The one thing that could keep you afloat and could save your life? Would you want to make sure you had a good, solid life jacket with tight straps & adequate size, or would you choose one that was ragged and flimsy? If you really cared about yourself & your future, of course you would make sure you had a strong, reliable life jacket.
Well, I see our Faith as being much like a life jacket. Our Faith can carry us through the rough and stormy times in our lives when we would otherwise sink into despair, or be overcome by unexpected loss or tragedy. Our Faith can keep us from wandering astray, it can clear our vision so we can see through the confusion in our lives & continue in the right direction - toward our Heavenly Father.
Having strong Faith in the Lord is not something we can quickly build up & fortify in times of emergency. It is something we must continually work on. There are many things we can do to build our Faith. First of all we must have the desire, (scripture - “even if you have the desire to desire”)
Consistent scripture study & sincere prayer needs to be a regular part of our lives. If we slack off on those to things, our Faith will also slack off.
Elder Joseph Wirthlin:
A few years ago, I began to notice that things around me were beginning to darken. It troubled me because simple things like reading the print in my scriptures were becoming more difficult. I wondered what had happened to the quality of the lightbulbs and wondered why manufacturers today couldn't make things like they had in years past.
I replaced the bulbs with brighter ones. They, too, became dim. I blamed the poor design of the lamps and bulbs. I even questioned whether the brightness of the sun was fading before the thought occurred to me that the problem might not be with the amount of light in the room-the problem might be with my own eyes.
Shortly thereafter, I went to an ophthalmologist who assured me that the world was not going dark at all. A cataract on my eye was the reason the light seemed to be fading. This certainly gives you my age. I placed my faith in the capable hands of this trained specialist, the cataract was removed, and behold, light again flooded my life! The light had never diminished; only my capacity to see the light had been lessened.
This taught me a profound truth. Often when the world seems dark, when the heavens seem distant, we seek to blame everything around us, when the real cause of the darkness may be a lack of faith within ourselves.
First, we must have confidence in that which we cannot see. When Thomas finally felt the prints of the nails and thrust his hand into the side of the resurrected Savior, he confessed that he, at last, believed.
“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” 8
Elder John K. Carmack of the Seventy:
To summarize, we do not increase our faith by following a formula, although the ingredients of fasting, prayer, and righteous living are part of that process. Increasing our faith requires trusting the Lord with our whole souls. We cannot say, “We have done enough and deserve to rest.” Rather, we must:
- Do what is right and serve the Lord because we know, trust, and love Him with all of our souls.
- Harbor no thought that we deserve a reward or thanks for what we do, although rewards will surely come.
- Humbly ask, seek, and knock.
- Never demand anything of our Lord, because we are always in His debt.
- Leave to Him the final decision in all things, having the attitude “Not my will, but thine be done.”
- Be prepared to sacrifice, even unto death, for our entire mortal lives.
As members of the Lord's Church, we can increase our faith, if we desire, by going beyond the minimum requirements of the gospel and developing complete trust in the Lord.
Elder Richard G. Scott:
You can learn to use faith more effectively by applying this principle taught by Moroni: “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.” 3 Thus, every time you try your faith, that is, act in worthiness on an impression, you will receive the confirming evidence of the Spirit. Those feelings will fortify your faith. As you repeat that pattern, your faith will become stronger. The Lord knows your needs. When you ask with honesty and real intent, He will prompt you to do that which will increase your ability to act in faith. With consistent practice, faith will become a vibrant, powerful, uplifting, inspiring force in your life.
Even if you exercise your strongest faith, God will not always reward you immediately according to your desires. Rather, God will respond with what in His eternal plan is best for you. He loves you to a depth and completeness you cannot conceive of in your mortal state. Indeed, were you to know His entire plan, you would never ask for that which is contrary to it even though your feelings tempt you to do so. Sincere faith gives understanding and strength to accept the will of our Heavenly Father when it differs from our own. We can accept His will with peace and assurance, confident that His infinite wisdom surpasses our own ability to comprehend fully His plan as it unfolds a piece at a time.
