1. "What is the place of questioning in faith? Questions about faith are not the same as questioning the legitimacy of the faith itself. Questions about faith should be encouraged – it’s how we learn and grow. “Study it out in your mind” says a scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “then you must ask me if it be right.” The weight of responsibility thus rests on the individual to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith”(D&C 88:118).

In fact, I assume that, like me, other Latter-day Saints are always questioning in this way. That is not the same as disputing basic principles or tenets, which we’ll get to in a moment. Can scientific and religious truth be reconciled, and if so, how? When should the Bible be interpreted literally and when is the language symbolic? What is the relationship between the way I live and my feelings of spirituality? What do I teach my children or grandchildren about the relationship between obedience and their right to choose? How can I know my prayers are being answered? All of these questions are a legitimate exploration of religious experience. With such a rich theology laid out before us, why would we ever want to stop exploring, wondering, asking questions and trying to understand the mind of God? Mormons even have a scriptural mandate to do so: “whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.” (D&C 130:18.) Even after 40 years as a convert in the Church, I would be profoundly disappointed in myself if I thought that my present knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ will be all that I will ever learn.

2. Does questioning tenets or traditions make your faith less valid? In any congregation, in any church, there are those who struggle. Usually, their fellow worshippers assume the role of supporting, encouraging, strengthening. We are all on a continuum as we acquire faith and experience. We simply need to recognize that one person’s faith might not be as mature as another’s. I don’t find it surprising or strange that such conditions exist, or that it takes time and patience and experience to resolve them.

There is a point (relatively unusual, yet common enough in a church of millions that we should note it parenthetically) at which some who question may do so in the form of confrontation or challenge to fundamental tenets. Even a cursory reading of the letters in the New Testament turns up many examples. If such a position becomes one of public advocacy and preaching of false doctrine, then the Church has not only the right but also the obligation to regulate its own affairs for the good of the church community.