We have a problem with doubt. More specifically, we, LDSs, have a problem with how we conceptualize doubt and how we treat those who doubt. The short story is that we tend to employ an ambiguous notion of doubt and that we treat those with anything resembling doubt as insincere, as prideful, and as involved in sin. A prime example of this is the article entitled “When Doubts and Questions Arise” in the March 2015 Ensign.
The author begins by attempting to create a distinction between questioning and doubting. The former is good, the latter is bad. Questioning, according to the author, entails “a sincere desire to increase one’s understanding and faith…. Sincere questions are those asked with the ‘real intent’ (Moroni 10:4) to better understand and more fully obey the will of the Lord.” Sincerity is measured by one’s continued obedience to the Church while questioning: “One problem with doubt is the intent to obey only after the uncertainty is resolved to the satisfaction of the doubter.” The primary example of doubt, of course, is Korihor in Alma 30. The author goes on to stress, “The power of doubt to destroy faith, hope, and even family is diminished the minute one sincerely says, ‘I will do the things the Lord has commanded, whether my questions are resolved quickly or ever, because I have covenanted to do so’” (emphasis added). So, in short, the difference between questioning and doubting is a willingness to endlessly adhere to the teachings of the Church.
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