Peter is one of my favorite examples of zealous tenacity when it comes to his love and devotion to his Master, our Savior Jesus Christ. As chief apostle, Peter was prophesied to be the rock the Church would be built upon. This prophecy would come to pass but not before something devastating happened: Peter denied Christ.
Recently, I have watched many of my friends and acquaintances choose to alienate themselves from the church and its doctrine. This has been an emotional and trying time for me and for them as well. Crises of faith are real and harrowing: they affect not only the person experiencing the crisis, but their friends and loved ones as well. Whether you are watching someone experience a trial of faith, or it is you who is trying to fight doubt, I pray the faith crisis Peter had can help shed some light on the situation.
As Jesus and His disciples sat down to the passover feast, I could imagine things were fairly tense. One of them had just conspired against Jesus, and Christ was fully aware of it. He chose to make His sentiment known, “One of you shall betray me” (Matt. 26:21). They must have been shocked. How could any of the men gathered in that room, who had been witnesses to miracles and burning truths, ever betray their Master? One by one, they asked, “Lord, is it I?” (Matt. 26:22). That has been the burning question in my mind: Lord, is it I? I have seen some of the most inspirational people I’ve met deny the faith of their childhood. They turn away from the very Savior who they had once worshiped and knew. If those amazing, bright, incredible individuals can fall from the faith, am I next? Am I immune to the world that attempts to strip away my testimony? Or am I, like them, apt to stray from the truths I treasure?
Lord, is it I?
The truth is, I am absolutely vulnerable. The disciples recognized that they too could be capable of betraying their God. They humbly asked that self-searching question, praying for a confirmation that they would be true to Him. They honestly didn’t know! Almost all of the people I know that have chosen to leave the church have mentioned that they would have never expected they would leave it. As I sit now, I can’t imagine a life without the gospel, but how can I be sure I won’t someday decide to leave, too?
Peter seemed to know perfectly where he stood. He reassured the Lord: “Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” With His next statement, the Savior teaches all of us to be wary of speaking in absolutes. “Verily I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” Peter was confused. He was ready to go to prison, to death, with his Master. There was no way he could deny Him ever, let alone three times! The other disciples may have felt the same. But then comes that fateful moment, as it does to all of us, when night falls and the Lord is taken from our view.
We are left seemingly alone, lost in the philosophies of men, bombarded with opinions and information we cannot account for. It seems like the Lord is far away as we strive to navigate our questions and doubts, and suddenly a pointing finger confronts us and we are faced with a choice: do we defend or deny? As Peter sat outside the High Priest’s palace during Christ’s interrogation, I’m sure he wanted nothing more than to get closer to his Lord and defend Him in the face of His accusers. When people began to question Peter, instead of risking being taken away by a mob or perhaps revealing something that could be used against Jesus, Peter denied knowing the Lord, perhaps in an attempt to stay as close to Him as he could. When he realized what he had done, he wept bitterly. Peter’s initial intention was to stay close to Jesus and to draw even closer to Him; in fact, he wanted to be right at his side. But he listened to the thoughts of men and followed the current of the world in order to not fall away. He tried to draw closer his way and not the Lord’s way. Many of my friends felt that the Lord’s way of finding truth wasn’t working for them, so they turned to other sources in an attempt to draw closer and answer their questions. But their plan backfired: their faith was shaken, and their testimonies became useless to them. They denied their Lord without meaning to.
But then, a beautiful thing happened; morning came and the cock crew. When the cock crew, the sound reminded Peter of the warning and prophecy of Jesus had given him and he was able to recognize his mistake. While, of course, Peter was heartbroken at having denied his Savior that had just suffered for his sin, his heartbreak would eventually turn into an unshakable determination to stand as a Witness of Jesus Christ till the end of his days.
Let us all be aware that the Lord has warned us that we will deny Him and we do; every time we disobey and every time we are swayed by the adversary’s lies, we deny our Savior. But let’s always be listening for the crow, let’s always be anticipating the dawn to our night. It’s hard trying to navigate the night of doubt and it’s just as hard to watch a loved one try to do it by themselves, but the dawn does come. I await that moment when my friends hear the cock crow and feel that godly sorrow that will bring them back into the light they always loved. I pray their journey through their personal nights will lead them to a more brilliant dawn than they expected. I want my friends to know that I love them and because I love them I will continue to share His love with them, no matter what they decide. I will not lose my hope for them because I know the Lord never will.
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4 responses to “If You Think You Would Never Leave the Church, Think Again”
Great article. I liked the example of Peter. A change of heart can happen to anyone, in either direction. And people often do come back. Sometimes it takes decades, like for the intellectuals in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hnrRJtE644
Quoting you Stephanie: “As chief apostle, Peter was prophesied to be the rock the Church would be built upon.” That is a very common error, but an error nonetheless. That would actually be known as false doctrine, unwittingly shared.
Quoting from “Upon This Rock” by Bruce R. McConkie: “As the climax of his Sermon on the Mount, he gave this counsel: “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
“And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” (Matt. 7:24–27.)
(So what was the “rock”? The things that Jesus says. AKA “Revelation”.)
And Peter was ALREADY the Chief apostle. Quoting further: “To Peter, Jesus says, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona.” (Matt. 16:17.) How carefully and aptly Jesus preserves the distinction between him and all men. He is the Son of God; Peter is the son of Jonah. The Father of Jesus is the Immortal Man of Holiness; Peter’s sire is a mortal man.
