Some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints live with the unfortunate misunderstanding that everything in the scriptures is part of a to-do list. Not everything is on our shoulders. For instance, instead of reading Paul’s list of the traits that stem from charity as a list of chores to work on, we can read it as a list of behaviors that grow naturally from charity.
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ...” (Moroni 7:48). Charity is a gift from God; we position ourselves based on the conditions outlined for receiving it, and then God instills it in us. The virtues that grow out of charity will then flow to us naturally. Longsuffering, kindness, not envying, not being puffed up, seeking not our own, not being easily provoked, thinking no evil, rejoicing not in iniquity, rejoicing in truth, bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things—these traits begin to take hold in us naturally after God bestows on us His gift of charity.
Charity as a gift from God offered to those who meet certain qualifications (like being a “true follower of his Son,” and praying “with all the energy of heart” for it). In other words, there is our part in the pursuit of the virtue, and God’s part. Our work, and His work. God is an active participant in making us better—the burden is not all on our shoulders.
There is another virtue that follows this pattern of being the result of our works, and God’s work in us: faith.
Our Work
We have been warned that, in this time, no one will be able to live on borrowed light successfully. What part do we play in growing our own faith? Alma 32 is the go-to scripture concerning our role in cultivating our faith in Christ.
The first twenty five or so verses of that chapter are spent reassuring us that deep humility is a prerequisite for receiving the gift of faith. Extending the agricultural metaphor used by Alma, a softened heart is like softened soil—ready for seeds to be planted. Gratitude, patience, and willingness to follow divine direction also arise from humility.
Hearing the word (planting the seed) at some point is necessary to begin the process. Faith is like a muscle that we always have, but faith in a particular idea, or person, grows or shrinks depending upon our exercise of our faith. Jesus said, “If any man will do [God’s] will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:17). We develop our faith in God’s commandments as we follow them and see the results.
Feeling sorrow for our sins, and turning away from them in our minds, hearts, and with our feet and hands, also positions us to receive greater faith.
Studying the scriptures is one of the best ways to cultivate our faith. They remind us, not only of the events they record, but of events in our lives in which our faith was strengthened. As we survey evidences from the past, we remember miracles and the intervention of God in our own lives.
The Lord’s Work in Us
The things we do to cultivate our faith all have one thing in common: they make room for the Holy Spirit in us. When we refuse evil and choose the good, the influence of the Spirit can be present in greater portions. While the Holy Ghost is a personage in one place at one time, His influence can be felt anywhere, by any number of people, to greater or lesser degrees, depending on the people’s behavior and attitudes.
Moroni refers to Jesus Christ as “the author and finisher of [our] faith” (Moroni 6:4).
Even with all we can do to choose to believe, choose to keep the commandments, choose to strive and pray, our efforts will not bear adequate fruit without God.
If faith is a gift from God, why doesn’t God just convince everyone? He can surely do it, so why doesn’t He? Alma 32 gives us one possible reason:
“And now, how much more cursed is he that knoweth the will of God and doeth it not, than he that only believeth, or only hath cause to believe, and falleth into transgression?” (Alma 32:19).
Our culpability for our sins is proportional to our knowledge. The more certain we are of God, His existence and His will for us, the more power we have to condemn ourselves through defying Him and doing what we know to be wrong. (This might be the main reason for requiring us to position ourselves in the most humble, penitent, and righteous stance we can manage on our own before God reinforces our faith.)
A Spiritual Gift
Moroni lists “exceedingly great faith” among the spiritual gifts we can receive from God. The Lord tells Joseph Smith that, “To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.” (D&C 46:13).
What if we lack that gift of the Spirit? “And it shall come to pass that he that asketh in Spirit shall receive in Spirit” (D&C 46:28). If we do not have a spiritual gift we need, we can ask for it.
Our faith as it stands, as we cultivate it within ourselves, and the confirmation of that faith by the Holy Spirit, can merge like the flames of two candles into one larger flame.
Snowballing
Spiritual gifts are given “that all may be profited thereby.” Another price we must pay for increased faith is the willingness to cultivate the faith of other people with our own.
“A testimony is to be found in the bearing of it. Somewhere in your quest for spiritual knowledge, there is that ‘leap of faith,’ as the philosophers call it. It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and step into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two” (President Boyd K. Packer, That All May Be Edified, 1982, pg. 340).
Exercising faith by bearing witness of God couples with the sustaining, supporting hand of the Lord in us. Whoever has the courage to stand up for Him receives an increase of faith, and other spiritual gifts.
Faith in Christ, Receiving Christ
President Nelson has recently encouraged the Latter-day Saints to prepare to receive the Savior to the earth, to prepare for His Second Coming. This is intimidating, yet also exciting. What can prepare us to stand without fear in the presence of God? (Whether He comes to us, or we go to Him, we will each meet Jesus Christ someday, so the question is pertinent for everyone.)
“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.
“For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he showed himself not unto the world.
“But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen.
“Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith.” (Ether 12:6-9).
Elder Hales died during October 2017 General Conference. He did not have the chance to deliver the talk he composed for that meeting. His brother from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Niel L. Andersen, obtained a copy of his talk, and quoted a paragraph from it at the end of the last session:
“When we choose to have faith, we are prepared to stand in the presence of God. … After the Savior’s Crucifixion, He appeared only to those ‘who had been faithful in the testimony of [Him] while they lived in mortality.’ [D&C 138:12.] Those ‘who rejected the testimonies … of the … prophets [could not] behold [the Savior’s] presence, nor look upon his face.’ [D&C 138:21.] … Our faith prepares us to be in the presence of the Lord.”
The metaphor employed by the scriptures is that of a Groom coming to marry His bride. As His Church, we constitute the bride, and a bride should be excited for her Groom, unafraid. Faith in Christ, of His sustaining influence, and in the directions and guidance we receive from Him, will carry us through the tribulations leading up to His arrival on this earth, and prepare us to meet Him, whenever and wherever that may occur.
