Developing Faith ~ Part Two

     Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

This post actually focuses on October 1986 General Conference talk, and it is called "Developing Faith" by Elder A. Theodore Tuttle. I hope you will be able to learn something new while reading this post. 

Elder Tuttle has mentioned the following; 

"... I would like to read in the Book of Mormon a great example of this kind of faith. ... “And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me [Nephi], saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters” (1 Ne. 17:8).

Listen to the answer of this great Nephi: “And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?” (1 Ne. 17:9).

And when his brothers realized that he was actually going to set about to build a ship, they said: “Why, you’re a fool. You don’t know how to construct a ship” (see 1 Ne. 17:17). And then Nephi set about to teach them a great lesson." 

How do you develop faith?

Let’s learn a great lesson from what transpired with Nephi. He started to recount the things that had happened that they all knew were a part of their heritage. He went back to the coming of the children of Israel out of Egypt. He said: “You know what happened. There they were right against the Red Sea with the Egyptians coming, and the Lord saved them” (see 1 Ne. 17:26–27).

Then he goes on and talks about how they received manna in the wilderness, how they received water from a rock, how the Lord led them by a pillar of cloud in the daytime and a light at night, and how when they crossed the Jordan, it stopped when the feet of the priests touched the water (see 1 Ne. 17:28–30, 32; see also Ex. 13:21, Josh. 3:15–17). 

And then Nephi tells how the Lord scattered the people; and then how, when they came among the flying serpents, Moses fashioned a brazen serpent, raised it, and all they had to do was look at that serpent, and they would be healed. The account says that many perished because they wouldn’t even look (see 1 Ne. 17:32, 41; see also Num. 21:8–9).

He was trying to do what you and I as parents need to do with our families today to develop faith in the Lord. And the way to do it is to recount the examples of faith that have happened in our history and in our heritage and with our people. ... It contains accounts of faith of our own blood and ancestry and of our own people and our children. As has already been said in this conference, we cannot go one generation without losing faith if we do not do this. ...

There’s another principle: that is, that faith precedes the miracle. This lesson is found in Ether, chapter 12. You’ll recall that Moroni was abridging the records of the twenty-four plates, and this is what he records: ... They couldn’t see them; they wouldn’t believe them. They needed to be taught that believing is seeing. 

And then Moroni interpolates here: “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” (Ether 12:6; italics added).

We need to learn that. We can’t have just faith. We cannot have the miracle until after the exercise of faith. Moroni sets forth on the next page or so instances of those miracles that have occurred after the trial of the faith of the people. We need to learn that principle as well.

... We’re not going to survive in this world, temporally or spiritually, without increased faith in the Lord and I don’t mean a positive mental attitude - I mean downright solid faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the one thing that gives vitality and power to otherwise rather weak individuals.

I bear you my humble witness that I know that God lives. I know that he lives, that he is our Father, that he loves us. I bear witness that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and our Redeemer. I understand better what that means now. 

I am grateful for his atonement in our behalf and for knowing something about our relationship to him and to our Heavenly Father and about the meaning and purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ. ..."

If you would like to read the whole talk either now or in your own time, here is the link below.

https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1986/10/developing-faith

Stay Tuned until next time.

Developing Faith ~ Part One

  Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish.

How have you developed your faith throughout your life? How have an immediate relative developed his or her faith throughout his or her life? How have a extended relative developed his or her faith throughout his or her life? How have a friend developed his or her faith throughout his or her life?

I know that I have developed faith by multiple ways, and I would like to share with you some ways of how I have developed faith throughout my life. 

Prior to meeting Jacob

I have developed my faith through past testimonies from variety of church members. During youth years but mostly more into my adult years; I always remembered feeling the Holy Ghost promptings for me to go ahead and share my testimony with others and on Fast Sundays - the first Sunday of each month; church members has the opportunities to share their testimonies during sacrament meeting. 

I have developed my faith through my immediate relatives. I am very grateful for my parents raising me up into a true religion on this Earth. I remembered how I felt when I got baptized, and received the gift of the Holy Ghost when I was eight years old. 

I have developed my faith through achieving multiple milestones in the church. I have made the decision for myself to receive my Patriarchal Blessing, I have made the decision for myself when I was ready to receive my endowments, I have made the decision to do seminary via home study and via online and graduating seminary, I have made the decision to attend institute and eventually graduating institute, and so forth. 

I have developed my faith through having close friends, church member friends, and non-member friends. I am grateful for my friends because it has always been great for me to have some people in my life whom I can trust, rely on, and spend some time with. Friends makes life fun and enjoyable sometimes. 

After meeting Jacob

I have developed my faith through fulfilling all of my responsibilities as a Temple Ordinance Worker in Brisbane Temple from December 2018 to July 2019. Duration my time as a Temple Ordinance Worker; it has helped me to strengthened the main purposes of why I wanted to become a Temple Ordinance Worker when I did, it has helped me to start a habit of regular temple attendance, and so forth. 

I have developed my faith through the full duration of my relationship with Jacob, the full duration of my engagement with Jacob, and duration of my marriage with Jacob thus far, so forth. Jacob has taught me a lot of things that I did not know before, and I am grateful for his understanding, his love, his support, his care, and so forth." 

Stay Tuned until next time.

Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority ~ Part Two

 Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on a October 2014 General Conference talk, and it is called "Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority" by Elder Richard G. Scott. This post is part two. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk. 

Elder Scott has mentioned the following; "Family Home Evening

While you are working to strengthen your family and cultivate peace, remember this third tool: weekly family home evening. ... Decide that on Monday night your family will be together at home for the evening. Do not let employment demands, sports, extracurricular activities, homework, or anything else become more important than that time you spend together at home with your family.

