This lesson highlights the importance of identifying what we truly place our faith in and ensuring it is rooted in a genuine relationship with God. Using the story of “Deborah,” a transgender woman struggling with acceptance in her church, this lesson will demonstrate how faith in religious institutions can sometimes obscure faith in Christ. It teaches that feeling God’s love is not dependent on human acceptance but on developing a personal, unwavering trust in Him. By shifting our faith fully to Christ, individuals can find strength, clarity, and the guidance needed to follow His will for their lives.

Key Concepts

1. Identifying the Object of Our Faith: Before we can strengthen our faith, we must recognize where we have placed it. Faith in institutions, leaders, or traditions may provide a sense of security, but true faith should be rooted in God alone. When trials come, misplaced faith can leave us feeling lost, whereas faith in God provides strength and direction.
2. Seeking God’s Love Beyond Human Institutions: God’s love is not confined to any one church, tradition, or human system. While religious communities can be sources of support and guidance, they are not the sole gatekeepers of divine love. When people struggle with acceptance from their religious communities, they must remember that God’s love is unconditional and ever-present.
3. Diligence and Humility in Strengthening Faith: Nephi was blessed because he sought the Lord diligently with lowliness of heart. Faith is not passive—it requires effort, prayer, study, and self-reflection. Humility allows us to be teachable, and diligence ensures we continue seeking God even when faced with challenges.

Faith In…

And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith; for thou hast sought me diligently with lowliness of heart.” -1 Nephi 1:53 RAV, 2:19 OPV

The first question I would like to ask is: What do (or did) you have faith in? There are three key words here, the first one being: What. Some have complete faith in God, some in their church or congregation, others the faith of, or in, their parents or others; those they see as spiritual guides or leaders. Regardless, everyone has faith in something.

It is important that we identify what our faith is in first and foremost because if we do not know where we are placing our faith, we can easily become lost. One woman I worked with in the past as she went through her trial of faith, we will call her Deborah, was very annoyed by this question. Her faith, she boldly declared, was in Jesus Christ.

But as we continued to talk, it became clear that her faith was actually in her church, the denomination she belonged to. Her questions were centered around why God would do this or that, and when I asked when God did these things, she pointed to things her church had done in the past and was doing at the time of our conversations.

Deborah

Debora (not her real name) is a transexual. For those unaware, a transexual is someone born one gender physically, but to the very soul God created, identifies as another gender. Her question was not “why did God put me in the wrong body.” Her question was, “why won’t my church love me for who I am?”

Sexual identity is a very touchy subject in the Church. Some denominations declare anyone affiliated in any way with the LGBTQ movement as “abominations,” “sinners,” “damned to hell,” and so forth. On the opposite spectrum there are denominations whose ministries are geared towards LGBTQ inclusion. And, of course, the Church is filled with denominations that run down the middle of these two opposing ideas.

The easy answer, I thought at the time, to Debera’s situation was to help her find a church that would accept her. But that is not what she wanted. She wanted to feel God’s love, and she believed that to feel that love she had to have the complete acceptance of the church she was raised in. She longed to feel God’s love, but she believed she could only feel it in the church she was born into.

Ask: What?

This is why our first question must be What. Helping Debora was not going to be as easy as denominational replacement. She did not need elective surgery to transplant her from her current church to a new church. What she needed was to feel God’s love regardless of where she was. When her faith was fully in Christ, she would hear His voice, and heed His call. That would be the strength she needed to stay or go wherever the Lord needed her.

Discussion Questions

If you are taking this course independently, please use the quiz to turn in your answers. 

1. Reflect on your own faith journey. Have you ever realized that your faith was placed in something other than God? How did you respond to that realization?
2. How can someone balance their love for their religious community with their need to feel God’s love, especially if their community does not fully accept them?
3. What practical steps can we take to seek God’s love directly and strengthen our faith in Him rather than in human institutions?

Suggestions for Action

1. Set aside time each day to reflect on where your faith is placed and pray for guidance to deepen your connection with God.
2. Read scriptures about God’s love and promises, such as Romans 8:38-39 or Isaiah 41:10, and meditate on how they apply to your life.
3. If struggling with acceptance in your current religious setting, explore other communities where God’s love is reflected in their inclusivity and compassion.
4. Strengthen your faith by being an instrument of God’s love. Volunteer, mentor, or support those who may feel rejected or marginalized.
5. Write down moments when you have felt God’s love, prayers answered, or personal revelations. Reviewing them later can strengthen faith in difficult times.

Final Thought/Meditation

Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Imagine yourself standing in a quiet, peaceful place—a garden, a mountain, or by a gentle river. Feel the warmth of the sun as a symbol of God’s love embracing you. Hear a still, small voice whisper: “You are my beloved. My love for you is unshaken and everlasting.”

Let that love fill your heart. No matter where you are, no matter how others perceive you, God’s love is always with you. Carry this assurance with you as you walk your path of faith.