Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has heard people say that had they lived in earlier times — of Jeremiah in the Old Testament, Lehi of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith in the latter days or even Jesus Christ Himself — they would have found it easier to believe.
“But if we had, I am not completely certain it would have been so easy to believe,” he said, speaking in a Sunday evening, March 17, devotional at the Salt Lake City Utah University Institute of Religion.
“No matter the era, there have been reasons to dismiss the prophets,” he said. “Always there have been those insisted it was all ‘fake news’ and that the prophets deceived, misled and defrauded the people.”
Disbelief was not just in the prophets. Many rejected and despised the Savior.
Elder Uchtdorf asked a series of questions, such as: “Would we have dismissed the miracles as mere coincidences or exaggerations from gullible believers? Would we have Googled Him and been influenced by headlines that read, ‘Top 10 reasons Jesus can’t be the Messiah’?”
He then asked point-blank: “Would we have believed?”
Then and now, belief requires both desire and action, he said, offering three invitations to act upon a desire to believe:
- Seek to know.
- Rise up and accept the call to adventure and discipleship.
- Give your best to the Lord.
“As you do these things, I bless you that the Spirit of God and His goodness will fill your soul with hope and belief. … Faith, if pursued with [a] sincere heart and real intent, will assuredly lead to a lifelong testimony and conviction,” said Elder Uchtdorf.
“I have come to be with you today to testify with all my heart and soul that God directs the work of His kingdom. He speaks to His children today. He directs prophets and apostles today.”
Elder Uchtdorf was accompanied by his wife, Sister Harriet Uchtdorf, who shared brief impromptu remarks at his invitation, acknowledging the power and spirit of the institute choir and the special hymns they sang.
‘Seek, and ye shall find’
Of the Savior’s promise “seek, and ye shall find” (Matthew 7:7-8), Elder Uchtdorf explained, “God will answer your prayers, even if that answer might not come as quickly as you desire.”
To those seeking with a desire to know, he asked them to do — “just for a time” — the following:
- “Seek for reasons to believe in God and in His interactions with mortal beings.
- “Guard your mind from voices that tear down faith, alienate your heart from God.
- “Stay away from influences that will entice you to walk on paths that lead away from Jesus Christ.
- “Give God a chance to speak to your heart. Give Him an opportunity to answer your prayers.
- “Take Alma’s invitation to heart to make ‘an experiment upon [God’s] words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of [God’s] words’” (Alma 32:27).
Elder Uchtdorf added: “I don’t know how long this ‘just for a time’ will take you — it may be a few days, weeks, months, maybe years. But I do know this: Out of the labor of your ‘just for a time’ will blossom a lifelong blessing that will enrich your life for eternity.”
Heed the call to follow the Savior
The Apostle asked the young adults to listen to the voice of the Holy Ghost, to hear the Savior’s invitation to “come, follow me” (Luke 18:22) and to see life as “a call to adventure and discipleship.”
“When Jesus Christ, your Savior, speaks to you and tells you, ‘Come, follow Me,’ He is urging you to rise up and accept the challenge of discipleship. He is inviting you to join His path through life and find your true self.
“To do this, you must act. You must do the hard things. Choose to believe. If that seems too difficult, begin with a desire to believe.”
‘Give it your all’
Of his third invitation — “give it your all” — Elder Uchtdorf said: “Give it your heart, might, mind and strength. Give it your best, once you make the decision to believe. When you are willing to give unto Christ your whole self, that is when belief and knowledge come.”
He concluded with his testimony and promised blessings: “As an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, I give you my blessing, that as you seek to believe, you will learn with your heart and soul that Jesus Christ is your Savior and Healer, that He is your strength. I promise He will walk beside you, and He will lead and bless you. I bless you with the courage and determination to enter His path, immerse yourself in this exciting journey through life and rejoice in His name.”
What they learned
What did attendees learn from the Spirit as they listened to Elder Uchtdorf’s message on desiring to believe?
“It reassured me that believing is a choice. Just like a lot of things in life, it’s a choice whether I’m going to believe in God, believe in Jesus Christ or not,” said Nathan Ritchie of Cedar Hills, Utah, who also was touched by the invitation “to put away distractions and really focus on coming close to God and Christ — ‘just for a time,’ but taking however long needed.”
Bria Hill of Alpine, Utah, appreciated the linking of faith to action. “A really important thing in the Church, especially in my own personal growth, is being able to act,” she said. “And I loved how he talked about being around people who help bring the Spirit — people who are going to help you feel God’s love for you.”
Ansley Crofts of Salt Lake City said she was reminded of the importance of “just praying a lot and feeling the Spirit through prayer.”
Said Madi Scivally of Saratoga Springs, Utah: “The Spirit taught me that if you truly are seeking to find Jesus Christ, you’ll find Him. If you open your eyes to see, He is in abundance all around.”
Jackson Hill of Pleasant Grove, Utah, added: “It’s not every day you get to hear the testimony of Christ from one of His Apostles, and I was really impacted by that. What also stood out to me was the power that choosing to believe can have in each of our lives — what that means and what that looks like.”