But why is Peter so blessed? It is because he knows by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Lord; the Holy Spirit has spoken to the spirit housed in Simon’s body, telling the chief Apostle of the divine Sonship of this Jesus of Nazareth of Galilee.
“Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona,” Jesus says, “for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 16:17.)
(Revelation.)
Quoting further:
“Then again Jesus alludes to the difference in paternal ancestry between him and Peter and continues his words of blessing and doctrine by saying: “And upon this rock”—the rock of revelation—“I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18.)
And how could it be otherwise? There is no other foundation upon which the Lord could build his Church and kingdom. The things of God are known only by the power of his Spirit. God stands revealed or he remains forever unknown. No man can know that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost.
Revelation: Pure, perfect, personal revelation—this is the rock!
Revelation that Jesus is the Christ: the plain, wondrous word that comes from God in heaven to man on earth, the word that affirms the divine Sonship of our Lord—this is the rock!
The divine sonship of our Lord: the sure, heaven-sent word that God is his Father and that he has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel—this is the rock!
The testimony of our Lord: the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy—this is the rock!
All this is the rock, and yet there is more. Christ is the Rock: the Rock of Ages, the Stone of Israel, the Sure Foundation—the Lord is our Rock!
Again we hear Paul’s voice: “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:11.) And also: Ye “are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” (Eph. 2:20.)”
Peter is NOT the rock the Church is built upon.
This also highlights the problem: People basing their strength in the Church on OTHER PEOPLE.
The Savior is the chief cornerstone. The foundation.
Some members fall apart if they hear or read something derogatory about Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith is not the foundation of the Church.
And what is there to fall apart about? Did Joseph Smith murder anybody? Nope.
Yet David was hand picked by God to be King…and he committed adultery and murdered Uriah. But no one throws up their arms and stomps off claiming the gospel must not be true because of the shocking acts David committed.
Newsflash: People aren’t perfect. Don’t base your testimony on people.
As to uncertainty…
Quoting President Hinckley in the October 1995 Ensign: “Some time ago I read the newspaper report of the remarks of a prominent journalist. He is quoted as having said, “Certitude is the enemy of religion.” The words attributed to him have stirred within me much reflection. Certitude, which I define as complete and total assurance, is not the enemy of religion. It is of its very essence.
Certitude is certainty. It is conviction. It is the power of faith that approaches knowledge—yes, that even becomes knowledge. It evokes enthusiasm, and there is no asset comparable to enthusiasm in overcoming opposition, prejudice, and indifference.
Great buildings were never constructed on uncertain foundations. Great causes were never brought to success by vacillating leaders. The gospel was never expounded to the convincing of others without certainty. Faith, which is of the very essence of personal conviction, has always been, and always must be, at the root of religious practice and endeavor.
To those who vacillate, who equivocate, who qualify their assertions with uncertainty when speaking of the things of God, these words from the book of Revelation are appropriate:
“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15–16).
My brethren and sisters, I invoke the blessings of the Lord upon you as with certitude I give you my witness of the truth. I know that God our Eternal Father lives. I know that. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of mankind, the author of our salvation. I know that this work of which we are a part is the work of God; that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. Great is our opportunity for service therein, and strong and certain is our faith concerning it.” [Faith: The Essence of True Religion]
I am not going to be “spewed” because I am certain.
Okay that was really good, thank you Stephanie for writing and sharing.
I apprecI ate the comments above A note of consideration. President Spen:er W Kimball said on several occasions that we might consider that the Savior’s … (“Thou shalt deny”) was not spoken to Peter as a revelation for Peter as a revelation b of his coming of weakness, BUT it was an order to Peter. “This is what you are to do” so to speak.
Remember there were more than 200 women standing a way off from the cross. Also present were other apostles and hunreds of new converts. Remember the Romans soldiers walking / marching through the streets made quite a row heading up to Gethsemane. Read carefully, we see there were enough Saints present at Calvary to have an insrgency. WERE THEY ALL COWARDS.? Is the scripture to be read as ‘Peter, the coward ?
It was quit possible & I think probable that those valiant Saints be still. Peter was needed for Christ’s message to survive. I believe it often takes a greater faith to submit & be still, than it does to rise up. That’s personally true for me.
I think of Zacharias (sp?) $tanding beside the temple alter in Jerusalem. He was the high priest of the temple. ONLY he, an elderly faithful man stood between The baby Jesus & the baby John. Alone he stood up to the Romans and refused to tell them where the son of God could be found.
We now know across the Deseret there were some small groups of dessert sectaries, who were converts to the knowledge that the son of God was born and they were fit and prepared to take in Elizabeth and John to safety AND prepared to assist in the safe passage of Jesus, Joseph & Mary into Egypt.
As for us having the courage to stay faithful to the Lord and his chuch. That forever will be important to us.
Perhaps the reason we leave is a problem that is often a case of arrested development. C.S. Lewis suggests that the moment of conversion is stimulating, and so unusually profound., that we want that constant high, each moment more amazing, more consuming, more unusual.
Rather each moment is a still constant march that is required. That is the hardent part. To pass by the multitudes unnoticed, unhearaled, unpromoted.
So did Peter leave the church? NO.
Like Zacharias, Jeus the Christ went to the sacrificial altar alone.
Often when we leave the church it is because of arrested development. We leave out of a lack of notice, approval or we just don’t like the door keeper at the moment.
I would say yes any of us cou l d leave the church especially if we’really are too quick to misread the nature of the attack. I DO NOT BELIEVE Peter ever left the Lord’s flock.