Talk on Faith

I was assigned to speak in Sacrament Meeting last Sunday. The topic was Faith. Such a very broad topic I thought at first, but upon praying what to speak on, the Spirit told me to talk to the new members and investigators. Thus this talk became simple and basic, and for the first time in a LONG time, I felt that what I was saying meant something to more than me.

Hopefully it will inspire anyone who reads this.

What is Faith?

Matthew 17:20 - Jesus Christ said: "...for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Imagine the size of a mustard seed. In our area of the world, it only grows into a small weed, but in Israel, it grows into a small tree. That is quite impressive for such a small seed! So Jesus was saying that if we have that small a desire to believe, we too can do mighty things with His help.

We have faith that the sun will come up in the morning, that we will wake up after a long sleep, that Spring will bring lovely, scented flowers, and Summer will bring delicious vegetables, that in the Fall the leaves will turn brilliant hues of red and yellow in all combination and colors in-between, that next Winter will again bring snow.

Matthew 6:30 - Jesus said: "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, oh ye of little faith?" Occasionally, we struggle with our faith, when crisis come, when friends or associates question our beliefs, when life gets too good.

Sometimes nature deals us blows like the flood, which we recently endured, but this and other experiences can help us remain humble and give us opportunities to follow the example of Jesus Christ by accepting service and giving service in return.

Knowing that the Lord is in charge of these natural elements can help us develop trust in Him for our daily needs. Many times He fulfills these daily needs by sending us 'earthly' angels who lovingly serve us: family, friends, visiting teachers. home teachers. neighbors.

Just like our earthly parents, the Lord knows our needs even before we ask, even better than we know ourselves... but He wants us to ask. Asking  helps us remain trustful, humble and grateful for the blessings we receive.

Matthew 21:22 - Jesus said: "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive. "

2 Nephi 4:35 - Nephi said: "Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh, Yea my God will give me, if I ask not amiss;"

D&C 9:8-9 - The Lord said: "...behold, I say unto you that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask Me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong;"

We must ask for that which the Lord knows is best for us. In-other-words, we must search out the thing, which we desire, in order to know if it is best for us. Then we may go to the Lord in prayer believing that He will answer. Sometimes He says yes; sometimes He says no; sometimes He says wait; and sometimes He says that either choice is OK.  Just as parents delay answering some questions, so Heavenly Father waits unto all aspects of the answer are clearly in place, so that all will work out for the best, not only for us, but anyone else who will be effected by this same answer. He always answers! Our job is to be patient and humble enough to hear the answer when it comes.

As Alma said in Alma 32:21 - "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 see which are true." 

Faith is hope. We hope that the things which Jesus Christ taught are true. We hope that what the Prophet and Apostles tell us today are true. Therefore we take Alma's advice and plant a garden; a garden of faith. First, we put the seed in a sunny spot in the growund; then, we water it; and finally, we feed it and let the Lord make it grow.

How do we plant the seed of faith?

We pray to know truth when we hear it.

We accept the call to repentance and baptism.

We obey the commandments of the Lord and the law of the land.

We attend our church meetings.

We take the sacrament worthily to renew our baptismal covenants.

We accept callings to serve with our whole hearts, because we hope that the Lord will be with us to strengthen us and teach us how to do a good job in that calling.

How do we water the seed of faith? 

John 21:15-17 - Jesus told Peter, " If  you love Me feed My sheep" How do we feed the Lords Sheep? Through service.

We perform service to - by:

our family - working and playing in and out of the home for each other, developing an ability to listen;

friends - helping whenever needed, spending time and fun activities with them;

church family - accepting and fulfilling callings;

neighbors - helping whenever needed, listening, spending time and fun activities with them;

community- participating in uplifting organizations, keeping our neighborhoods clean, being a good citizen;

country - participating in uplifting organizations, being a good citizen;

the world.- being a good example of the teachings of Jesus Christ in all we do, especially when no-one is watching.

How do we feed the seed of faith? 

John 6:35 - "Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst." So how do we feed this seed of faith to gain a testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ? We need to read the scriptures daily, listen to and/or watch General Conference and any other conferences related to our ages and callings, read church magazines, surf the church websites for other talks given by the general authorities, and study the Sunday School and Relief Society/Priesthood lessons. lds.org

So what is faith? 

It is having:

a desire to beleive that all He has shown and taught us are true,

a trust in Him that He would always do what is best for us and our loved ones,

a belief that He will answer our prayers,

a hope that the teachings which Jesus Christ, His Apostles and Prophets have taught and do teach are true and

a willingness to plant the seed of faith by repenting, being baptized, being obedient to the commandments, studying the Gospel and serving.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen