Bruce C. Hafen

This is the final installment of a four-part series from Elder Bruce C. Hafen about helping those who may be dealing with questions or doubts based on Faith Is Not Blind, the book he and his wife, Marie, co-authored. This series is adapted from an address Elder Hafen gave to religious educators.

That’s why we, like you, have been so distressed to watch at close range as the internet culture, despite its enormous blessings, has become a carrier of a kind of spiritual virus, infecting and disorienting too many younger—and older—Latter-day Saints.

The following excerpt originally appeared on LDS Living in October 2015.

The value of preserving and sharing ancestral stories was recently verified by researchers who were trying to understand why some people, including children, are better able than others to cope with serious, even disabling stress and trauma. One study found that “the more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, [and] the higher their self-esteem.” This factor was indeed “the best single predictor of children’s emotional health and happiness.” Those with “the most self-confidence” had what one researcher called “a strong ‘intergenerational self.’ They know they belong to something bigger than themselves" (Bruce Feiler, “The Stories That Bind Us,” The New York Times, March 15, 2013).