Episode 216: Do not be afraid and fear not
Episode 216: Do not be afraid and fear not
Embedded Files
Do not be afraid and fear not - episode 216
Do not be afraid and fear not - episode 216
“... Be not afraid. Only Believe.” In this episode I am talking about fear and the counsel we get from Jesus Christ to not be afraid. I share a story of when I learned a new dive and how that experience is related to fear. I share lots of scriptures from the old and new testament of times when we are asked to not be afraid. I also explain how time is the fuel of fear and how through ordinances we can reorder our experience of time, as we focus on Jesus Christ. I also mention some ways to help us overcome fear from Elder Ronald A Rasband. I then tell a story shared by Sister Jean Stevens of her helping a boy walking home late at night. Fear is very real and as we learn to rely more on Christ we can not be troubled by it.
Show Notes: Hi Friends! I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode. Below are all the references.
“I’ve learned that fear is fueled by time — the longer I wait, the bigger it grows. But when I turn to Christ, I don’t need to be afraid.”
What I Share in This Episode
What I Share in This Episode
A story from my childhood about learning to dive and how it taught me to face fear
Reflections on Joseph Smith’s experiences and why he was reminded so often to “fear not”
How Grant Cardone’s idea that “fear is a sign you’re moving in the right direction” connects to spiritual growth
Why I believe “time is the fuel of fear” and how we can starve it by acting quickly
Insights from Adam Miller on how baptism and ordinances reorder our experience of time and help us overcome fear
Encouragement I found in the words of President Emily Belle Freeman, Elder Ronald A. Rasband, and Sister Jean Stevens about overcoming fear
A key scripture that anchors this episode: “Be not afraid, only believe.” (Mark 5:36)
Sources
Sources
Doctrine and Covenants 6:33-34
33 Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.
34 Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail
10 ¶ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Show transcript
Show transcript
Ep. 216 Be not afriad and do not fear.mp3
I am Camille Johnson, and this is Finding the Floor.
Stories and reflections of midlife motherhood, family, and finding meaning in it all.
Join me as I share a little piece of my life and figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
Hey friends, welcome to Finding the Floor.
And today I'm going to do another episode that is gearing us towards Jesus Christ.
And today I'm going to share a bit of a talk that I gave a couple weeks ago.
And then I'm adding a few things because I only had like 10 minutes to give that talk.
And here I could talk for at least half hour or more.
So I think that'll be really great.
There's a couple of things happening.
I'm going to be out of town for a senior recital for my son, and then I'm having surgery.
So anyway, I'm not sure how that will affect me.
And it's taken me a while to get to a decision to have the surgery.
So yeah, anyway, we'll see how all that goes.
But if not, this might be it until after Easter.
Because I'm traveling before, like at the beginning of April and the end
as my son is graduating from BYU, which is all very exciting.
And so I feel like I'm reminding myself A lot.
So this has been super helpful to me in general, thinking about throughout the years.
And then the second scripture is the end of a passage in the New Testament as well in Mark.
At the very end of this scripture, it says, be not afraid, only believe.
There's so many experiences we have or things that happen that can induce fear in us.
And I think just living in our world and watching the news, like we just can be easily fearful.
So I'm going to tell you a little story and it's sort of going to weave throughout this episode.
When I was 9 years old, I started diving.
One of the reasons I started diving then, actually I think it was more around 10, between 10 or 11.
I decided to try diving out and I found I caught on pretty fast and it was pretty fun.
It felt like a really good match for me.
And then I remember learning a somersault.
And I had been doing somersaults on trampolines.
a diving board before, but you're putting together the stuff with the hurdle and everything.
So instead of just doing a somersault, I would do a somersault and then finish diving in the water.
So I was like, okay, and I was just feeling good.
Like everything had been working for me so far that summer.
I don't really remember the age exactly I was when I started, but somewhere in that range.
And so I'm like doing this dive and I get ready to go and I do the dive and I totally belly flop.
And you know when you belly flop.
I mean, most of us have done a belly flop one time before, not on purpose.
When it's on purpose, at least you're prepared for it.
It knocks the wind out of you a little bit.
It's embarrassing and it hurts.
