Fortify Our Foundations of Faith
How to strengthen faith during life’s hardest challenges — using the TEST framework: Truth, Epistemology, Service, and Teaching.
Challenges to Faith
Throughout life, faith is tested by a wide range of challenges. Some of the most common include: family members leaving the gospel, historical or doctrinal confusion, physical illness and disability, traumatic events, the death of loved ones, and financial hardship. These are real, and they are faced by faithful members in every ward and family. The question is not whether trials will come — but whether our foundations are deep enough to hold when they do.
The TEST Framework
T — Truth
Strengthening faith begins with active personal study and fervent prayer. We cannot rely solely on inherited faith — the faith of parents or friends. We must develop our own independent testimony through the scriptures and through personal communion with God. This means reading not as a ritual, but as a conversation with the Lord, expecting to receive answers.
E — Epistemology
How do we form beliefs? The process runs like this: Questions → Evidence → Interpretation → Choice → Belief → Knowledge. There are three types of evidence available to us:
Three Types of Evidence
- Referential — what we have read and studied
- Experiential — what we have done and lived through
- Physical — what we have sensed — including spiritual impressions and answers to prayer
Brother Anderson observed: “Using our mind without our heart will not bring spiritual answers.” Spiritual knowledge is not obtained by intellect alone. The heart must be engaged. When questions arise, we should weigh all three types of evidence — not just intellectual arguments — and be willing to let spiritual experience count.
S — Service
Faith is strengthened through caring for others. King Benjamin taught that when we serve our fellow beings, we are in the service of God (Mosiah 2:17). Service is not just a consequence of faith — it is a generator of it. When we step outside our own doubts and difficulties to help someone else, we encounter the hand of God in practical, tangible ways. This experiential evidence builds and reinforces belief.
T — Teaching and Testifying
Sharing our faith with others deepens our own conviction. When we articulate our beliefs — in testimony meeting, in family home evening, in gospel conversations — the Holy Ghost speaks to us as we speak. Teaching forces us to understand what we believe. Testifying invites the Spirit to confirm to our own hearts the truths we are declaring to others.
Questions vs. Doubts
There is an important distinction between questions and doubts. Questions are a sign of an active, seeking mind. Doubts, allowed to fester without action, can erode what faith has built. The counsel is this: “Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.” Maintain the testimony you already have while you seek answers to your questions. Do not let unresolved questions displace established spiritual knowledge.
The Lord does not expect perfect knowledge — He expects sincere seeking. When we bring our whole heart and mind to the search — through truth, careful thinking, service, and testimony — He is faithful to strengthen our foundations and see us through.