Good morning Brothers and Sisters. For the next few minutes, I want you to ponder these three questions in your heart and in your mind. First, what is Faith? Second, What can Faith lead us to do? Lastly, How can we grow our Faith? If you can't already tell, my talk is about Faith. It is about the power of faith in our lives.
Why would I give a talk about faith? Well two reasons, first, Paul asked me too and second, because it is the first principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So if Jesus Christ says that it is important, then we better learn more about it.
What is Faith?
Let's get to the first question. What is faith? To put it simply, it is believing in a subject, person, theory, or anything that we desire to believe in. We might have faith in our friends, spouses, children, brothers, and sisters. But in the context of the Gospel, faith is desiring to believe in Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, and the Holy Ghost. They are the center of our faith, of our beliefs. In Alma 32:21-22, it says,"
And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.
And now, behold, I say unto you, and I would that ye should remember, that God is merciful unto all who believe on his name; therefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word."
To break this scripture down, faith is hoping for things which aren't seen. In other words, it is trusting that Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, and the Holy Ghost are real and that they aren't messing around with you. It is hope, believing, trusting, on their plan, their word, and their divinity for you. It is having a firm belief in what they have prepared, what their end goal is.
Continuing on, in the 22nd verse, it says "he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word." Did you catch that? He desireth that you should start with believing in his word. Well, what is his word? That is the scriptures. The Book of Mormon. The Bible. The living prophets. His words are his revelations to you. Have you gotten a prompting? Have you read a verse in the scriptures that stood out to you? Have the prophets said something that you needed? Has a friend shared something when you needed it? These are all him, showing you his word. These are the things he desires you to believe in.
Along with all of these examples, in John 1:1, it says," In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jesus Christ is also the word. And he desires us to start with believing in him. To have faith that he is there for us. To center our lives around his teachings and around him. If we put Christ at the center of our lives or at the center of our faith, then we will have balance, growth, learning, strength, direction, power, and peace. We will be learning and preparing for heaven and becoming more like Jesus Christ in all our thoughts, words, and actions.
What can faith lead us to do?
With Jesus Christ being the center of our faith, what can faith lead us to do? Faith is the first principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we have faith, and the focus of it is Christ, we are led to repentance. The word repent means to turn away from sin. It means to focus on Jesus Christ and turn ourselves around to face him. As we have our faith focused on and building on Jesus Christ, we turn away from our past and from our weakness.
I give a little analogy with this. When you are on the motorway and you see a big truck, you are taught to look straight ahead down the road and not at the truck. When your focus is straight ahead, you pass the truck and nothing happens. Alternatively, if you look at the truck, your car slowly goes towards the truck. This is how faith leads us to repentance. When we focus on building our faith in Jesus Christ, we are led to him. We look towards him and change our ways. We desire to become like him and we discover how Jesus Christ can change us. In 2 Nephi 25:33, we read," For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren [and sisters], to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."
Nephi wrote to help others build their faith in Jesus Christ. He wrote to persuade people to come unto and know who Jesus Christ is. He did this, as it says in the verse, because "he knows that it is by grace that we are saved." The way we can unlock Jesus Christ's grace is by having faith in him. It is trusting that he will save us no matter what. But, as the verse reads, it is "after all we can do." What is all we can do? What does it look like? Do we really have to put in the work to be saved? If we mess up, are we gone forever?
The answer is no. Grace is what saves us and we will never be able to repay the debt we owe to Jesus Christ. So what does it look like? This leads into my next point. Faith leads us to do good works and to learn Heaven. When we have faith in Jesus Christ, we are wanting to emulate what he has. We love him, so why not become like him. As we have faith, we learn who Jesus Christ is. We learn what he does, what he is like, how to become like his character, and how to follow in his footsteps. We learn what heaven will be like. As Brad Wilcox was talking to a Born again Christian friend, he puts it this way,"
I have born-again Christian friends who say to me, 'You Mormons are trying to earn your way to heaven.' I say, 'No, we are not earning heaven. We are learning heaven. We are preparing for it. We are practicing for it.' They [then] ask me, 'Have you been saved by grace?' I answer, 'Yes. Absolutely, totally, completely, thankfully—yes!' Then I ask them a question that perhaps they have not fully considered: 'Have you been changed by grace?'"
Faith leads us to act. It leads us to become better, to emulate Jesus Christ. It is faith in him that we access his grace, which leads us to change. We read in Ether 12:4," Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."
When our faith in Jesus Christ is anchored to our souls, we will have the strength to act. We will be able to become like Jesus Christ. We will have a desire to be who he wants us to be. With this desire and enthusiasm to become like Jesus Christ, our faith leads us to have a change of heart. To have a different desire. To actually become Jesus Christ's Disciples. It leads us to change our character, life, thoughts, relationships, and ultimately our entire being. An example of this change of heart can be found in 3 Nephi 9:20, we read,"… And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not."
There are two Baptisms which go hand in hand. One is the baptism of fire, the other is the baptism of the Holy Ghost. The Lamanites had exceedingly great faith that they had both and knew it not. When we have faith in Jesus Christ and act upon that faith, we are baptized with fire. That baptism of fire is us being changed. Changed from a simple follower of Jesus Christ to a disciple of Jesus Christ. Our faith changed our hearts. Along with the baptism of fire, we have a baptism of the Holy Ghost which is God being with us. Helping us each and every day. It is his blessing and strength.
