Asking Questions

If you are my teacher, and you tell me,

"Because that's the way it is!"

Let's just say I won't be particularly fond of you.

If you are my teacher and you tell me,

"I honestly don't know."

Then you just earned my respect BIG TIME!

I love asking questions. It is one of my spiritual gifts, the desire to learn. I believe that asking questions is the key to receiving personal answer to prayers and revelation. The Lord is not just going to hand us knowledge on a silver platter!

Along with asking questions, I love to interrogate people about their beliefs. No, not because I want to try and force my religion down their throat. I love to connect their belief system to my own, and see where God is in their life. I also like to see my old self in other people. I remember having this thought all the time, "If God would just TELL ME, I would believe anything in a heart beat!". I remember being confused, and wanting to know. I know that God reached out to me many times, and I was not ready to hear it.

Complete hypocrisy!

(Lexee) "God, please tell me what's true!"

*Gods sends Lexee to Utah*

"God, these Mormons are crazy! Who are you? Where are you? What is true???!!!!" (Now picture a very flustered Lexee banging her head against the wall)

(Please forgive me for using "God" in a very untactful way. I wrote the dialog that way to honestly share the way I thought and "prayed". I was also was not taught growing up that using "God", and "Jesus" was to be done VERY carefully, and with respect. I have friends who nearly faint when I say God or Jesus in a way that seems incorrect. I also believe that the way we show respect can be a cultural thing. To us Americans, it is considered rude to burp. In France, it shows that they liked the food. When I say these things in a way that seems incorrect, I actually mean that these are names I love and am comfortable with. I have a relationship with God, and Jesus Christ. Anyone can try to tell me I am wrong, and that is alright. We all show reverence differently.)

Back to the original subject, our Father in Heaven will often reach out to us, but we are not listening. We often ask, but don't really want the answer. I believe when we feel our prayers are being ignored, we sometimes aren't asking the right question. Our questions are too vague.

We can't ask,

"Heavenly Father, is ALL dis Mormonism stuff, like fo real?"

And expect Him to reveal "ALL dis Mormonism stuff" at once.

I believe the more direct question my question is, the more direct my answer will be. Baby steps.

"Heavenly Father, is the Book of Mormon true?" (after reading the Book of Mormon)

I believe that we need to take our conversions one step at a time. When I converted, I believed that I had a loving Heavenly Father. That was all I had. I began to pray, and learn that this simple fact was true. I then learned that Jesus Christ was my Savior, who died on Calvary for my sins. Learning these two things taught me that the Holy Ghost confirms truth.  Sometimes I would gain a testimony on things that were intertwined. I learned that Joseph Smith was a true prophet when I learned the Book of Mormon was true.

It is our job to seek knowledge. Be the so called Molly Mormon or Peter Priesthood who asks questions in Sunday School, even if the question seems to have completely obvious answer. When I first started going to church, I asked what the Law of Chastity was. Everyone "knew", but when I asked, we had to really think about it.

Whenever I get the chance, I love to pester my teachers with my questions. Normally, my question(s) follows an awkward silence, and then people saying, "I never thought of that" or "I've always been too afraid to ask that!" and sometimes a really good discussion will come out of a simple question. I really hope one day I have a student that loves to ask questions. I hope I have the chance to teacher Sunday School or any church class and I will have someone who loves to learn as much as I do. I realize all this sounds a little Molly Mormonish (OKAY! Maybe a lot!), but I love it! I love teaching and learning.

I believe that we will have very personal experiences and strengthened testimonies by desiring to learn of God, and all he had to teach us. I believe that there is more knowledge in store for then we can comprehend. I testify that He will give the answers you ask for, even if it isn't in the way you imagined or expected.