I've been thinking about what I wanted to post on and decided to take it to the basics. Faith. What is faith? The Book of Mormon teaches us it's a hope for things which are not seen, but which are true. Our faith must be centered on Jesus Christ.
Faith is a principle of action and power. We can't just believe something and think that we can sit back in our Lay-Z Boy and God will do all the work, we must have faith and then go to work and do our part. It is by faith that we retain a remission of our sins. That right there, is a reason to have faith. Who doesn't want to be forgiven from their sins? I know I do.
Faith is a gift, but it must be cultured and sought after. As a child I was always taught that "Faith is like a little seed if planted it will grow." Faith is a gift our Heavenly Father has given us, but we must cultivate it, just as we would a seed. It needs to be watered, fed, receive sunlight daily and it will grow. It needs to be nurtured and cared for, or it will die. The same is our faith it needs to be watered and fed by the good words of God, daily reading The Book of Mormon and the Bible, attending church every Sunday, praying, receiving light from the Son by implementing his atonement in your life and going about doing service. All of these things will help our faith grow.
Where there is true faith there are miracles. One (I have many) of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon is Ether Chapter 12. It tells of all these miracles that happened because of faith.
- Alma and Amulek caused the prison to tumble
- Nephi and Lehi brought change upon the Lamanites and brought them to baptism
- Three disciples didn't have to taste of death
- Brother of Jared saw the finger of God
In verse 6 the prophet Moroni is talking and tell the people about all these miracles and says," And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."
This is so important. many of us believe miracle will happen and then we will gain faith from that, but we must first have faith and then the miracles and blessings will come.
Sometimes it's hard to have faith and it requires a lot of just trusting in God. One of the biggest decisions of my life was to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was leaving my family(I'm a huge family girl), a scholarship at college (semester away from my associates degree), work, friends, all the comforts of home to serve my Heavenly Father for 18 months. And though I knew I would be taken care of, it required and still requires so much faith! But I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father helps me to have the faith to do hard things and I have seen countless miracles from the time I have spent serving my Heavenly Father.
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