The Danger of Certainty: How Doubt Can Lead to Spiritual Expansion
In a world that prizes certainty, doubt can feel like spiritual failure. But what if doubt isn’t a threat to your faith—but a gateway to deeper, more authentic belief?
What if humans never wondered about the world, the beliefs they were taught, or progress beyond their current levels of understanding? Can questions and skepticism lead to clarification, exploration, deeper meaning, and inspiration? The very tenets and beginnings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ theology exemplify this. The life of Jesus Christ is full of examples of challenging certainty, rigid dogma, and behaviors based upon the beliefs of the day and culture. Many athletic coaches might tell you that it’s difficult to teach a player who believes they already know everything about their sport. The same teachability principle can be true of certainty and religious beliefs.
Why Doubt Is Sacred
In Episode 4 of Latter Day Struggles, “On Doubt as Valuable to True Belief,” Valerie and Brannon emphasize that doubt isn’t sin—it’s essential to real spiritual growth. They explain how being taught to “doubt your doubts” shuts down curiosity and stifles faith’s evolution.
Children are naturally curious and want to ask question after question after question (sometimes agonizingly so!). Is it required that adults extinguish this desire? Especially in an information age where it can be difficult to identify biases, trust sources, and form solid conclusions. The process of working through doubt, exploring questions, and digging for answers and conclusions is a vital part of the human experience.
Søren Kierkegaard famously argued that belief requires doubt—without questioning, you never truly own your conviction.
Rigid Dogma vs. The Beauty of Not Knowing
Reliable doctrine can feel safe—but when unexamined, it becomes a fortress that cages your soul.
| Rigid Dogma | Spiritual Beauty of Doubt |
| Clings to answers | Opens toward curiosity |
| Punishes questions | Welcomes inquiry |
| Creates spiritual echo chambers | Invites growth and fresh perspective |
Sometimes we feel distressed about needing to know and choose now, and that every decision is permanent when we do choose. However, a more fluid approach can work. It is okay to hang out in “not knowing, defining, or deciding”. Just because someone is certain about something does not make them correct. Conversely, someone hanging out in uncertainty, pondering, wondering, forming ideas…may be learning to apply and own their faith. And…you can change your mind.
Uncertainty isn’t the enemy of faith—it’s its companion. It tells us we’re alive, engaging, and becoming. Uncertainty can be exciting, an exploration of possibilities.
But I Did “All the Things” – My Personal Challenge
I used to think that my spiritual armor, my testimony of all the principles and doctrines I’ve ever been taught, could not have any cracks in it. 100% acceptance and knowledge, without question. Well, kinda…looking back. There were always some questions brewing. At every Fast Sunday when cute little kids get up to “bury” their testimony about what they “know” to be true, I just thought this was adorable. But also, a little odd. Something didn’t sit quite right, this “culture of knowing”.
Then, while going through a painful divorce, trying to do all of the “right” things I could think of or was advised of in scripture, prayer, conference talks, by bishopric or other leaders, I finally realized that a culture of knowing and certainty did not hold all of the possible answers. It was time to let go of certainty, of fixing something outside of my ability. Ironically, this realization came while in a temple session. Not long thereafter, I realized that as a single father raising five kids, maybe I don’t know much of anything. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go if you follow the covenant path, keep the rules, do what you know and were always taught.
An Exercise in Acknowledging Doubts
This prompted me to start asking more questions and journaling my thoughts every week at church. One Sunday, I was listening to a talk about testimonies. This wonderful, good-hearted brother defined a testimony as “tested information.” Okay, sounds good. In the state of mind I was in at the time, I wrote down the following thoughts: “Okay…has he really tested the information available?
What information has he let in, and what has he sought out? Informed consent requires full disclosure, to the best of our abilities, in decision-making. He recommends seeking a testimony “one brick at a time” to build a foundation. I am fine with the idea of having faith in principles. Has he tested information in areas that just don’t jive? What are his blind spots? Because I can say I don’t have a testimony of polygamy. I don’t have a testimony of patriarchy as the only means of organizational structure and function. Nope. I have questions about church history, Blacks and the Priesthood, church policy towards women and LGBTQ+ people, DNA and the Book of Mormon, multiple versions of the First Vision, and so many topics now. Still, other teachings do hold value for me. When he says ‘This is the most delicious’ fruit or seed – well, how do you know? As compared to many other faiths? Sounds like spiritual exceptionalism and superiority to me.
