On Asking Questions

During the last few weeks, I have reflected on current events with the Latter-day Saint community as well as several private conversations relating to asking questions about the beliefs, policies and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Most recent of these events was the release of a statement by the First Presidency (the highest governing body of the LDS Church) on the this subject of asking questions. Here is a segment from that statement:

“We understand that from time to time Church members will have questions about Church doctrine, history, or practice. Members are always free to ask such questions and earnestly seek greater understanding.”

A common idea used online to justify asking questions refers to the number of revelations in the early days of the LDS Church that were received in response to church members asking the prophet Joseph Smith questions. In fact, the very beginning of the Joseph Smith’s calling as a prophet came in response to a question that he asked God. These events suggest to me that asking questions can lead to powerful growth experiences and increased knowledge. Yet, I would be willing to venture that most of us know someone whose faith has been weakened or even destroyed by asking questions. What causes the different outcome? I won’t claim to know the entire reason, but I want to present what I think are some of the principles of asking questions in a way that fosters faith and growth rather than loss of faith and apathy. I should note that as I’m writing this, I am primarily considering the rank and file members of the LDS Church who have received a testimony of the gospel.

The first principle to me is also the most important - ask questions in a way that is consistent with the knowledge that you already have. What exactly do I mean by this? If you have a testimony that Jesus Christ and God are real, it doesn’t make much sense to ask if atheistic interpretations of evolution are the way life came into being. If that example seems a little odd, let me give another. If you have a testimony that the Book of Mormon is from God, it doesn’t make much sense to ask whether Joseph Smith wrote it himself, basing it on the writings of others.

When we ask questions that contradict what we already know, we may be doubting our current testimony and opening the door to loss of faith. Rather, the question to ask is for understanding: How does all the scientific evidence for evolution fit together with my knowledge of God? Given that the Book of Mormon is true, were other writings used by God in bringing about its translation?

I think one of the greatest dangers to testimony is allowing what we do not understand and cannot at present explain to rob us of what we already know. That is really the principle I am getting at here. Do not sacrifice what you know because you cannot explain or understand everything. Let me give you a secular example of this principle. I know that the human immune system can successfully fight off pathogens; I even know a fair amount of the molecular biology behind those immune responses. I do not understand much of the intracellular signaling processes that trigger various parts of that response to occur. However, in asking the question “how do these signaling molecules lead to this outcome?”, I don’t start doubting whether immune responses really happen.

You might argue in response to this that even though I don’t understand those signaling processes, there is some expert out there who does and can explain them fully. Likewise, God is an “expert” and understands the circumstances that are causing us to ask questions and he is capable of explain and answering them fully. Don’t surrender your testimony just because you can’t explain or understand everything. I sometimes refer to this as the Anselm principle: do not seek to understand so that you can believe; believe first to qualify yourself to understand.

Related to this first principle is the second: don’t make your questions into an obsession. There are times when we have a powerful emotional connection to our questions. An example might be, “why weren’t black LDS males allowed to hold the priesthood before 1978?” (Note that a small number did in early church history but the vast majority were not allowed to). For some people, particularly black LDS members, this could be an emotionally loaded question. The problem is that if we allow ourselves to obsess over and become consumed by our questions, we run the risk of disregarding what we already know, the testimony we have already received. I use the example of black men holding the priesthood because so many righteous black men and women courageously held fast to their testimonies of the truth of the gospel, the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith despite the fact that the priesthood and certain temple blessings were not then available to them. They exemplify not obsessing over questions to the overpowering of testimony.

The third principle is chiefly related to questions regarding the moral positions of the Church. A contemporary example might be the Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage. In considering these questions we should remember two things. First, we are influenced by the moral standards of the society in which we are raised. A person who is raised in current American society would hear hundreds of times that same-sex marriage is fair and should be legal and morally accepted. If you hear that enough times, it is hard to not begin to agree with it, or at least accept it even if you don’t espouse it. We don’t naturally want to go against the grain. It appeals to the society-based component of our notion of right and wrong. But when society’s moral judgments are at odds with God’s, it is important to recognize the pull of our social upbringing that may try to sway us away from God’s commandments. Certainly there are positive and good morals that can be taught and reinforced by society, but when society impels us to disagree with Heavenly Father, recognize that it is man’s doing and that humans are fallible, even when well intentioned.

Second, remember Isaiah 55:8-9. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” There will be times that we genuinely do not understand why the Lord has taken a certain position simply because we are human. I take comfort in knowing that someday that understanding will come, but in the mean time, remember that we are still in the process of becoming what God wants us to be. A math teacher may explain to a student how to add numbers and variables to both sides of an equation, but until they have progressed enough to comprehend the concept of equivalence and the meaning of the equals sign in an equation, the rule may not make much sense to them.

This does not mean we must accept a blanket lack of understanding when it comes to difficult questions concerning our faith. Rather, I hope to have conveyed that in my opinion the greatest obstacle to our gaining answers is maintaining faith and being humble to receive whatever the Lord gives us. I have received personal and clear explanations to some of my questions, and others I've had to accept that I am either not ready for or don't need yet. But I have never found any answers by turning away from Christ that can in any way compare to the answers I have found by turning to Him.

I take full and personal responsibility for what I have written here. You may find the same concepts taught elsewhere but I have tried to develop these ideas without referencing the writings of others in order to be able to claim that they represent my own opinion solely. I also recognize that I have more to learn in this area. This represents my current understanding and illustrates principles that have helped and guided me in harmonizing my testimony with challenging questions.