How Could There Not?

 

 OK, I confess. I’ve been on face book again. My cousin had a dream last night where he had an other worldly visitor. His guide in the next life was an atheist as my cousin  is. Among other things, He asked his guide,” What of religion? He almost angrily shakes his head and says "most dangerous invention ever! Imposing a value judgment on life, diminishes the experience, and damages the potential growth."

Another friend posted a site where you can find your Bible quote in your life. Curious, I tried it.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield. In Him my heart trusts.
I tried to look for the scriptural referencThe full quote is,

Psalm 28:7 “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”

The site went on to explain, ”The Bible has been your guiding light through all the ups and downs in your life. It has made you a strong individual and taught you that nothing is impossible if you believe In yourself. All true-Like most people I have had many ups and downs in my life and I do rely on my faith to get through them. I believe and trust in God for His help.

In this month’s Ensign magazine, there is an article by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf 
The Just Shall Live by Faith

In it, President Uchtdorf tells the story,

The Rabbi and the Soap Maker

“There is an old Jewish tale about a soap maker who did not believe in God. One day as he was walking with a rabbi, he said,

 “There is something I cannot understand. We have had religion for thousands of years. But everywhere you look there is evil, corruption, dishonesty, injustice, pain, hunger, and violence. It appears that religion has not improved the world at all. So I ask you, what good is it? ”The rabbi did not answer for a time but continued walking with the soap maker. Eventually they approached a playground where children, covered in dust, were playing in the dirt. “There is something I don’t understand,” the rabbi said. “Look at those children. We have had soap for thousands of years, and yet those children are filthy. What good is soap?” The soap maker replied, “But rabbi, it isn’t fair to blame soap for these dirty children. Soap has to be used before it can accomplish its purpose. ”The rabbi smiled and said, “Exactly.”

President Uchtdorf continues, “Faith is more than belief. It is complete trust in God accompanied by action.It is more than wishing. It is more than merely sitting back, nodding our heads, and saying we agree. When we say “the just shall live by faith,” we mean we are guided and directed by our faith. We act in a manner that is consistent with our faith—not out of a sense of thoughtless obedience but out of a confident and sincere love for our God and for the priceless wisdom He has revealed to His children.

Faith must be accompanied by action; else it has no life (see James 2:17). It is not faith at all. It doesn’t have the power to change a single individual, let alone the world.

Men and women of faith trust in their merciful Heavenly Father—even during times of uncertainty, even during times of doubt and adversity when they may not see perfectly or understand clearly. Faith motivates and, indeed, inspires us to incline our hearts to heaven and to actively reach out, lift up, and bless our fellowmen.

Religion without action is like soap that remains in the box. It may have wondrous potential, but in reality it has little power to make a difference until it fulfills its intended purpose. The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of action. The Church of Jesus Christ teaches true religion as a message of hope, faith, and charity, including helping our fellowmen in spiritual and temporal ways.

I have several relatives and many friends who have left religion because of the wickedness that they see around them. How can there be a God if bad things happen? I plead with them, “Look around you. How can there not? Ask yourself, ”What Am I doing to help?”