Healthy doubt, healthy faith: from Thomas Wirthlin McConkie
“The same way our muscles grow stronger working against the force of gravity, our faith becomes more robust in the presence of doubt. . . Faith can’t function optimally without it,” claims Thomas Wirthlin McConkie, founder of Lower Lights School of Wisdom, in his book Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis. He goes on to say:
“If properly recognized and assimilated, doubt can become an indispensable nutrient for a more robust faith. We must use good judgment when honestly expressing ourselves in any situation. Maybe by expressing our doubts more openly we can strengthen one another’s testimonies. By creating a community where it’s not okay to be open about our struggles, we may be challenging people’s testimonies in ways we never intended.
“An ancient Chinese proverb states, ‘water that is too pure has no fish.’ The hygiene hypothesis in Western medicine points to the same truth — we need a little grit and grime to help us develop healthy immunity. In a similar way, if we are to become spiritually robust, we can’t just sanitize our way into a sterile environment where there are no disturbing truths left to assail us. This may, ironically, leave us more vulnerable.
“It might seem counterintuitive to introduce doubt into our Church education systems, our family home evening discussions, and our sacrament meetings, but it is already happening with or without our consent. How we respond to it — by trying to wipe it out of existence or by living with it in a kind of symbiosis — will have a significant impact on whether this doubt critically infects us or brings us new vitality. The presence of doubt in our individual and collective awareness represents a natural developmental (and spiritual) progression” (Thomas Wirthlin McConkie, Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis [Sun Print Solutions, 2015], 83, 105, 106, emphasis added).
When I read this, I thought of Proverbs 27:17 - “Iron sharpeneth iron.” When I work through my strong doubts, it makes my strong faith even more secure. Not faith in men or women, or a church, but faith in Jesus Christ. Ironically, wrestling with my doubts has made me closer to Him and my Heavenly Parents.
I for one remain active (even “hyper-active”) in the Church, but I respect each person’s faith journey as being uniquely theirs, guided by their loving Heavenly Parents as well.
-Marci