We have more or better truth? Does every faith have members who say and believe that too? Just like every sports team has fans who claim they are the best, or every country has people who claim the same. I don’t know that we have the most delicious fruit, truly, because I have not fully tasted Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic, or so many other fruits. Maybe so. Maybe it is. Christ is. Separate from the church. I can go with that. (See All Things New, Ch. 5, p. 81 on Salvation, Christ)”
Key Takeaways
This exercise in wondering allowed me to do several things. One, I could listen honestly and intentionally, thinking critically yet lovingly and respectfully, attentively, autonomously, and curiously. I was actively engaged in the talk, not falling asleep or just nodding my head. Second, I was processing what I fully ratified and supported, acknowledging and honoring where I have gaps and questions, and giving space for rejecting certain ideas. I was allowing myself not to be perfect, not to be certain. To be okay with cracks in my armor. Next, I was learning to sit with discomfort and complexity. To be okay with both positive uplift and bristling irritation. As a spiritual being and physical human, this skill is worth dipping into. Lastly, I learned to try to see that all of God’s children are valuable, no matter their beliefs, faiths, walks of life, backgrounds, level of knowledge or development, or any other factors. We share a desire for belonging and similar needs, but certainty does not have to be one of those needs. We can adopt doubt as a healthy approach to spiritual development and expansion.
Doubt as a Spiritual Practice
Healthy doubt invites us to:
- Ask deeper questions without fear.
- Sit in discomfort—let not knowing shape humility and openness.
- Engage your soul, not just recite inherited beliefs.
This is not abandonment—it’s spiritual maturity.
A Personal Reflection
What do I really know? I know I’m breathing right now, I can be certain of that. I can feel my chest rise and fall, pay attention to the rhythm, and it can calm me when my brain senses an irrational or real threat to my safety. But do I need to know everything? Is that healthy? Obviously, it is not even possible, and that’s okay. Accepting that there are unknowns, many of them, allows me to be at peace with where I’m at and perhaps gives space for God to work with us all. I can’t predict or control Deity, no matter how much I want my story to be THE story. A transactional relationship with God adopts “if-then” conditions. It says that if I do this action, then I might expect that blessing. This is far too simple, unrealistic in terms of expectations and possibilities, and invites disappointment. It does not represent a deep, loving relationship. Embracing uncertainty enhances the desire for trust and faith. I don’t know what I’m doin’ here, so I sure hope you (God) do!
I am at ease with where I’m at and my faith in uncertainty. The wisdom of not knowing is immense! The mystery and surprise ahead can hold anticipation, not knowing exactly how things will be. It’s okay not to know, but to be present in the moment, not worried about the future. Uncertainty allows us to let go of the need to hang on to rigidity, or that which no longer serves us in a healthy way, and we can still act in alignment with our values.
Unlearning as a Form of Faith
Faith expansion often means unlearning. Letting go of rigid theologies or inherited narratives to make space for life and Spirit. That’s not loss—it’s transformation.Doubt isn’t a wound. It’s an invitation—to undo, rebuild, and deepen your connection with the Divine.
Doubt, Fear, Not Knowing…Seems Uncomfortable. What’s the Point?
Doubt seems scary. I get it! I have doubts all the time. “What if I’m ruining my kids because of my parenting style?” “What if I haven’t repented for something, or I forgot to repent of it, and I don’t feel worthy (remnants of scrupulosity/religious OCD, and a “worthiness” idea that I have now rejected)?” While it can be helpful to reframe cognitive distortions or maladaptive thoughts, I have been learning that gradual exposure to the discomfort of doubt and uncertainty is an essential part of growth. Why? Doubt can be a doorway to more resilient, embodied faith. I can identify the thought for what it is, a thought or doubt, sit with it, be curious about it, and still accept myself. I can say:
- “It’s okay to feel this doubt. I don’t have to solve it.”
- “I am willing to sit with this feeling.”
- “I don’t need certainty to live aligned with my values.”
Then I just breathe for a while, allowing the exposure for a time without trying to push it away or avoid it. Lastly, I perform a value-aligned action (love, joy, service, fun) that provides meaning for me, not based on fear (call/talk to someone I love, write, play with my kids, go for a walk, play My Singing Monsters, garden, or woodwork).
This process helps build self-compassion and discomfort/uncertainty tolerance. Through repetition, each time you let the thought be there and choose action over rumination, you rewire freedom from certainty.
Consider the Following
1. Faith isn’t the absence of doubt—it’s the courage to keep seeking.
In the Book of Mormon, Alma invited us to “experiment upon the word” (Alma 32). That means it’s okay to have questions. Doubt can be part of the process God uses to help you grow a living faith—not just one inherited, but one rooted in real relationship and discovery.
2. God is not threatened by your questions.
They ask us to “ask, seek, and knock.” If you’re wrestling with uncertainty, consider Joseph Smith and Enos, who began their journeys by questioning. Sometimes, the Spirit speaks not with answers right away, but with peace that says, “You’re safe to keep asking.”
3. Doubt may feel like drifting, but it can be the Spirit moving you deeper.
Spiritual growth often includes shedding old assumptions to make room for a more expansive understanding of God. Don’t mistake discomfort for disobedience—this may be a sacred unraveling that leads to a more grounded, personal faith. Christ still walks with you in the gray.
Final Thought
Faith isn’t found in answers alone—it’s found in the sacred dance between belief and curiosity. The work, the effort, the process of searching and exploring. Doubt, when held with grace, can expand your faith in ways certainty never will.
