These questions focus on doctrine of the church, and answering them is facilitated by purposeful scriptural analysis. Doctrinal questions range from a simple search to understand a single word to complex, lifelong searches on deeper doctrinal topics. And one can lead to the other.

For example, Brother Chris M. Wilson defined light in devotional last week, but a quest to understand the power of spiritual light can lead to insights whenever the scriptures are read.²⁰ I have learned that when a doctrinal question reflects a sincere desire to know, seeking its answer can be intellectually as well as spiritually engaging, and can transform gospel study from passive reading to active seeking; from a chore on a to-do list to a compelling, anticipated pursuit; from repetition to revelation.

Brother Hugh Nibley, one of the most prolific researchers of LDS Church doctrine and a deeply spiritual man, wrote:

“If I went to the temple five times and nothing happened, I would [have] stop[ped] going. But I’ve gone hundreds of times, and the high hopes of new knowledge with which I go up the hill every week are never disappointed.”²¹

When I first read Brother Nibley’s words, I questioned how he was able to do this, because to be honest, my temple experiences, though enjoyable, were not usually a time of spiritual tutoring. One day while contemplating this in the temple, I had a flash of inspiration. Brother Nibley came to the temple with a specific gospel question, while I usually came seeking peace or direction on a decision. If I want to be tutored, I must bring a question, for as Nephi taught, the mysteries of God are unfolded only to those who diligently seek.²²

I testify that if we don’t ask doctrinal questions in our temple attendance and scripture study, we miss an essential key to progress and the joy of receiving revelatory light.

A second type of question that can help increase spiritual light is that which triggers personal reflection. Our son, Elder Jacob Willis, who is currently serving in the Virginia Chesapeake Mission, is very good at asking our family reflective questions in his weekly e-mails home. These questions require us to evaluate our testimonies, deepen our faith, and sometimes make changes in our lives.

Recently Elder Willis asked, “Which passage in the Book of Mormon has helped you the most in your life?” This simple question guided my scripture study for several days. It caused me to think deeply about both the Book of Mormon and my life, as I reread marked scriptures and pondered their influence. One such passage is one of my favorite reflective questions; it is directed by Alma to members of the church: “And now behold, I say unto you … if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?”²³ Essentially Alma is asking, are you in the light or in the dark?

Personal reflection such as that prompted by Alma can help us make difficult but necessary changes in direction in our lives. To illustrate, I would like to share a story about our oldest son, Tyler, who recently climbed Mt. Orizaba, the highest mountain in Mexico and the third-highest in North America.

Tyler and a friend started their grueling climb at 2:00 a.m. on a cold, clear April night. Navigating huge, unanticipated ice crystals growing on the glacier slowed their progress enough that they were climbing at a time of day when dangerous lightning storms might develop. As Tyler neared the summit he learned of a threatening, massive thunderhead that had been hidden from view by the mountain. So one hundred yards from the top, he had to make a decision: “Do I finish the climb and risk the storm, or do I turn back now?” He later shared the self-reflection that helped him make the difficult decision to turn around: “If I die on this mountain,” he thought, “someone else will raise my daughter.” As you ponder this story, you may want to reflect on your path. Will it lead to spiritual security? Are you willing to make the hard decision to turn around if a friend warns that you are headed towards a spiritual storm?

Requests for guidance from Heavenly Father represent my third category of questions. Guidance questions vary significantly by your stage in life and can include “Where should I live?” “What should I major in?” or, for married students, “How can we both finish college?” You likely have heard about people who receive a direct answer to such questions and simply need to follow the well-lit path. While faith-promoting, I have observed that this level of guidance is more rare than common; a more typical answer is silence.

This silence can be daunting and can lead to bitterness or a fear that Heavenly Father doesn’t care for you as much as he cares for someone who received a direct answer. I testify that this is not so, and I’d like to suggest a different perspective. Silence is actually a strong vote of confidence. It is Heavenly Father’s way of saying, “I know you can make this decision on your own, you really can, and you will grow more Godlike in the process.”

Our daughter, Emily, describes the darkness of an unanswered request for guidance as being in the middle of a room where there is no glimmer of light. She knows there is a light switch, but its whereabouts are a mystery. She is tempted to stay safely rooted where she is, but choosing safety means never finding the light. So she moves tentatively forward, feeling carefully for each step, determined to find a wall, because light switches are usually on walls.

