I Believe
Are You Taking the Gospel for Granted?
The author lives in Mallorca, Spain.
We all have times in our lives when we realize we haven’t been appreciating the gospel for the miracle it is.
One day on my walk to work, I found myself annoyed with a common obstacle: tourists.
I’m used to tourists here in Mallorca, but on this particular day, I watched with mounting exasperation as hordes of them clogged downtown, stopping to take pictures of everything they saw.
I remember noticing one tourist peering into a window and snapping pictures and thought, “Why? This is just a regular window. Why are you taking pictures of it?”
But to be fair, I probably act the same way when I visit new places. So I decided to change my approach.
When I saw someone pointing their camera up at a building, I decided to look up too and see if I could find whatever treasure they were so fixated on. If I noticed someone studying a shop I passed every day, I resolved to give it a second look and spot the gem they thought was worth photographing.
And you know what? I found some beautiful things on that walk to work. When I tried to look at my home as if I were seeing it for the first time and stopped taking it for granted, I found new things to appreciate.
Later, I had this thought:
How often do I take the gospel for granted?
Recognizing the Blessings We’ve Already Received
I remember a time on my mission when I just wasn’t feeling very joyful. I kept praying about the same things over and over and not feeling like I was getting answers.
I talked to my mission president about how I had been feeling, and he told me that I might not be fully trusting in Christ’s promises. At first I didn’t know what he meant, but as I kept thinking about it and studying what it means to fully trust the Lord, I felt prompted to start recognizing and being grateful for the blessings I already had. This helped me realize that Heavenly Father had already answered many of my prayers and blessed me in many ways.
Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “Apathy is characterized by the gradual loss of our excitement to engage fully in the Lord’s gospel. … This complacency, so to speak, causes us to take the gospel gifts for granted, and from then on, we run the risk of neglecting both our regular immersion in the essentials of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the covenants we have made.”
When I feel like I might be taking Christ’s gospel for granted, sometimes the answer is going back to the basics and remembering what matters most.
Looking at Our Faith in a New Light
For pretty much my whole life, I’ve found myself in situations where I am the only member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My family goes to church, and I have a wonderful branch, but at school or with friends, I’m often alone in my faith.
When I meet new people, I’m their first introduction to the gospel. When they learn things about me and how I live, they see it as new and interesting.
For example, a few months ago I was at a work party where everyone was drinking alcohol. When I explained to my coworkers that I don’t drink, they assumed I just wasn’t drinking that night because I had to drive later. When I explained that I never drink, they had so many questions.
When I have these experiences, I get to explain my faith to people who are just hearing about it for the first time (or have only heard of our Church in the media). And when I get to see them learn about our Church for the first time, it helps me look at my own faith in a new light.
Getting Back on Track
I think we all have times in our lives when we realize we haven’t been appreciating the gospel for the miracle it is. But there are simple things we can do to get back on track, like recognizing the Lord’s hand in our lives and sharing our testimonies with others. We can be like those tourists, who saw miracles in everyday objects. We can see and love the beautiful parts of the gospel that have become routine to us.
I love Proverbs 3:5–6, which says:
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
When we acknowledge what Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have already done for us, They will continue to give us new direction and inspiration.
And They will help us continually realize the blessing of having the gospel in our lives.