And now this whole diving thing became a little bit more scary to me.
And I feel like life can be like that in general.
And then from then on, if we don't kind of conquer that or turn
It's if someone has anxiety, it's this intense sense of fear of something that's going to happen.
I don't think when he said his prayer initially that he was thinking, oh,
I'm going to start a new church, or I'm going to translate these golden plates.
And yet he is constantly asked,
In the scriptures, not constantly, but he is regularly reminded to fear not.
It says, fear not to do good, my sons.
For whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap.
Therefore, if ye sow good, ye shall also reap for good your reward.
Therefore, fear not, little flock, do good.
Let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.
In some ways, that's comforting.
And yet he's reminded to fear not, they cannot prevail.
So we're reminded to fear not because we are built upon Jesus Christ or my rock.
Like hard things will happen, but don't be afraid to do good.
And Jesus Christ reminds him that he is behind all the things.
And then later on in that section, he reminds him why specifically he doesn't need to be afraid.
And it says in, so again, we're in Doctrine and Covenants, section 6, verses 36 through 37.
It says, look unto me in every thought.
Behold the wounds which pierced my side and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet.
Be faithful, keep my commandments and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.
What I love in this scripture is
basically earth and hell combining against him.
And my husband had gotten this book after he had been with like the sales team for his company.
And this guy, Grant Cardone, is like the big sales guy.
And he just talks about the 10X rule
of how you really, if you want to be really good, you have to make 10x the effort.
And if you're willing to do that, then you can accomplish really anything.
But he has a whole chapter on fear.
And he for said something really interesting in his book.
It says, fear is a sign that you are doing what's needed to move in the right direction.
All right, so think about that.
We're not supposed to be afraid.
And yet sometimes when we know we need to do something, it is kind of scary.
So if I was scared, then I was actually moving in the right direction.
Scary physically, but also scary like emotionally into my confidence.
Like if I'm smacking on my stomach,
All I had to do was hold on a little longer and I could just dive in.
My coach wouldn't challenge me or invite me to do this dive if he didn't think I could do it.
So the fear of doing this dive actually was a good thing.
And I'm moving in the right direction.
I'm getting better and challenging myself.
Because if I just stayed and did dives all the time, I wouldn't be able to advance where I wanted.
I was going to do it again because I couldn't leave unless I did another dive.
But I stood there and I was frozen.
And you know, I'm only like 10 or 11 at this time.
So he says this, time is what drives fear.
The more time you devote to the object of your apprehension, the stronger it becomes.
So starve the fear of its favorite food by removing time from its menu.
And I would constantly tell them, don't think too much, just go.
So this book, 10X, is like, remove that fear, just take out the time.
Like we don't drink coffee and we choose not to drink alcohol because of the word of wisdom.
I mean, those things actually are really scary.
And sometimes it's easy to get in our head and tell us maybe that's not what we're supposed to do.
But I love what, again, we're reminded in the scriptures to fear not.
And I love the scripture in Isaiah 41.10, which says,
Fear thou not, for I am with thee be not dismayed, for I am thy God, I will.
Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
And I love thinking about that scripture and that Christ is right next to me.
And we have that promise that he is with us.
And then this is kind of an interesting connection that I'm making between time and fear.
He's written a lot of really good books.
He's sort of this like philosopher who's a member of our church.
he just kind of thinks on this very deep level that I really like.
And in this book, he talks about baptism as a way to reorder time.
And he goes on to say, now remember how we get more afraid when we give fear more time, okay?
And if you want to think of my analogy or the story I'm reminding you from, it's my diving.
And right now I'm still stuck on the board because I'm afraid to go.
And so he says, baptism is an exemplary type because it so plainly reorders our experience of time.
He goes on to say in this book, he's quoting Paul in Romans chapter 6 verse 7.
He that is dead is freed from sin.
And so then this is what Adam Miller is saying.
If death is the only way out of sin,
Paul says that then let's get death over with.
Burying me in a watery grave, baptism allows me to die with Christ while I'm still alive.
In this way, baptism is a time machine.
It's a vehicle for the atonement.
As a type, baptism is a ritual engine for reordering my experience of time.
As types, all ordinances are time machines.
