Stoic Principle: Courage
Courage
"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."
-Joshua 1:9
Fear, the Counterfeit
"And it came to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling upon God, he received strength, and he commanded, saying: Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory."
-Moses 1:20
Three Christ-like Attributes: Faith, Hope, and Charity
To begin with these attributes it's appropriate to pose the following questions: What is faith? What is hope? And, what is charity?
To the first of these three, faith is defined thus:
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the proof of things not seen."
-Hebrews 11:1, with the Joseph Smith Translation and Greek
Mark 5, with the Greek
A good illustration of this comes from the story of Jairus, who is a ruler of a synagogue, and sought out the Lord Jesus to heal his dying daughter (Mark 5:22-23). Before Jairus and Jesus reach the house, a messenger approached them:
35. Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?
On hearing these words, one can imagine what might have gone through Jairus' thoughts--the expressions fear and despair were likely the emotions to strike this loving father for that moment. And it's reasonable to think that.
36. As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only exercise faith.
The miracle in this scene occurs when Jairus' daughter is raised from the dead by Jesus Christ. Jairus had already exercised faith by first seeking the Christ to heal his daughter. When the Master Healer, therefore, commands to "only believe" or "only exercise faith", He is offering that assurance or hope, in order to ease Jairus from out of his fear. What Jesus is really teaching Jairus (and us, who read the story) is "Keep going, you're not there yet. But you will be as you continue."
How is hope developed?
"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, making an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."
-Ether 12:4
During his time as Second Counselor in the First Presidency, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught the following concerning hope:
Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time. The scriptures are clear and certain about the importance of hope. The Apostle Paul taught that the scriptures were written to the end that we “might have hope.”
Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness. Its absence—when this desire of our heart is delayed—can make “the heart sick.”
Hope is a gift of the Spirit. It is a hope that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we shall be raised unto life eternal and this because of our faith in the Savior. This kind of hope is both a principle of promise as well as a commandment, and, as with all commandments, we have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives and overcome the temptation to lose hope. Hope in our Heavenly Father’s merciful plan of happiness leads to peace, mercy, rejoicing, and gladness. The hope of salvation is like a protective helmet; it is the foundation of our faith and an anchor to our souls.
In a sermon found in the Book of Mormon, given by the prophet-historian Mormon, he taught the following about faith and hope, and how they are prerequisite attributes to have in order to have charity.
Moroni 7
42. Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.
43. And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.
44. If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.
Now, what is charity, and what are the characteristics of charity? Moroni provides the following answers.
45. And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
46. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail--
47. But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be will with him.
Character
Those three Christ-like attributes: faith, hope, and charity. These are important to the development of one's courage; courage is an element of making up of one's good character.
Elder Richard G. Scott said the following in a speech at a Brigham Young University devotional, on developing what he called noble character:
Another fruit will mature through the years because of your consistency, your willingness to set aside the things of the world, and your determination to quietly walk the path marked by the Savior. There will distill in your being noble character. Character is not forged in the heat of battle when you are challenged. It comes quietly from decision after decision made with the proper use of agency. It is used when challenge is upon you.
The Courage to Live in Righteousness
Further words from Elder Scott in the same speech from above:
One of the most powerful sources of personal development will come through the urgent prayers you offer in faith for a foundation of righteousness. You will learn much as feelings distill in your mind and heart. Avoid prayers that appear to be a set of instructions to the Lord—do this, bless that, change this, help me with that. Rather, be a compliant student to the Ultimate Teacher. He wants you to succeed even more than you do yourself. ...
...Happiness comes from what we are, not from what we have.
Real joy comes from noble character, and that is built from a pattern of consistent, righteous decisions. Then the things we acquire are used as tools to help our own families and others. They should not become ends unto themselves. Our righteous decisions determine who we are and what is important to us. It becomes easier to do the right things. For happiness now and throughout your life, resolutely keep your determination to obey the Lord, no matter what pressure you feel to do otherwise.
To help contextual how feelings are distilled into our hearts and minds, I go to a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith on receiving personal revelation:
"Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart."
-Doctrine & Covenants 8:2
How can we learn whether something we study and pray over is correct or incorrect? In an effort to contextualize this next quote, the Prophet Joseph gave the following revelation to his then scribe, Oliver Cowdery, while the Book of Mormon was being translated, in the year 1829.
"But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it be right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
"But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me."
-Doctrine & Covenants 9:8-9
In offering our prayers to our Father in Heaven, He has provided us guidance to help understand not only how to communicate with Him, but how He communicates to us. The Lord communicates to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. These can come as we are reading the Scriptures, or through a thought or impression that comes in our minds.
May we all pray to have courage to live by faith (or trust) in the Lord. May we have the courage to live in righteousness in world filled with iniquity.
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