How to Doubt Your Doubts

When in 2013 Elder Uchtdorf encouraged us to doubt our doubts before we doubt our faith, that was a call to self-awareness. If I’m doubting a gospel principle or a narrative of our sacred history, then what do I personally bring to that equation? Let’s explore things that all of us bring: assumptions, worldview, epistemology, and bias.

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Let’s stop couch-fainting over the term “approved sources”

A note on “sticking with approved sources” to get “approved answers.”

In any field, there are sources that lead to specific answers that are considered valid because they represent reality.

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Latter-day Saint Epistemology

None of the following statements make something untrue. 

“Cannot be confirmed to my satisfaction”

“Does not reflect my personal experience”

“Does not reflect the experience of people around me”

“Does not meet my personal standard for validity”

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What Do We Know, And How? A Look At Orthodox Latter-Day Saint Epistemology

Introduction: Expanding our Categories

Epistemology is the study of knowledge.  In discussions of epistemology, it is common practice to make distinctions between belief, justified belief, and knowledge.  Generally unaware of these distinctions, Latter-Day Saints have sometimes employed binary categories of knowing/not knowing in expressions of personal conviction, and doctrine/not doctrine when discussing boundaries of belief.  We embrace more and better distinctions among these concepts.  Professions of knowledge are appropriate when one possesses experiential or revelatory confirmation of a principle; when one possesses none of those things, professing knowledge out of cultural or other forms of pressure can have the effect of thwarting our spiritual progress, giving us the sense that we have arrived at an important destination when in fact we have barely begun the journey.  Personal knowledge of gospel truths is a lifetime pursuit, and until knowledge is obtained, the decision to exercise hope, belief, trust, or confidence is a perfectly valid form of faith.

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