal of a friend, or an unfortunate financial reversal﻿—are often not easy to reconcile, and we need the compassionate support of those around us. Sometimes the most difficult struggle in these situations is to recognize that our Heavenly Father loves us and is not punishing us, though the reason for the trial, if there even is a reason, escapes us for now.

Some of the hardest questions come when what we believe is challenged by changing cultural fashions or by new information, sometimes misinformation, that critics of the Church confront us with. At such times, it may seem that our doctrinal or historical foundations are not as solid as we thought. We may be tempted to question the truths we’ve taken for granted and the spiritual experiences that have formed our faith.

What do we do when doubt seeps into our hearts? Are there really answers to those hard questions?

Yes, there are. In fact, all the answers﻿—all the right answers﻿—depend on the answer to just one question: do I trust God above everyone else?

Simple but Not Easy Is that approach too simple? too easy? Perhaps. Truth isn’t always obvious, particularly when it has to compete with alternatives presented in attractive packages. Often we understand the truth only in part, while the whole remains yet to be learned. And in the learning, we face the uncomfortable prospect of abandoning imperfect but heretofore comforting understandings. But trusting that God has all the answers, that He loves us, and that He will answer all our questions﻿—in His way, on His timetable﻿—can simplify our searching. It may not always be easy, but simply trusting in God’s counsel can safely steer us through clouds of confusion. During the October 2013 general conference of the Church, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, made this insightful observation: “It’s natural to have questions﻿—the acorn of honest inquiry has often sprouted and matured into a great oak of understanding. There are few members of the Church who, at one time or another, have not wrestled with serious or sensitive questions. One of the purposes of the Church is to nurture and cultivate the seed of faith﻿—even in the sometimes sandy soil of doubt and uncertainty. Faith is to hope for things which are not seen but which are true. “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters﻿—my dear friends﻿—please, first doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. We must never allow doubt to hold us prisoner and keep us from the divine love, peace, and gifts that come through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”1