Thoughts on Fear

A friend asked me about fear. Many people are experiencing a lot of fear. I will paste below his question and my response:

“Arden, I’m reading D&C 67:10 this morning. It promises have the veil rent and seeing the Savior, with the spiritual mind. Verse below. My question is this. Among other things, He invites us to strip ourselves of jealousies and fear. The jealousy part seems doable to me. What I can’t figure out is how one strips themselves of fear. Any thoughts?”

10 ​And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a ​​​promise​ I give unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that inasmuch as you ​​​strip​ yourselves from ​​​jealousies​ and ​​​fears​, and ​​​humble​ yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the ​​​veil​ shall be rent and you shall ​​​see​ me and know that I am—not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual.

My response:

Good question; in fact I think an essential question.  Fear seems to be one of the main tools of the Adversary to sabotage us in many ways.  This is something I have thought a lot about as I have gone through my own “fearful” circumstances.  Any feedback on this is very welcome. I ask myself the question, “What am I afraid of?” For me it usually boils down to “bad news” in some form or another. Here are common fears: 1. Fear there won’t be enough 2. Fear of pain/discomfort 3. Fear that someone we care about isn’t going to be OK in some way  4. Fear of failure  5. Fear of rejection  6. Fear of “looking bad” – fear of what others think 7. Fear of disappointment  8. Fear of unfair things happening 9. Fear I am not enough; that there is something wrong with me, or I am lacking in some way, that I am inadequate/deficient, that I just don’t have what it takes  10. Fear of the uncertainty of the future – that somehow things aren’t going to be OK in one area of life or another 11. Fear of not being in control; or fear of someone or something else we don’t trust being in power and having control over us.

I sum it up with the phrase “Fear I’m not OK, and not going to be OK” (or someone or something I care about isn’t OK and not going to be OK). As I look at this list of fears, it seems we experience each of these at some point in our lives. So how do we not fear them?  I step back and ask myself why a loving Heavenly Father would allow all of these things in our lives? So I go back to the original pre-mortal council where Jesus presented the Father’s plan, and Lucifer presented his plan.  In that council Heavenly Father could have silenced Lucifer and told us not to listen to him.  But ultimately Lucifer and his followers end up here (of all places!). Why? Because for the plan to work we need an Adversary. So the fact that Satan is promoting fear is part of the plan.  We need a telestial experience that includes all this fearful stuff.  If we didn’t need this experience then a different plan would have been set up.  Satan cannot thwart God’s plan, he is playing an essential role in the plan.  So, to counter Satan’s influence, Jesus Christ has provided an Infinite and Eternal Atonement.  His Atonement takes into account all of the fear factors, so that whatever we go through, Christ has us covered.  Given how much our Heavenly Parents love us, and how much Jesus Christ loves us, I come to the conclusion that they only allow adversity that can be used for good (at some point in time or eternity). So, since all of this telestial experience is supposed to be for our good, then we don’t need to fear any of it.  We just need to stay connected to Jesus Christ and keep the Holy Ghost in our lives. Then no matter what happens, even if it looks like the worse news possible, we are going to be OK. With God’s help we will get through it and ultimately see how what looked looked like bad news could be leveraged for our eternal progression in a positive way.  So while there is much to be concerned about, there is nothing to fear.  Remember that you can be concerned and be at peace, or hopeful; but you can’t be fearful and hopeful, or at peace.  I have come to the conclusion that when I am in a state of fear, I am trusting Satan’s lies more than God’s truth.  When I trust, really trust, the bigger picture of God’s plan, I can let go of fear and be at peace no matter what my circumstances are.  Many times I have had to ask God to forgive me for trusting Satan’s lies more than his truth.  

So that basically sums up my thoughts on fear.  I know I’m not perfect in living without fear, but it is something I am earnestly seeking.  I have read D&C 67:10 many times, considering what I need to do to be free from jealousy and fear.  Still working on it.  I would love to hear an additional thoughts or feedback.