The Book of Mormon tells us 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 seen, which are true." Faith does not mean that we know something. It means that we believe and trust in something.
We can have faith in a lot of things. I have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow. I have faith that people will read this blog. But it is faith in God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost that are most important. The Lord has revealed Himself and His perfect character so as to enable the mind of man to place confidence in Him without reservation.
Faith must be centered in Jesus Christ in order for it to lead a person to salvation. It is faith in Jesus Christ that produces miracles. Jesus said to His apostles: "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"(Matthew 17:20). Faith is a principle of power and it is by faith that our prayers are answered and that men are able to do things in the name of God. Faith is essential to our salvation.
Miracles do not produce faith but faith produces miracles. Many people say that if God will show them a sign then they will believe. If God always showed Himself to us to make us believe, then we wouldn't have faith. "Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator"(Alma 30:44).
Faith comes by righteousness and obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, although miracles often confirm one's faith. There are so many ways for us to increase our faith and God has given us all the tools necessary. He has given us the scriptures, prayer, the Holy Ghost, church, prophets, church leaders, and missionaries. At first our faith is small. It's like a tiny seed. But as we nourish it by reading the scriptures, praying, going to church, and keeping the commandments, it will start to grow. We need to be continually increasing our faith until we can one day have a perfect knowledge of the principles of the gospel.
Faith leads us to action. When we have faith in Jesus Christ, we'll want to act on it. Faith in Jesus Christ will lead us to wanting to come closer to Him. How do we do this? Repenting of our sins, keeping His commandments, and being baptized. Faith means we have confidence and trust in Jesus Christ which leads us to obey Him.
Anyone can develop faith in Jesus Christ. Praying and reading the scriptures and going to church can help us grow our faith. Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way that leads to salvation. I invite you to take a step of faith and to learn more about God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Read the Book of Mormon and Bible and pray about them. My faith in Jesus Christ is what helps me to get through the good days and the bad days.
"Now, as I said concerning faith - that it was not a perfect knowledge - even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.
"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"(Alma 32:26-27).
Amen.
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