Faith crisis draft 1

This page is still under construction. We welcome any suggestions for improving the content of this FAIR Answers Wiki page.

Faith Crisis draft 1

In today's internet-based society, finding information is getting ever easier. Unfortunately, interpreting this information is getting ever harder. With so much information available, learning how to identify helpful and truthful information is becoming ever more important.

For most of its existence, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been Church members' primary source of information about the Church's history, doctrine, and practices. In the internet age, this is often no longer the case (at least among members in the United States). Information about Church history, doctrine, and practices is available from a wide variety of sources online, some faithful to the Church, some against the Church, and others somewhere in between.

The problem many members now face is how to interpret the information they find from these other sources, and how to compare their interpretation of this information with how they interpret information coming from the Church. Often this challenge leads to what many call a "faith crisis." While understanding principles about information, interpretation, and sources can help in addressing "faith crises," it is important to first address the emotional component of a faith crisis.

Logic and Reason

Once the emotional component has been addressed, we can then support our approach using logic and reason. In doing so we should remember what Elder Neal A. Maxwell often taught (quoting Austin Farrer): "Though argument [logic/reason] does not create belief, the lack of it destroys belief. What seems to be proved may not be embraced, but what no one shows the ability to defend is quickly abandoned. Rational argument does not create belief, but it nourishes a climate in which belief may flourish." Logic and reason will never lead someone to faith in Jesus Christ and His restored Church. Only revelation can do that. But logic and reason can help address people's concerns that may be creating doubt in their faith.

Understanding Information and Records

In developing our reasoning, we use information in an attempt to demonstrate that some belief can at least be true. This information comes from records, which are compiled by people (sources). Understanding information and records can help in addressing doubts. Understanding the perspective and bias of sources is also important.

Information

In our context, information can be objective (descriptive) or subjective (normative).

• Objective (descriptive) information is a statement about the physical condition of something at a moment in time, or in other words. The statement is either true or false for everyone. For example, "Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son" is an objective statement. Either the event happened or it didn't. People may disagree on whether or not it happened, but the event cannot have happened for some people but not for others.
• Subjective (normative) information is a statement about the value condition (good or bad, better or worse) of something at a moment in time. Whether the statement is true or false depends on who is speaking. For example, "Joseph Smith was a good person" is a subjective statement. Good is a subjective value and its meaning depends on the person speaking. Joseph Smith could be seen as good by some people and not by others.

Information can come from a primary or secondary source.

• A primary source means someone directly involved in whatever is being discussed. In addition, generally the person needs to share the information close to whatever moment in time is referenced. (This is due to how human memory works.) For example, "Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son" would be primary information if it was stated by Joseph shortly after the event.
• A secondary source means someone not directly involved in whatever is being discussed. It can also apply to someone directly involved if the person did not share the information close to whatever moment in time is referenced. For example, "Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son" would be secondary information if it was stated by someone other than Joseph. Also, if Joseph stated this information 50 years after the event, it would be secondary information (again, because of how human memory works).

Finally, information can be direct or indirect.

• Direct information is an explicit statement. For example, suppose we want to know the year Joseph Smith had his First Vision. The statement "Joseph Smith saw his First Vision in 1820" explicitly gives the information we want.
• Indirect information is not an explicit statement, but information can be inferred based on what is or isn't stated as well as other information we already have. For example, the statement "Joseph Smith was 14 years old when he saw his First Vision" does not tell us what year the vision happened. However, combining that information with information we already had about Joseph's birth year (1805) allows us to determine the year of the vision (1820).

Records

Information is contained in records. Records are either original or derivative.

• An original record is, well, original. It is probably best described by what it is not. It is not a derivative record. For example, Joseph Smith's original 1832 history is an original record. (An image of the original record is available on the Joseph Smith Papers website. It should be noted that images of original records are generally also considered original records.)
• A derivative record is any record with information that is translated, transcribed, abstracted, extracted, indexed, and so forth. For example, the transcription of Joseph's 1832 history that appears next to the image is a derivative record. Some derivative records are more reliable than others. For example, the transcription of the history on the Joseph Smith Papers website is more reliable than a transcription appearing in a self-published book by an anonymous author.

Perspectives and Bias

When evaluating information and records, it is important to understand the source of the information or record. In addition to affecting the category of information or record provided, knowing the source helps to be aware of whatever perspective or bias affected the information and records searched or cited. (Everyone has some sort of perspective or bias, and anyone who thinks they don't are deceiving themselves. If you want to know more about biases, just do an internet search for something like "everyone has a bias.")

Evaluating Information and Records

There are various ways to evaluate information and records about Church history, doctrine, or practice. A few are included here. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, nor a complete explanation of the ways.

Five Questions

BYU professors Anthony Sweat and Kenneth Alford encourage asking five questions about an account or information discussing Church history:

1. "Is it a primary account?
2. "What is its relationship to other sources?
3. "Is it a contemporary account?
4. "Does it have an objective perspective?
5. "Are its claims supported by evidence?"

To adapt

Question: Do I need to have a faith crisis in order to have "real" faith?

The term faith crisis usually means that someone begins to doubt previous spiritual experiences to the point of questioning if the experiences, and beliefs founded on them, actually happened or are true. This is different from asking questions about (and striving to understand) those experiences and the beliefs founded on them.

Some people have a faith crisis and in doing so decide to study more fully if their spiritual experiences were real and if the beliefs founded on those experiences are true. Sometimes this can lead to a renewed faith. However, having a faith crisis is not necessary in order to more fully understand our experiences and beliefs. We can choose to deepen our faith without a faith crisis.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf encouraged us to ask questions and affirmed that a faith crisis is not necessary to find more truth: "We are a question-asking people because we know that inquiry leads to truth. . . . God commands us to seek answers to our questions and asks only that we seek 'with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ.' . . . Fear not; ask questions. Be curious, but doubt not! Always hold fast to faith and to the light you have already received. Because we see imperfectly in mortality, not everything is going to make sense right now" ("The Reflection in the Water," CES devotional, 1 November 2009).

For further study, consider the following: Jeffrey Thayne, "Worldview Apologetics: Revealing the Waters in Which We Swim," 2021 FAIR Conference Patrick Mason, "The Courage of Our Convictions: Embracing Mormonism in a Secular Age," 2016 FairMormon Conference Jeffrey R. Holland, "Lord, I Believe," April 2013 general conference

J. Spencer Fluhman, "Faith in the Past: Church History in an Information Age," address given at LDS Business College, 7 Oct 2014