Many who read this post are already very familiar with the
Gospel plan; however, I feel that it would be a good idea to just review the
gospel as a whole before discussing faith in depth.
Joseph Smith stated that the first ordinances of the gospel
were faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the
Lord’s supper. (See the 14 articles of faith in Wilford C. Wood’s Joseph Begins his Work Vol. 2).
I’m not going to discuss the following verses very in depth,
however, these verses illustrate the entirety of the gospel. 2 Nephi 31: 11-12,
“And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my
beloved son. And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is
baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me;
wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.”
Would we repent if we didn’t first have faith in Christ?
Then cometh repentance, and “the first fruits of repentance is baptism” (Moroni
8:25). Once we have been baptized in Christ’s name, the Father will give us the
Holy Ghost (the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost). Then we need to “follow
Him, and do the things which [we] have seen [Him] do.” How can we do this save
we shall see in vision or dream the things that He hath done? If we have seen Him do things, then we have
seen Him. It is essential to see Him in this life in order to be exalted.
D&C 132 confirms this is verses 22 and 23: “For strait is the gate, and
narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives,
and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither
do ye know me. But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and
shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also.”
What is
Faith?
Now that we have an overview of the Gospel, let’s turn our
attention to faith. What is Faith?
“It is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen (Hebrews 11:1); that is, it is the assurance we have of the
existence of unseen things. And being the assurance which we have of the
existence of unseen things, must be the principle of action in all intelligent
beings” (Lectures on Faith, 1, questions). If you haven’t already read and
studied Lectures on Faith, I invite you to do so now; avoiding any of the added
commentaries (I won’t be doing a commentary on the lectures here or anytime
soon unless I’m commanded of the Lord to do so). You can find the lectures
http://lecturesonfaith.com/1.php>here
.
I will, however, use some of the lectures in order to
further define faith. Faith is not only the principle of action in all
intelligent beings, but also the principle of power as it was by faith that the
worlds were framed (see lecture 1). Without faith, we would become dormant and
cease to perform anything. I submit that we would even cease to speak because
we wouldn’t have faith that there would be an outcome to our speech. Those with
sufficient faith (even as small as a grain of a mustard seed, see Matthew
17:20) can speak and things shall occur, such as a mountain being moved from
its place, or a sea being parted for a group of people to pass through. Often,
when we work by faith, it isn’t by a physical exertion, but by a mental
exertion (See lecture 7, paragraph 3). When I’ve had the opportunity to
exercise faith, I’ve found that I often feel some kind of exertion within that
is hard to explain(it lies mostly within the chest), but caused by the mind.
Belief
So where does belief fit into the picture? I could say that
I believe in Christ, therefore I have faith that repentance will actually bring
forgiveness. While there are a few cases in which belief and faith can be used
interchangeably (see mark 9:23), Alma 32 differentiates the two. If we plant
the seed (the word) with belief, it will produce faith. Belief comes before
faith, yet it seems that the belief doesn’t disappear once faith is present,
but feeds the faith.
“But behold, 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.
Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed
may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if
ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the
Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel
these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves-It must needs be
that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge
my soul; yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.” (Alma 32: 27-28) Belief
leads to faith.
True Faith
However, we need true faith, and there is a difference
between true faith and just faith, and that depends upon the object of our
faith. Faith is most useful when the object upon which it rests is understood.
When we understand the characteristics, attributes, and perfections of Deity,
we can then have true faith. I’ll restate the above sentence for clarity: IT IS
IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE TRUE FAITH IN A GOD WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND. Are we allowed to
have questions about the nature of Deity? Absolutely. I believe that it isn’t
possible to fully understand everything about him to a fullness; but it is possible
to have a general understanding of every one of his attributes and
characteristics. This will be the only way we can have true faith. Because true
faith can also include the word “expectation” in its definition; when we have
true faith, we are willing to sacrifice the things in our lives that lead us
away from him, and expect that those sacrifices will bring us to Him and help
us to understand Him even better. True faith also produces the expectation that
in order to obtain a desired result, a specific commandment must be kept. Once
this is understood, a goal that you may have can be simply accomplished according
to the specific commandment that brings the blessing.
Learning
Through Faith
We can learn through faith. D&C 88:118 says: “As all
have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea,
seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and
also by faith.” It seems that the Lord is giving two options for learning,
faith and study. But one must already have faith to learn by faith. Therefore He
prescribes searching in the best books for learning, until faith is gained,
when the greater learning can take place. If there are two ways for learning,
and the Lord prefers to teach us through our faith, then that is how we should
learn. Do you have sufficient faith to learn this way? With faith we can go to
the Lord in prayer and receive answers directly from Him. Does this mean we
don’t study the scriptures anymore? No. It means that we have questions to ask
for which our faith is sufficient to be answered. Personal revelation allows us
to understand the scriptures to a greater degree than we could by only study.
Faith also allows us to understand things. “Through faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God…” (Hebrews 11:3). If
faith was used to frame the worlds, then it is self-evident that God has faith;
therefore, as we try to become like Him, we must gain faith as He has. We can gain
this faith through sacrifice.
Gaining Faith
As stated above, sacrifice is a wonderful tool for gaining
faith.
”Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require
the sacrifice of all things, never has power sufficient to produce the faith
necessary unto life and salvation; for from the first existence of man, the
faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be
obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things: it was through this
sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal
life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things, that
men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in
the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has, for the
truth's sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he
has been called to make this sacrifice, because he seeks to do his will, he
does know most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and
offering, and that he has not nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these
circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on
eternal life. It is in vain for persons to fancy to themselves that they are
heirs with those, or can be heirs with them, who have offered their all in
sacrifice, and by this means obtained faith in God and favor with him so as to
obtain eternal life, unless they in like manner offer unto him the same
sacrifice, and through that offering obtain the knowledge that they are
accepted of him.” (Lecture 6:7-8) Unless we also sacrifice everything to know
God, we cannot be heirs with those that have. We have to make the sacrifices
that are pleasing to God in order to see the Hand of God in our lives. This
will produce more faith.
“Without faith it is impossible to please [God]”. (Hebrews
11:6) Why would this be? Why is faith so important?
“…because, without faith it is impossible for men to be
saved; and as God desires the salvation of man he must of course desire that
they should have faith, and he could not be pleased unless they had, or else he
could be pleased with their destruction.” (Lecture 7:7)
It is through using our faith that we come unto God.
Experience shows that when things happen in our lives that we need faith to get
through, our faith can increase.
“But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and
beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it
swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this
strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I
know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.”
(Alma 32:30)
Through using faith, we not only gain more faith, but we
gain knowledge.
“…because ye have tried the experiment… ye must needs know
that the seed is good. And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your
knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because
you know…” (Alma 32:33-34)
While I understand that many of the above items are
well-known, I hope something I’ve said has brought you closer to Christ, as we
need to become as He and our Heavenly Father now are.
No comments:
Post a Comment