A delicious truth

What do you do when Halloween is over, Christmas is coming, and you have a huge bag full of leftover candy staring you in the face? Make Halloween Candy Cookies, of course!

The concept is simple: make chocolate chip cookies, but put in chunks of candy bars instead of chocolate chips. I used every candy I had in one big jumble: Reece’s Cups, Kit Kats, Whoppers, Snickers, M&Ms, Milk Duds…and they turned out even more delicious than I hoped they would. The different flavors all complimented and enhanced each other, resulting in a cookie with a much richer flavor profile than the original. We loved them.

Mixing all the candy together was, admittedly, a bit daunting. Would the 3 Musketeers really taste okay alongside a Butterfinger? The many different treats made me think about how as children of God, we are all different and how much better the world is for it.

When I was in college, I really struggled with some aspects of my faith. It seemed every time I bumped up against something that triggered questions, whether it was a modern commandment or a problematic story from the Old Testament, I bemoaned my propensity to, like Saul, “kick against the pricks.” (KJV Acts 14:16) Why, I wondered, did I have to doubt everything I wanted so badly to believe? Why couldn’t I be like everyone else in my congregation and have the great faith to accept the Lord’s will, my church’s history, and my prophet’s counsel?

I felt no small amount of shame and worry that others would discover I harbored doubts and fears. I despaired I would never find the peace I sought, since I was so beleaguered with questions.

Luckily, I held fast to the testimony that I did have while I prayed for answers. Latter-day Saint history is rooted in a boy prophet who had a question and was inspired to pray by reading James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it will be given him” (KJV).

And indeed, God did not upbraid or scold me for my questions. He met them, if not with ready answers, with comfort and inspiration and love. I was further encouraged by the teachings of church leaders, including Elder Ronald A. Rasband, who reassured me that “Questions are an indication of a further desire to learn, to add to those truths already in place in our testimonies.”

Some things I struggled with have been resolved for me, and for that I am grateful. Other things still challenge me, but my struggle has strengthened my resolve to search the scriptures, ponder, and pray. Most importantly, it has re-affirmed a testimony I share with the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi, who said, “I know that [God] loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things” (1 Nephi 11:17).

Another thing I’ve learned is that all those “perfect Christians” in my congregation probably weren’t assured in every aspect of their belief. I now believe that if doubt-free Christians exist, they must be few and far between.

In reality, I was one of many peanut butter cups. My faith trials are not the same as the trials of the Baby Ruths or the Milky Ways. But it is because of my doubts, and not in spite of them, that I can reach out to others in their faith trials and empathize. I can say, “I know how you feel, and I’m here for you.” I can let them lean on my areas of strength as I rely on theirs. And our church communities are better for it.

After I had fleshed out this metaphor and concluded that Christ’s church needs sinners and doubters and strugglers of all flavors, I realized a similar comparison was already made for me, in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. When we work together, we are the body of Christ. The hand may struggle to see, but the eye cannot grasp things. We can lean on each other when we are tempted to “lean unto [our] own understanding.” (KJV Proverbs 3:5) By accepting, loving, and uplifting our brethren and sisters just the way we are, we do the Lord’s work. What a delicious truth!

Rachel Kenley Fry is a writer and a stay-at-home mom to four, spending the winter alternating between drinking hot cocoa snuggled in a blanket and cross-country skiing. She is proud to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.