All of them invite us to live time out of order.
So if we think about living in Christ,
We don't really need to be afraid anymore because Christ is, like, he reorders our time.
He can almost alchemize some of the bad things that happen.
Somehow they can prove for our good.
And that we can, with his help, rely on him and not need to be afraid.
Now being afraid obviously is a very natural thing.
And then sometimes we actually need our fear to keep us safe.
And like our brain naturally has like this fight or flight
We need to kind of be aware of that.
When we're not in a dangerous situation, it can be not helpful.
When we're still afraid and there's nothing really to be afraid of, it can keep us very stuck.
And he doesn't know that Christ is going to have her
But what he decides to do is trust Jesus Christ when he says, be not afraid, only believe.
And the servant was super scared.
both with horses and chariots.
And a servant said unto him, Alas, my master, how shall we do?
And he answered, Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.
And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw.
And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
There are so many scriptures that tell us to not be afraid or to fear not.
And we're reminded that we don't have to do this world to live our life alone.
And actually Christ wants us to invite us into his life.
and to be with us and to have his spirit with us so that we don't need to be afraid.
So that also is going to maybe take away that fear.
She says, partaking of the bread and water is a weekly reminder of his power
working in you to help you overcome.
All right, so remember in my story, I'm sort of frozen on the board.
The question is, did I ever leave?
It took me 20 minutes to finally just start going, and I did the dive, and I made it on my head.
And the best part about that was is my coach didn't let me leave then.
And now a 1 1/2 seems like not even a big deal.
I'll throw 1 1/2 after not diving for like 3 or 4 years.
My favorite memory I have is when I was
And sometimes I don't love showing off, but it was just me and my family.
And so I was like, fine, I'll get on.
And I did a 1 1/2, and everyone was like, whoa.
as you don't let that fear and the time kind of take over in your head.
So it's funny, I thought I would have a lot more time.
But I also loved this talk that I didn't share in my specific talk.
I mean, I had all this information, but I didn't have time to share this one.
be not troubled, and it was given in general conference of October 2018.
The Lord is with us, mindful of us, and blessing us in ways only he can do.
The Lord knew that at times we would fear.
I have been there and so have you.
This is why the scriptures are replete with the Lord's counsel to not be afraid.
And he says, to combat fear, first you can stand in holy places.
He mentions going to church, make your home a holy place, and go to the temple.
And these places can dispel fear.
and seek the healing power of Jesus Christ through his atonement.
And then he says, another one is to try to let our minds not be troubled.
And then he says, the last thing is trust the Lord and His promises.
Optimism, courage, even charity come from a heart not burdened by troubles or turmoil.
And then I just loved the story I found by Jean Stevens.
And she had an impression that she should pick up the boy.
But she kind of was nervous that she would like alarm him.
And so she kind of brushed it off.
And then she got another very loud impression.
So she drove back and asked him if he needed help.
And she said, he turned towards us with tears streaming down his cheeks and said, would you?
I have been praying someone would help me.
And I guess the best part of the story is, you know, that
incident had such an effect on her, but it also had such effect on that boy.
And she said she was able to reconnect with him 25 years later.
She said the boy's name is Deric Nance.
He is now a father and he too has never forgotten this experience.
So she shares his side of the story that Deric then shares with her.
On that night, Deric had stayed after school for an activity and had missed the last bus.
As a young teenager, he felt confident he could make it home, so he started walking.
An hour and a half passed as he walked the lonely Rd.
still miles from home, and with no houses insight, he was scared.
In despair, he walked behind a pile of gravel, got on his knees, and asked Heavenly Father for help.
Just minutes after Deric returned to the road, I stopped to provide the help he prayed for.
She said that many years later,
He goes on to say, The Lord had answered my prayers many times since that abandoned roadside.
It's just like so cool, that story.
And he wants us to have joy, like we talked about last week, and to not be afraid.
And we don't need to give that fear all that extra time that can make it bigger and make it grow.
dispel our fear is as we help others as well.
maybe talk to you next week or in a little while.
Okay, as always, thanks for listening you guys.
I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
Special thanks to Seth Johnson for creating and performing the theme music.
Come back next week and thanks for listening.
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