... The gospel should be taught both formally and informally. Make it a meaningful experience for each member of the family. Family home evening is a precious time to bear testimony in a safe environment; to learn teaching, planning, and organizational skills; to strengthen family bonds; to develop family traditions; to talk to each other; and more important, to have a marvelous time together! ...

"Despite all of the negative challenges we have in life,
we must take time to actively exercise our faith."

Temple Attendance

The fourth tool is to go to the temple. We all know there is no more peaceful place on this earth than in the temples of God. If you don’t have a temple recommend, qualify to get one. 

When you have a recommend, use it often. Schedule a regular time to be in the temple. Don’t let anyone or anything prevent you from being there. While you are in the temple, listen to the words of the ordinances, ponder them, pray about them, and seek to understand their meaning. The temple is one of the best places to come to understand the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

... Remember that many more blessings come from providing your own family names in the temple. ... When we are consistently praying morning and night, studying our scriptures daily, having weekly family home evening, and attending the temple regularly, we are actively responding to His invitation to “come unto Him.”

The more we develop these habits, the more anxious is Satan to harm us but the less is his ability to do so.Through the use of these tools, we exercise our agency to accept the full gifts of His atoning sacrifice. I am not suggesting that all of life’s struggles will disappear as you do these things. We came to mortal life precisely to grow from trials and testing. Challenges help us become more like our Father in Heaven, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes it possible to endure those challenges. ..."

If you would like to read the whole talk either now or in your own time, here is the link below. 

https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/make-the-exercise-of-faith-your-first-priority

Stay Tuned until next time.

Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority ~ Part One

 Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take five minutes to eight minutes to read from start to finish.

What are your top priorities in life? Is one of your top priorities in life is exercising faith? 

What is your definition and understanding of the word "faith"? 

What does "faith" means to a immediate relative?

This post focuses on a October 2014 General Conference talk, and it is called "Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority" by Elder Richard G. Scott. This post is part one. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk. 

Elder Scott has mentioned the following; 

"When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, all that they needed for daily sustenance was abundantly given to them. They had no difficulties, challenges, or pain. Because they had never experienced hard times, they did not know they could be happy. They had never felt turmoil, so they could not feel peace.

Eventually Adam and Eve transgressed the command to not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. By so doing they were no longer in a state of innocence. They began to experience principles of opposition. They began to encounter sickness that weakened their health. 

They began to feel sadness as well as joy. Through Adam and Eve’s partaking of the forbidden fruit, knowledge of good and evil was introduced into the world. Their choice made it possible for each of us to come to this earth to be tried and tested. 

We are blessed with agency, which is our ability to make decisions and to become accountable for those decisions. The Fall made possible in our lives feelings of both happiness and sadness. We are able to understand peace because we feel turmoil. Our Father in Heaven knew this would happen to us. 

It is all part of His perfect plan of happiness. He prepared a way through the life of His perfectly obedient Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, for His Atonement to overcome every difficulty that we may experience in mortality. We live in trying times. 

... It is not necessary to describe all of the possible challenges and heartaches that are a part of mortality. Each of us is intimately aware of our own struggles with temptation, pain, and sadness. We were taught in the premortal world that our purpose in coming here is to be tested, tried, and stretched. 

We knew we would face the evils of the adversary. Sometimes we may feel more aware of the negative things of mortality than we are of the positive. ... Despite all of the negative challenges we have in life, we must take time to actively exercise our faith. 

Such exercise invites the positive, faith-filled power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ into our lives. Our Father in Heaven has given us tools to help us come unto Christ and exercise faith in His Atonement. When these tools become fundamental habits, they provide the easiest way to find peace in the challenges of mortality.

Today I have chosen to discuss four of these tools. As I speak, consider evaluating your personal use of each tool; then seek the guidance of the Lord to determine how you could make better use of each one of them.

Prayer

The first tool is prayer. Choose to converse with your Father in Heaven often. Make time every day to share your thoughts and feelings with Him. Tell Him everything that concerns you. ... Share with Him your full range of feelings and experiences.

Because He respects your agency, Father in Heaven will never force you to pray to Him. But as you exercise that agency and include Him in every aspect of your daily life, your heart will begin to fill with peace, buoyant peace. That peace will focus an eternal light on your struggles. It will help you to manage those challenges from an eternal perspective.

Parents, help safeguard your children by arming them morning and night with the power of family prayer. Children are bombarded every day with the evils of lust, greed, pride, and a host of other sinful behaviors. Protect your children from daily worldly influences by fortifying them with the powerful blessings that result from family prayer. ...

"Faith"

Scripture Study

The second tool is to study the word of God in the scriptures and the words of the living prophets. We talk to God through prayer. He most often communicates back to us through His written word. To know what the voice of the Divine sounds and feels like, read His words, study the scriptures, and ponder them.

... If you want your children to recognize, understand, and act on the promptings of the Spirit, you must study the scriptures with them. ... Choose to take time to study them. Feasting on the word of God each day is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, video games, or social media. 

You may need to reorganize your priorities to provide time for the study of the word of God. ... I add my voice with this promise: as you dedicate time every day, personally and with your family, to the study of God’s word, peace will prevail in your life. That peace won’t come from the outside world. 

It will come from within your home, from within your family, from within your own heart. ... I do not declare that your life will cease to have challenges. Remember when Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were free from challenges, yet they were unable to experience happiness, joy, and peace.

Challenges are an important part of mortality. Through daily, consistent scripture study, you will find peace in the turmoil around you and strength to resist temptations. You will develop strong faith in the grace of God and know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all will be made right according to God’s timing."

Stay Tuned until next time.