FEAR (This may be kind of long...)

A friend asked me yesterday if I have ever felt fear, my response was, "Yes, definitely." I then continued to think about fear and what it is and why we go through that emotion. And what it is that I fear. Dictionary.com defines fear as the following:


noun
1.a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
2.a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling: an abnormal fear of heights.
3.concern or anxiety; solicitude: a fear for someone's safety.
4.reverential awe, esp. toward God.
5.that which causes a feeling of being afraid; that of which a person is afraid: Cancer is a common fear.
–verb (used with object)
6.to regard with fear; be afraid of.
7.to have reverential awe of.
8.Archaic. to experience fear in (oneself).
–verb (used without object)
9.to have fear; be afraid.


In looking online at different sites common fears include: spiders, mice, snakes, bats, heights, water, public transportation, storms, closed spaces, crowds, public speaking.


On another site it listed: fear of disease, sickness or poor health, losing your job, dying, lonliness, uncertainity of the future, failure, making decisions, conflict, rejection, stupidity or ignorance, losing your most important relationship, public speaking, being poor and success.


In looking at these two lists, most of those have been very real to me at one time or another. From the first list: I don't like spiders, not at all. I once sat trapped in my basement because there was a large spider in the doorway so I couldn't get out. I admitted to friends just last week that I might be a transportation snob, becuase I do not like riding public transportation. I always feel a little anxiety when I do. Crowds at parties, scare me. I'm awkward and I don't ever feel like I fit in and it makes me uneasy. From the second: They all have been a present part of my life at one point and some still are. The fear of lonliness, can eat away at me often, and it hits at random moments. I have stayed by myself countless times, but earlier this year, I lied in my bed crying because I was so scared to be there alone. I often fear being alone without someone to love or someone to love me. I fear loving someone and not having them love me in return, I fear having someone love me and hurting them by not loving them, I fear not getting married, I fear never being a mother. I fear losing my best friends, physically or emotionally. I fear making the wrong choice, I fear failure in my own eyes and in the eye's of others. I fear letting other peopel down. If I never had to speak in public, I would be completely ok with that- which goes along with my failure of ignorance or stupidity and failure, there is so much that can go wrong when you open your mouth in public.

Fear is an ever-present emotion, but there is a way past it! In looking at different websites, I decided to search fear on LDS.org. I came across an article from President Hinckley that appeared in the New Era, the theme of the article was Fear Not; Only Believe. How wonderful is it that we have a Heavenly Father who wants the very best for us? He is ALWAYS with us, holding us when we are scared. When I was at home crying from fear, a friend said have you prayed? What a simple thing it is to ask our Heavenly Father for help, but how many times do we forget that? I'm not proud to say, I forget quite frequently. President Hinckley gave this counsel things we can believe in to conquer our fears:

"Fear not; only believe

When I left for the mission field 66 years ago, my father handed me a card. He had written on it four words spoken by the Lord, who, when He had received news of the death of the daughter of the centurion, said: “Fear not: believe only” (see Luke 8:50).

As we step into the third millennium a.d., I can think of no greater counsel than is found in this statement.

Fear not; only believe.

Believe in God, the Father of us all. We are His children and He loves us. He is interested in us. He is concerned about us. He wants us to be the very best we can be. He wants us to make something of our lives. He wants us to be upright and true and honest and straightforward and clean and decent. I believe that He desires to bless us. If we live our lives in such a way as to be worthy of His blessings, He will bless us and we will not be troubled by the evil of the world.

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God who condescended to come into the world to save mankind. He is our Savior and our Redeemer. He was the Son of a mortal mother and a divine, Eternal Father. In His name we pray. Through His atoning sacrifice we obtain forgiveness for our sins. We have the assurance of the Resurrection, and if we walk in His ways after His pattern, we will have the opportunity of exaltation.

Believe in yourselves and in your capacity to do something worthwhile. God has given you a mind and a spirit and a body with which to do your work. You have tremendous capacity. You do not have to be a genius to do something worthwhile in the world. The major work of the world is done by ordinary people who have learned to work in an extraordinary way. This is what makes the difference. Stand tall and look sharp and bright with a smile on your face, and you will find that people will love and honor and respect you. “To thine own self be true,” wrote William Shakespeare, “And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man” (Hamlet, act 1, scene 3).

Believe in the power and majesty of prayer. The Lord answers our prayers. I know that. I have seen it happen again and again and again. Prayer brings us into partnership with God. It offers us an opportunity to speak with Him, to thank Him for His magnificent blessings, and to ask Him for guidance and protection as we walk the paths of life. This great work, which is spreading over the earth, found its roots in the prayer of a boy. He had read in the family Bible, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (James 1:5–6). That is the promise. Is there any greater promise anywhere in the world than that promise?

Believe in goodness, my dear young friends. There is so much of evil in this world. It seems to be everywhere—in television, in books, in magazines, in videos. Do not sit around watching videos of a sleazy nature. Do not do it. They will not help you. They will hurt you. You can become addicted to those things, and they will destroy you. I have seen it in the lives of many people. Believe in goodness. In the midst of great evil, there is so much of good to be found in the world. It is your responsibility to follow the right. “Choose the right when a choice is placed before you” (Hymns, no. 239). There is something wonderful and uplifting that comes from believing in goodness and beauty and truth.

Believe in education. A mandate has been given you by the Lord Himself. He has said: “Seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118).
I do not expect all of you to earn college degrees. But I do urge you with all the power that I have to take advantage of learning to equip yourselves to do worthwhile things in the world. The world will compensate you for your skills. If you are an honest and skilled workman, you will bring honor to yourself and to the Church. This is the great day of preparation for each of you. This is the season to train yourself for the highly competitive world that lies ahead."

I don't know that fear will ever just completely go away, even with believing with all that we are, but I do know that we can be comforted in our fears, and will be able to work through them if we believe. How grateful I am for my friends who challenge me to think, and who remind me to believe; to believe in my Heavenly Father's love, to believe in the goodness of people, and to believe in myself, and to believe and have faith in the plan Heavenly Father has for me.