On Destructive Doubt

On Destructive Doubt
Compared to Fruitful Faith
Scott L. Vanatter, October 1, 2006, August 29, 2007, October 10, 2007, May 15, 2012

Of course, there is such a thing as faith run amok, as well as there is such a thing as a healthy skepticism. (“Trust, but verify.”) Still . . .

I.
Faith creates clarity.
     Doubt causes confusion.

Faith enlightens.
     Doubt darkens.

Faith is light.
     Doubt is dark.

Faith feels.
     Doubt numbs.

Faith joys.
     Doubt fears feelings.

Faith is full.
     Doubt is empty.

Faith fills with beauty.
     Doubt ends in ugliness.

Faith Sings.
     Doubt sorrows.

II.
Faith is assurance; doubt, misgivings.

Faith creates commitment; doubt, discord.

Faith commits; doubt cannot.

Faith fills us with promise; doubt sets limits.

Faith opens new Opportunities and beautiful Vistas.
     Doubt closes doors.

III.
Faith is action.
     Doubt is delay, hesitation, wait, pause, ‘not now’, later.

Faith is believing.
     Doubt is skeptical.

Faith creates confidence.
     Doubt facilitates frustration.

Faith creates conviction; doubt, disbelief.

Faith creates courage.
     Doubt is a nagging fear.

Faith is Do.
     Doubt is Don’t.

Faith is dynamic.
     Doubt is static.

Faith engenders a lively encouragement; doubt, a dulling discouragement.

Faith moves forward.
     Doubt is bogged down.

Faith is freedom.
     Doubt enslaves.

Faith urges onward.
     Doubt causes reservations.

Faith creates a cautious optimism; doubt, a sure failure.

Faith is positive.
     Doubt is negative.

Faith sacrifices.
     Doubt clings.

Faith Overcomes.
     Doubt succumbs.

IV.
Faith is the power to act.
     Doubt is paralysis.

Faith builds up.
     Doubt tears down.

Faith builds respect; doubt, disrespect.

Faith encourages appropriate respect for proper authority.
     Doubt ends in anarchy.

Faith is power.
     Doubt is weakness.

Faith is service.
     Doubt is selfish.

Faith is strength.
     Doubt is feebleness.

Faith is trust.
     Doubt is suspicion.

Faith is truth; doubt, lies.

Faith is Dedication, Devotion, Loyalty.
     Doubt is lonely.

V.
Faith is focused.
     Doubt is vague.

Faith frees.
     Doubt nags.

Faith creates hope; doubt, cynicism.

Faith is filled with Hope.
     Doubt haunts over us.

Faith is inquisitive.
     Doubt never settles.

Faith includes a healthy skepticism, and a searching inquisitiveness.
     Doubt says there can be no answers.

Faith is a steady, dependable Perseverance.
     Doubt is cut and run (in times of trouble).

Faith queries, questions, seeks answers, and wisdom; doubt has qualms about everything.

Faith releases.
     Doubt constrains.

Faith sharpens.
     Doubt dulls.

Faith Preserves the best.
     Doubt destroys hope.

VI.
Faith connects.
     Doubt separates.

Faith is connection.
     Doubt is separation.

Faith is God-centered.
     Doubt is man-oriented.

Faith is Heaven-sent.
     Doubt is earth-bound.

Faith is Holy.
     Doubt is base, regular.

Faith is Now.
     Doubt is never.

Faith is unifying; doubt, dividing.

Faith is Union.
     Doubt is division.

Faith is Unison and Harmony.
     Doubt is divisive.

Faith is Unity.
     Doubt is cacophony.

Faith is Everything.
     Doubt is nothing.

