What does this mean nothing wavering? Elder Bednar speaking on faith said, “Joseph went to the grove to ask in faith, and he was determined to act.” He had no doubt in the Lord; he had unwavering faith and was willing to act on it. Bednar quoted Joseph Smith on faith saying “Faith is the principle of action in all intelligent beings”. Thus acting alone is not faith; you must act with the correct principles. “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:20)
The first time I read the Book of Mormon I knelt down to pray. I had faith that if I followed Moroni’s words I would get a personal answer. I cleared my heart and opened it to the Lord. Humbly I asked the Lord if this book was true. I didn’t have any visions or hear a small voice but I felt peace. It was the perfect answer for me. I knew it was because of my faith and that I acted upon it. I know that if we truly want answers and have unwavering faith in our Father we will receive answers. Maybe not in the way we want, but we will receive them.
In Alma 22:15-16 Aaron is teaching Lamoni's father many things. The king asks what he can do so he wont be cast out in the last days. He offers to give up all he possesses and forsake his kingdom. Aaron simply tells him “…if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in the faith and believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest.” I find this so powerful. Here is this king who has so much, he just learned about the gospel, and has faith enough to give up all he owns because he believes Aarons words to be true. We need to ask ourselves often if we would give all we own for this gospel. I know that is a tough question but we must have enough faith to give our all if the Lord asks it of us.
One of my favorites lines is a primary song about faith is “Faith is like a little seed, if planted it will grow”. We sit around and pray for faith when all we need to do is plant our seed. We need to take that first step. The Sun or Son will be our light so our faith grows and the Holy Ghost will nourish our faith so it is strong and unwavering. Sometimes I find myself with less faith then I know I posess. Use it or loose it. The more we use faith the stronger it gets, the less we use it the more unsure of ourselves and this gospel we are, we begin to doubt everything.
I probablly don't know half the things I should about this gospel but I do know that if you have faith and open your heart to your Father he will help you through your darkest hours. I don't know where i would be without faith. My seed is very small but as i keep nourishing it and using it i know it will grow and become a beautiful flower one day.
Sources
lds.org
Book of Mormon
Bible
April 08 General Conference
9 comments:
Katie, thanks for this simple and yet profound statement about the real meaning of faith and how essential it is. I like how you treat one aspect of this principle—it produces a rather focused topic. It reminds me of the scripture, “Faith without works is dead.” Works to faith is like the soul to the body: they coexist, and one cannot continue without the other.
I like the humility and sweetness of the closing paragraph, using the flower metaphor. I believe that the gospel helps us all to blossom as a rose.
Katie- I liked the paragraph that talked about the first time you read the Book of Mormon. I loved how before you prayed to ask if it was true you said, "I cleared my heart and opened it to the Lord." I also liked how you said there was no strong personal revelation or anything profound, but you simply felt at peace.
Thank you for this post, it was wonderful. I love how you use scriptural examples of faith and how you present it as something so simple, which it is.
I love your honesty. Each of us have much to learn about the gospel. I believe even our leaders feel that way too. But God will open light to our souls a little at a time; till we too will have the faith we need. This as long as we are diligent and continue working in the right direction we too will learn all that the lord needs us too.
I like how you used the next verse in James. Most people forget about it and I think that it is important as well. I also liked you flower analogy. Thanks for your blog.
I love all the different examples of faith you give. Especially the one using the faith is like a little seed. Though, you shouldn't doubt your faith. You always have more faith than you think.
I really like your personal story and the concluding testimony you offered.
All of that is so awesome, just today I applied faith and action to my prayers and received my answer. I know faith is real and it is powerful. thanks for your testimony.
Post a Comment