Doubt

Doubt is to consider something unlikely. It is a lack of trust and confidence in ourselves, our relationships with good people, and God. Doubt is a poison that flows from fear. It is immobilizing, crippling, and can lead to despair. It is rightly said that Doubt and faith cannot exist in the same mind at the same time. William Shakespeare wrote  'Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.'.

Doubt is the absolute inverse of faith.

A proper understanding of doubt, where it comes from and how it affects us, helps us to be able to recognise it in ourselves and to change. What I've found is that there are three main motivators for the actions or emotions of people. They are fear, duty, and love.

It is far easier to begin to doubt, or to allow doubt to grow, when we are motivated purely by fear. Our thoughts and motivations sound more like 'I have to go to work or else I'll be fired' or 'I have to get good grades or my dad will kill me'. Fear is a very selfish motivation, and causes us to focus a bit too much on ourselves.

I love the story in the Book of Mormon in Alma chapter 46. This is about a man named Amalikiah. He wanted to overthrow the government, and to be a king over the people. He was very sneaky and crafty and started to lead the people to his way of thinking. Many people were deceived into thinking they would be more free under his rule, others wanted power and social status. They were motivated by selfishness and pride.

Then Captain Moroni shows up. He was in charge of the Nephite armies when he was just 25 years old, and many people respected him. He put on his battle armour and made a banner where he wrote the reasons why the people had their freedom. He rallied the people around this banner that reminded them of their God, religion, freedom, and peace, wives, and children—

He called upon a higher motivation  within the people. He pulled on their desire for the welfare of others as opposed to themselves. This banner is called the title of liberty, and served as a rallying cry for the people for years to come. I even have a statue of Captain Moroni raising that banner on my desk.

As we learn to focus on our righteous, selfless desires instead of our own doubts and fears, our faith will increase and we will eventually forget that we even doubted at all.

"Let your faith roar so loud that you do not know what doubt is saying!"

Why Cubby is the most successful teenager. Ever.

My little brother's name is Cubby. And he is a genius.

This is Cubby. He is my little brother. His name isn't really Cubby, but his real name didn't make sense to me when I was four, so I re-named him Cubby instead and it just kind of stuck. This kid is a legend. He is probably the single most effective and successful teenager I have ever met. And I would like to share one of his secrets with everyone. 



Cub has a few nasty habits that make him stand out in a crowd. Whenever he sets his mind to something somehow it occurs sooner or later. He hates losing. He is extremely goal oriented, and he is constantly trying to improve and get somewhere new. Cub is a trumpet player, an imagineer, and races in triathlons as well. There was this one time he was about to go run a cross country race and he was stretching before hand. I asked him "Hey Cub, what's your strategy for this race?" His response was really simple. "Win.".

He won. 

The Secret Power of Faith

I want to share a very personal story today. 

One of the greatest and most important lessons I have learned in my life, is that there is power in faith. I was taught that by the example of my mom, Eydie. My Mom is my absolute hero. There is no person in this world that is kinder or more gentle than she is. She is the greatest example of faith and trust in the Lord in my life, because almost ten years ago she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, or MS.