The Steward, By Carol Lynn Pearson

http://www.amazon.com/Beginnings-Beyond-Carol-Lynn-Pearson/dp/1599558602 The Steward ~ a poem by Carol Lynn Pearson, from her book, Beginnings and Beyond Heber looked at his lands And he was pleased. He’d be leaving them, tomorrow, and his hands Hurt with anticipated idleness. But he knew there was no other way When a man is seventy-eight and has to make Two rest stops with a full bucket of milk Between the barn and the kitchen. Condominiums-do they have gardens? He wondered. His son had arranged the place for them in town And he was ready. He sat down On the rock that knew his body Better than the front room chair. Could it really be fifty-five years ago That sitting right there They had talked? His father’s voice had never left him: “Heber, I’m trusting to you The most precious thing I’ve got. I worked hard for this land. You know all about The crickets and the Indians and the drought, And the buckets of sweat it took To make what you see ...

Family History and Temple Work (including, Nauvoo Temple experience)

Family History and Temple Worship Scott L. Vanatter, May 18, 2014, Chantilly Ward #A1. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE As a convert, Nauvoo the city Joseph Smith founded and named in 1839, has always held a special place in my mind and heart. I have been fascinated and inspired by Nauvoo -- the name, its Hebrew meaning, even its sound, its history, and more importantly, the doctrine revealed there -- the ultimate in Mormon theology. The ennobling doctrine that we can be sealed to our loved ones in the Temple as part of God’s whole family in heaven. ##1 Sacred Experience (Nauvoo Temple) We were fortunate to be able to serve as patrons in the Nauvoo Temple the very first week it opened in 2002. I had several Vanatter family names with me so we could do all aspects of temple ordinances, from baptisms for the dead, confirmations, and ordinations, to initiatory, endowment, and sealings -- sealings of spouses, and sealing of children to parents. Actually, it was my mother and one of my sist...

Terry Tenove (February 5, 1954 - August 19, 1978)

Funeral Service for Terrance Richard Tenove Prelude Music, "Amazing Grace" Welcome and Eulogy, by Scott Vanatter Music, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" Remarks and Eulogy, by Abe Ohanian Music, "Trees" Prayer, by David Peale Graveside Graveside Remarks, by Abe Ohanian Prayer, by Mr. Douglass [Welcome and Eulogy by Scott Vanatter] Welcome. We are gathered together to pay tribute to Terry; to extend our love and sympathy to his family, Mr. and Mrs. Tenove, his brothers Glen, Michael, Brian, and other relatives (including his grandmother, Dovie Belle Wales); and to comfort one another. We've each had our own quiet reflective times alone in the past couple of days. We may need more, but for now, we meet together to find strength in our unity and fellowship. Your presence and kindness is appreciated by Terry's family. ~ We all acknowledge that this is a difficult thing to understand. It takes time and patience to sort ...

Anonymous said…

Doubt for me is positive. Doubt caused me to read, to study the origins of the LDS church. Doubt motivated me to check exactly what those with the training and knowledge of Mesoamerican archaeology to find that horses and other animals that are mentioned in the BOM were not in the Americas until the Spaniards arrived.
Doubt led me to examine the Book of Abraham question. The papyri have been translated and nothing to do with Abraham.
I was interested in neuroscience reading such books as The Brain the Changes Itself and Whatever Happened to the Soul:Scientific and Theological Portraits of Human Nature.We do not have any "spirit" proved by both neuroscience and correct interpretation of the various passages in the Bible. So there was no pre-existance. We lie in the ground until the Resurrection.

October 19, 2012

Scott said…

THAT kind of Doubt is (positive). I think of what you describe as a healthy skepticism. I am not describing Doubt, but a Destructive Doubt. As I lay out in the piece. IOW, the path of overemphasizing Doubt to the point of never Believing. To the point where it prevents all Belief. To the point where it is enthroned as the Highest Value. SURELY, we all must all Doubt -- and do it profitably. Being OPEN to Belief. I think you get the picture. I think we agree.

October 20, 2012

"Dogmatism and skepticism are both, in a sense, absolute philosophies; one is certain of knowing, the other of not knowing. What philosophy should dissipate is certainty, whether of knowledge or ignorance."

Bertrand Russell

October 14, 2014

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