Be Not Afraid – Sunday, April 05, 1998
On “the most memorable Sunday in history,”1 Mary Magdalene and other women set out at dawn for the Lord’s tomb. Upon arriving, they were consoled by an angel: “Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus.”2 And then, a little later, the Lord himself comforted, “Be not afraid.”3
These gentle and powerful assurances of Easter morning are especially meaningful in our world today. When the headlines are filled with tragedy and violence—when we live with uncertainties and wrestle with change almost every day—fear could easily overwhelm us. Without question, much of life can be unsettling. But the Savior’s life and teachings show us the way to “be not afraid.”
Not long ago a woman became upset after viewing a news magazine program. She began to worry and wonder. The images of disease and suffering troubled her to the point of sleeplessness. Wanting to dismiss these negative thoughts, she knelt by her bed and prayed. She sought for wisdom and perspective, and, before long, peace filled her heart. She was able to think more clearly and to decide upon some protective measures for herself and family. The scripture came to mind, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”4
In this way, fear can actually teach us. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this . . . I can take the next thing that comes along.’”5 Whether as a child, a youth, or as an adult, when we work through our fears and enlist the Lord’s help in overcoming them, we discover strength we didn’t know we had. The things, or even the people, we fear may not change, but we grow in our ability to manage and understand them.
While fear is normal in times of distress, it need not remain with us and keep us from living and loving with a fullness of heart. The Lord has comforted His children all through the ages: “Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee.”6
1James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1970), p. 678.
2New Testament, Matthew 28:5.
3New Testament, Matthew 28:10.
4New Testament, 2 Timothy 1:7.
5Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, “You Learn by Living,” Bartlett’s Book of Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1992), p. 654.
6Old Testament, Joshua 1:9.
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April 05, 1998
Broadcast Number 3,581