Causes Me To Fear . . . ?

We don't fear.

The last few evenings we had an influx of bugs in the apartment.  We have had large beetles, big ugly looking fly-like things, and a few spiders.  My first thought one evening was how I could give both spiders to my little sister.  But, then I remembered she is a few hundred miles away, and I would enjoy continuing to get letters from her.  So, as fun as that would be, we just squished them.  As ecstatic as my own sister would be about getting some spiders (not at all), it made me think a little about how fear can affect us in our lives.

I think most of the fears I had growing up were pretty typical.  And I am sure I could take a lot of time to talk about those things.  Working as a missionary my mind is often thinking about the subjects of fear and faith and the power they have to motivate.  I can see those people who are motivated by faith, and I can see the joy it brings.  I can see those who are driven by their fears, and I can see the sorrow it brings to them in their lives.  While rarely asked exactly like this, people do often have some version of—“Do you fear your church is wrong?”  “Do you fear these things point to the Book of Mormon being false?” “Do you fear you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life?”  The answer is those are things I do not fear. 

Filling our Sails With Faith to Ride Through Stormy Seas

Believe it or not, this fearsome pirate ship on the side is something which I actually colored myself!  I actually started coloring it first . . . and then had the idea for this blog post.  I have learned being here as a missionary there needs to be balance in everything we do.  As we work, we need time with healthy recreation and sleep to revitalize ourselves, so we can again work with a renewed focus and determination.  So, to help balance the work we do, I have followed Elder Moxley’s example and I have done a little coloring.  The pirate ship in its own right represents a juxtaposition of ideals.  There is the idea of pirates, representing fear and terror juxtaposed with the Christmas spirit of hope and faith shown in the sails.  Faith and fear create a balance of opposition as two forces which work against each other.  It is on the roles of fear and faith in our lives which I wish to address my remarks today.