I watched Emily apply this metaphor when she neared college graduation; interestingly as she felt her way in the dark, she seemed to develop an internal flashlight whose beam was just bright enough to illuminate her next step. She learned to trust, not just in Heavenly Father, but in her own tuition. This type of strength could not occur if Heavenly Father had laid out her steps in bright LED lights.

The process of seeking answers is no more poignant than when asking questions about human suffering, the last category I will discuss before moving to the topic of embracing challenging questions. Questions about human suffering often start with the word “why.” Some focus on world tragedies: “Why are there tsunamis and typhoons that kill tens of thousands of people?” Others focus on the misfortune of those close to you: “Why did that car hit and kill my niece?” And yet others focus on personal hardship: “Why was my prayer to find my lost car keys answered, but my prayers to find a spouse are not?”²⁴

Such questions often arise from heart-wrenching situations that result from sharing earth with natural disasters, disease, and other people. In other words, trials are part of life, and their presence is not a litmus test for personal righteousness. President James E. Faust stated:

“Into every life there come the painful, despairing days of adversity and buffeting. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and often heartbreak for everyone, including those who earnestly seek to do right and be faithful.”²⁵

Finding an answer to a personal “why” question can be a difficult and lengthy process. Jessica George, my nephew’s wife who suffers from a debilitating illness that leaves her mostly bedridden, relates in the current Ensign, “Through the years, … I began to see that while this was not the future I had anticipated, it was exactly the life God had planned for me.”²⁶

Her answer rings true. Because it was revealed to her for her life. It was not stated by a well-meaning friend who does not have revelatory stewardship. My dad, a physician who saw the suffering of many, thought it was best not to tell others that their particular trial was part of God’s plan for them. Why? Because it may not be true, it may “just be life.” The best answer to a “why” question is sometimes a simple “I don’t know.” I testify that God will comfort us in life, even when he doesn’t protect us from life, and that his comfort can bring light to the darkness of tragedy.

I have briefly suggested ways that four categories of questions can bring light into your life. Some questions, like unanswered requests for guidance and questions about human suffering, may require time, faith, and a willingness to accept silence or “I don’t know” as an answer. This is not easy.

Similarly, seeking answers to tough doctrinal questions may be a prolonged, difficult process that feels devoid of light. In fact, some of you might be thinking right now, “I, or a friend, have gospel questions that don’t feel like they bring light—in fact they seem to bring just the opposite.” Asking and seeking answers to these difficult questions can be an important part of some, though not all, people’s spiritual development. For those who have such questions, not seeking an answer is akin to perishing in darkness, while embracing the question can bring the joy of searching and the possibility of resolution.

When faced with a troubling doctrinal question, you may feel that darkness and confusion dominate your life and that you are alone in your struggles. President Uchtdorf implied that many faithful members of the church can relate with these feelings when he stated, “There are few members of the Church who, at one time or another, have not wrestled with serious or sensitive questions.”²⁷

I want to share a few insights that have helped me deal with difficult questions; these insights are not meant to answer your questions, nor are they meant to diminish the complexity of your struggles; they are shared to help you maintain light as you seek resolution.

I will start with a story related by M. Sue Bergin in a recent BYU Magazine. I quote:

“When Tom Puzey was a teenager, he became perplexed by arguments challenging his religious beliefs. He went to his dad … in emotional anguish, doubting all he had been taught. His father smiled, hugged him, and said, ‘This is wonderful.’ Then his father told him, ‘It’s okay to question. … You’ll figure it out. And Tommy … you’re going to be okay.’”²⁸

Tom later noted that he believed his father, which gave him added confidence to resolve his doubts.

This story contains three key points: First, it’s okay to ask the questions; questioning does not a rebel make. Second, if someone comes to you with doubts, try not to react in shock or dismay; rather, do as Tom’s dad did, and let them know that you have confidence in their ability to work through their questions. Encourage open heartfelt conversation and inquiry, as actively supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in an official statement made on June 11, 2014: “The Church is a family made up of millions of individuals with diverse backgrounds and opinions. There is room for questions and we welcome sincere conversations.”²⁹ Third, if you struggle with difficult questions, have confidence in yourself, like Tom did, that you can, if you choose, maintain your spiritual base. I take comfort in knowing that.