Continuing on with all of these things that faith can lead us to do, we are able to fulfill callings in the church, give help by giving talks, leading a hand, taking an assignment, ministering to others, and in general doing the things the Lord and others need us to do. In Ether 12:27 we read," And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
You may feel like you can't do something that the Lord has asked. These may include ministering, teaching, giving a talk, sharing the gospel, providing service, fulfilling a calling, but, as it says in the verse, if they Humble themselves, or in other words, are willing to learn and grow, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong. We are shown our weakness but through faith, that one weakness will become a strength. Now, it won't happen overnight. I won't wake up tomorrow and be able to do the things I can't, it takes practice. So when hard things are asked, take courage and do it. If your elders quorum, relief society, bishop, and or stake presidencies ask for something, take courage and help them fulfill it. Support them and they will support you. You are not alone in your callings and assignments.
Faith will lead us to Sharing
Along with these assignments and callings, there is an important work that each of us has been called to do. Yes, I am talking about sharing the gospel. It can be daunting but as our faith in Jesus Christ grows and we take steps of faith, we will be able to share it with others. Let's break down how we can share the Gospel with the phrase we are all too familiar with, love, share, and invite.
How does faith lead to loving? In Moroni 7:42-44, and 47, we read," Wherefore, if a man [has] faith he must [need to] have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope. And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart … and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; … charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."
Faith leads to Christ's pure love. It helps us to love those that are around us and to truly care about their well-being. Our connection to Jesus Christ is directly connected to how much we can love. How much love we have for others. How much love we have for the Savior and his Gospel. Love comes by way of faith and it is the first step to sharing the Gospel.
Second, how does faith lead to sharing the Gospel or sharing our experiences? In Mosiah 27:32-33, and 36, we read about Alma and the sons of Mosiah, this is there story," And now it came to pass that Alma … and those who were with Alma at the time the angel appeared unto them, [went] traveling round about through all the land, publishing to all the people the things which they had heard and seen… they did impart much consolation to the church, confirming their faith, and exhorting them with long-suffering and much travail to keep the commandments of God. And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer."
They shared their experiences that they have had with the Gospel. They shared their faith in Jesus Christ. They shared when the time came to share. It was only after they had received a witness from God, in their case an angel, that they shared the gospel, but in our lives, our witness is our testimony, our experiences, and how our lives were changed from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the verse, sharing the gospel confirmed their faith. They took the step to share and it helped them have more faith. I know it is hard, it was for me the first few months of my mission. It wasn't easy, but I know that as we seek opportunities to share the Gospel, the Lord will bless us with those opportunities.
Lastly, how can faith lead us to invite? Well if you have gotten to this point, then congrats you have made it further than most. Take a moment and reflect on your experiences of coming to the gospel. What helped you feel welcomed? What helped you know the church was true? In 3 Nephi 18:25, Christ is talking to the nephites and he says," And ye see that I have commanded that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world; and whosoever breaketh this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation."
In your life, Jesus Christ has invited you. What did he invite you to do? He invited you to come unto him, to come unto his church and his place of worship. With this invitation, Jesus Christ desired you to feel and see for yourself. He wanted you to feel his love, to see his Gospel in your life. He wanted you to feel the change and see it happening in your life. As a missionary, an analogy I give is faith is like believing in the wind. We can't see the wind, yet we know it is there. How do we know it is there, because we can feel it hit our skin and we can see the effect it has. God wants us to know he is there through experiences of our own. So the invitation is simple, come unto Jesus Christ and you will feel and see. You will have your own personal experiences with Christ and his Gospel.
How do we grow our faith
Faith has a lot of power. It can lead us to do a lot of things in our lives, but how do we grow our faith? First off, don't diminish the faith you already have. It takes faith to come to church, to believe in Jesus Christ, to fulfill a calling, to give a talk, to teach a lesson, to share the Gospel, to read the scriptures, and to live as Jesus Christ does. You already have faith, so build upon it. Build upon the foundation of faith that is placed. In Alma 32:26-27, we read," Now, as I said concerning faith… if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words"
The first step in growing our faith is desire. If we truly desire to grow our faith, then we will grow our faith. With this desire, we will find the way that grows our faith the most. These may include, praying more often, reading the scriptures, coming to church, partaking of the Sacrament, giving a talk, inviting someone to church, having the missionaries share a message, fulfilling a calling, paying tithing, listening to prompting, or even reaching out to someone who is on your mind. There are a lot of ways to grow our faith, but it all starts with a desire to grow it. The Lord will provide us opportunities to grow our faith and our abilities.
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, faith is a power that we can unlock in our lives. It is more than just believing in Jesus Christ. Faith will lead us to act and will lead us to change. So if you desire to repent, learn heaven, have a change of heart, fulfill callings, love more, share the Gospel, or invite friends to feel and see of God's love, then the Lord promises you with this, in Alma 18:35," … a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in [you], which giveth [you] knowledge, and also power according to [your] faith and desires which are in God."
I know that as you grow your faith in Jesus Christ, that he will give you power to fulfill all he asks of you. I know he will bless you and give you strength. I know he lives and loves each of you. He wants the bester for us and to have us experience the Joy he has when he sees us coming closer to him. I leave these things and my testimony with you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.