This morning I submerged myself in a talk by Elder Wirthlin (November 2002) entitled, “Shall He Find Faith on the Earth?”
First of all, I highly suggest the study of his words. They are most touching and tender and simple.
Secondly, I wish to quote a personal story he shares in this talk. The symbolism is rich:
“Sometimes the world appears dark. Sometimes our faith is tried. Sometimes we feel that the heavens are closed against us. Yet we should not despair. We should never abandon our faith. We should not lose hope.
“A few years ago, I began to notice that things around me were beginning to darken. It troubled me because simple things like reading the print in my scriptures were becoming more difficult. I wondered what had happened to the quality of the lightbulbs and wondered why manufacturers today couldn’t make things like they had in years past.
“I replaced the bulbs with brighter ones. They, too, became dim. I blamed the poor design of the lamps and bulbs. I even questioned whether the brightness of the sun was fading before the thought occurred to me that the problem might not be with the amount of light in the room—the problem might be with my own eyes.
“Shortly thereafter, I went to an ophthalmologist who assured me that the world was not going dark at all. A cataract on my eye was the reason the light seemed to be fading. This certainly gives you my age. I placed my faith in the capable hands of this trained specialist, the cataract was removed, and behold, light again flooded my life! The light had never diminished; only my capacity to see the light had been lessened.
“This taught me a profound truth. Often when the world seems dark, when the heavens seem distant, we seek to blame everything around us, when the real cause of the darkness may be a lack of faith within ourselves.
“Be of good cheer. Have faith and confidence. The Lord will not forsake you.”
Maybe happiness is directly related to the amount of our faith.
I think faith deems how we look at the world. If our faith in Jesus Christ is strong enough to act in accordance to our complete trust in Him and accept His will knowing that He knows what’s best for us, then there will always be sunshine in our lives–even if at times it is only a golden edge framing our clouds. Nonetheless, in these circumstances, we will still perceive our lives as mostly happy…all because of our faith.
Happy Challenge: Pray to increase your faith in Jesus Christ thereby increasing your happiness.