Brother Michael Otterson, a convert to the church and the current managing director of Church Public Affairs, has unanswered questions:

“There were two big questions with which I had greatly wrestled and which the missionaries had not been able to answer satisfactorily. Neither could I find answers in Church literature. … Since I could not resolve them, I decided to put them on the shelf for some future resolution.”³⁰

Despite his unresolved questions, Brother Otterson was baptized and has served in the church for many years. His example suggests that you can continue to attend church meetings and fulfill your church callings, even as you seek answers to your questions. Doing so does not make you a hypocrite or devalue your service. In fact, President Uchtdorf suggests that one purpose of the church is to provide a safe place where all, even those with challenges, can “nurture and cultivate the seed of faith.”³¹

One principle that I have learned about asking difficult questions is found in the poem “All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter” from J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Lord of the Rings:

I read this poem first as a young adult and the last line, “Deep roots are not reached by the frost,” helped me realize early in life that if I want to maintain my spiritual light, then I need to develop a deep root that is protected from the frost of doubt. My root is my love for and belief in the Savior. I believe in the wonder of his birth and miracles; I feel of his love as I study his words; I anguish with Mary at his tomb; and I rejoice in his ultimate triumph over death and sin.³³ I declare with Peter that “[he is] the Christ, the Son of the Living God”³⁴ and with Joseph Smith “that he lives!”³⁵

My testimony of the Savior has helped me through many difficult experiences, including resolving questions about sensitive issues. I would like to share one such experience; I will not share the specifics of my question or my answer, because I want you to feel the joy of discovering and resolving your own questions. As I share my experience, listen for when I learned or applied these principles:

• Be mature (tantrums close doors).

• Set the question, not the gospel, on a shelf.

• Don’t set time limits.

• Recognize that insights can come from both church and non-church resources.

• Cross-check insights with gospel doctrine.

When I was a teenager I was troubled with questions about a particular gospel issue. Early in my questioning I ranted to myself in a demanding voice, wanting to know the answer “why, why is it this way; I just don’t get it.” Not surprisingly, no answers came while I was in that stage. Just as a parent may let a child storm in private about a family issue, Heavenly Father let me storm alone. He was not going to try to communicate with me, because I was not ready to hear or understand the answers. Rather than abandon my faith over an unresolved issue, I set my question aside for a few years. In the meantime I served a mission, read and studied my scriptures, and spiritually matured. The question never really went away, but I chose to be temporarily satisfied with “I don’t know.”

Later, when I took the question off the shelf, I was more receptive. I no longer demanded an answer, and I didn’t limit the timeframe, or how or where I would receive insights. The answer didn’t come all at once. Insights came at odd times and in odd places: while reading an article in a non-LDS magazine, left on an airplane; evaluating a statistical analysis in a newspaper; listening to a discussion in ward council; or doing the dishes. I found it surprising that many of my insights did not come while listening to general conference or during scripture study; but when I received an insight I could see how it fit directly with those sources.

Over a period of several years, my answer was built “line upon line.”³⁶ It was as if a dimmer switch in my brain was gradually increasing the light. A few years ago I thought I had received all the answers that I would get on this issue even though there was still one unresolved aspect. But I am happy to report that while I was preparing this talk, my daughter shared with me an article written by a faithful LDS scholar that provided a new perspective. I am now analyzing how it fits with my earlier insights and with church doctrine. And the light has grown brighter yet; in fact, it is brilliant.

What if I never had asked the question, or what if I had asked and not sought to resolve it beyond that which I could find on Google or in the first few pages of the Book of Mormon? My life probably would still be okay, but I believe it is richer because I asked and I patiently struggled for years to be brought, as Nephi suggests, “into the light.”³⁷

The Savior, speaking to Joseph Smith, verifies that questioning is one way to find joy and light in the gospel:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy; And then shall ye know … all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive.”³⁸

I affirm that questioning is part of our religious heritage, that there are many types of questions that can bring light into our lives, and that asking questions—even about difficult subjects—is not taboo. Open dialogue and sharing insights on similar struggles are part of building a community of Saints. As you leave today, I hope you will have the courage and insight to ask the questions that will best help you gain spiritual light. Perhaps you can start with one of these:

• What question will stimulate my gospel study?

• Which scripture has most influenced my life?

• Will my current path lead to a spiritual storm?

• Is my root of faith deep enough to resist the frost of doubt?

• Do I have unresolved questions that I should temporarily set on a shelf?

In closing I would like to express my love to those who struggle and whose questions have not yet been answered. I pray that you will find peace and feel of the Savior’s love. I express thanks to those who made this devotional possible, especially my family for sharing their insights and stories. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.