Faith

I was asked to speak in church last Sunday. Usually I don't write out everything I'm going to say, just a few notes and that works well. But I decided that I needed to start writing more things down like this because maybe in 30-40 years, my kids will be thankful I recorded this kind of stuff.






As a child, I attended primary and was taught that my faith was like a tiny mustard seed that had great potential. Sometimes, like in the fourth article of faith, it appeared to me to be a step on the way to bigger things, like baptism and confirmation. It wasn’t until I was much older that faith turned from a noun to a verb in my mind. Faith became the very fabric of all spirituality, and I decided a lifelong quest was needed to deepen that faith.



I used to believe that faith was a deep knowledge. It certainly can lead to that, but luckily for our imperfect selves Alma reminds us that no perfect knowledge is required, only a hope and belief in things we cannot see but are true. In our pre-Earth life, we had the knowledge of what was coming. We had experienced a great battle over wills and ideas and came to earth accepting known challenges. After we die, we will again have the veil lifted from our minds and again know of what’s to come, on top of what has already passed, even before our earthly life. But right now, on this earth, is the only time in all of the eternities that our spirits have and will have existed that we do not have a perfect knowledge of things. This life is the only portion of the Plan of Salvation, where we are invited to traverse darkness and insecurity, living by faith, initiating great growth for our spirits.



Elder Robert D Hales teaches: First, we start with the intelligence with which we were born. To our intelligence we add knowledge as we search for answers, study, and educate ourselves. To our knowledge we add experience, which should lead us to a level of wisdom. In addition to our wisdom, we add the help of the Holy Ghost through our prayers of faith, asking for spiritual guidance and strength. Then, and only then, do we reach an understanding in our hearts—which motivates us to “do what is right; let the consequence follow.” (Hymns, 1985, no. 237.) The feelings of an understanding heart give us the sweet spirit of assurance of not only knowing but doing what is right no matter what the circumstances. The understanding in our hearts comes from a close interdependence of study and prayer.


The bible dictionary explains that faith comes by righteousness and obedience, and it a principle of action and power. The Savior promised that if we are obedient to His teachings, we would know His doctrine. Just having the faith to “do”, can be enough to initiate or deepen conversion. Most importantly, it is by faith that one obtains a remission of sins and eventually can stand in the presence of God. Faith must be based on correct knowledge or it cannot produce desired results. True faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action.



If having faith is so essential to so many good things, why does it seem like such a struggle to maintain and grow? At times in my life, I have felt casual with my faith or busy with life and whether intentional or not, relaxed in my spiritual quest, and have reaped the consequences of what I sowed—weakened and lukewarm faith, and a lack of zeal in life. As I look back on these times, there is no one to blame but myself for this atrophy. I was frustrated by attending church because I came away feeling I had gotten nothing out of it. I wasn’t putting the time and effort into my faith that I needed to maintain or even grow. Those who come to church looking to be spiritually spoonfed, will always come away disappointed. Seeking faith is an everyday endeavor, not just a weekend event.



As none of us have a perfect knowledge and we all fall short of the glory of God, it is a farce to believe that we are only true disciples if we know everything about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know very little of calculus or mechanical engineering, but that in no way discredits the simple arithmetic I use every day to run our family’s budget. It just represents more math I have yet to seek, learn, and understand. Thus it is with our faith. As Elder Anderson says, “We don’t know everything, but we know enough.” to keep going on our path to conversion.



As the pioneers migrated across the western United States, they did not have a perfect knowledge of the Gospel and many other doctrines had not been revealed yet, but they had faith that there was an actual apostasy and a need for a restoration. Just faith in those principles and an effort to deepen that faith was enough to carry them across the plains and to help them adapt when adversity came their way.

I knew and trusted many people who testified to me the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I always had faith in the Book of Mormon and felt it was true and important that I should read it regularly. It wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties, after a decade of reading the Book of Mormon in obedience that I experienced the power of that book. It changed my life, because it changed my faith. I held to what I knew, and the rest has come and is still coming.



Be patient. Strong faith takes time.



Samuel the Lamanite prophesied the signs of the birth of Jesus Christ. As years past and many of those signs were not brought to pass, many lost faith and even persecuted those for believing the signs would still come. One night it was decided that all the believers would be killed if the signs did not appear. These years of waiting must have been filled with deliberate studying and praying to keep their faith burning bright amidst intense opposition. On the day of the proposed massacre, Nephi prayed all day pleading with the Lord about what to do to save his people. After that faithful supplication, the Lord told Nephi, “Lift up your head and be of good cheer, for behold the time is at hand and on this night the sign will be given. The believers waited. They continually sought the Lord, and they clung to the faith they had until more came.



My favorite story in the bible is just ten verses long, but I come back to it again and again on my quest of faith. Simeon was a very faithful man. Earlier in his life, the Holy Ghost revealed to him that he would see the Christ before his death. We don’t know how long he waited for this, but we can assume it was years, maybe even a majority of his life. How would he know who Jesus was? Was he expecting him to be a grown man? Where would he be? Would seeing Jesus Christ take him on long travels? These might have been questions Simeon asked himself and God in the years following this revelation. Surely for Simeon seeking the Lord was a daily effort, not just something he did when he had time.



Simeon’s faith and his reliance on the Holy Ghost led him to the doors of the temple as Joseph and Mary brought the baby Jesus to make an offering of two turtledoves. Through his tested and patient faith and the power of the Spirit, he was able to identify the Savior of the world, an unlikely infant, and even hold in his arms, the Christ child. Simeon never became stagnant in his faith, even when he waited years, but remained faithful, until he would be able to see what he had been promised.

The scriptures prove to me that Christ comes to those who sincerely seek Him. He always comes. I know this because every time I have earnestly sought The Lord, He has made His presence known in my life. My journey of deepening my simple faith will continue on, as will yours until hopefully we return to our God, who will declare "Well done thou good and faithful servant."

I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.