What Is Faith?
· Faith is the assurance that the things we hope for actually do exist, without tangible evidence of those things.
· Faith is requisite in order to please God.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”(Heb 11:6)
Joseph Smith posed the question,
“Why is it impossible to please God without faith? The answer would be – because without faith it is impossible for men to be saved; and as god desires the salvation of men, he must, of course, desire that they should have faith; and he could not be pleased unless they had, or else he could be pleased with their destruction.”(Lectures on Faith pg.65)
· In the Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith said that faith is-
o The first principle in revealed religion and the moving cause of all action in intelligent beings.
“We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (A of F #4)
It is worth noting in the 4th Article of Faith that Faith comes first, followed by the actions of Repentance, Baptism, and the reception of the Holy Ghost.
Regarding faith being the first principle of the gospel, Alma taught the poorer class of Zoramites, who had been thrown out of the synagogues, that God desired, “in the first place, that [they] should believe, yea, even on his word”( Alma 32:22). In this masterful lesson delivered by Alma, he teaches that the words that should be believed in, are those which God “impartheth...by angels unto men” (Alma 32:23). Of course few knew this better than Alma himself. The Bible Dictionary declares it in this way, “faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith” (pg. 669).
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin has stated that,
“Faith exists when absolute confidence in that which we cannot see combines with action that is in absolute conformity to the will of our Heavenly Father.” (Shall He Find Faith on the Earth?, Ensign, Nov 2002, 82)
It can be shown time and time again that true faith is indelibly tied to action. The ability to act on faith is less of a nicety as it is a divine right; “Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself” (2nd Nephi 2:16). However, in man’s unwillingness to act on faith, man still acts, faithlessly.
Some might claim that exercising what they call “blind faith” and choosing to follow Gods commandments limits our freedom. In a 1997 conference talk titled “Finding Safety in Counsel”, President Henry B. Eyring stated the following,
“Looking for the path to safety in the counsel of prophets makes sense to those with strong faith. When a prophet speaks, those with little faith may think that they hear only a wise man giving good advice. Then if his counsel seems comfortable and reasonable, squaring with what they want to do, they take it. If it does not, they consider it either faulty advice or they see their circumstances as justifying their being an exception to the counsel. Those without faith may think that they hear only men seeking to exert influence for some selfish motive. They may mock and deride, as did a man named Korihor, with these words recorded in the Book of Mormon:
“And thus ye lead away this people after the foolish traditions of your fathers, and according to your own desires; and ye keep them down, even as it were in bondage, that ye may glut yourselves with the labors of their hands, that they durst not look up with boldness, and that they durst not enjoy their rights and privileges” (Alma 30:27).
Korihor was arguing, as men and women have falsely argued from the beginning of time, that to take counsel from the servants of God is to surrender God-given rights of independence. But the argument is false because it misrepresents reality. When we reject the counsel which comes from God, we do not choose to be independent of outside influence. We choose another influence. We reject the protection of a perfectly loving, all-powerful, all-knowing Father in Heaven, whose whole purpose, as that of His Beloved Son, is to give us eternal life, to give us all that He has, and to bring us home again in families to the arms of His love. In rejecting His counsel, we choose the influence of another power, whose purpose is to make us miserable and whose motive is hatred. We have moral agency as a gift of God. Rather than the right to choose to be free of influence, it is the inalienable right to submit ourselves to whichever of those powers we choose.”
So, Lehi’s words in 2nd Nephi 2:27 become more clearly understood when viewed through the lens of faith,
“Wherefore men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”(2nd Nephi 2:27)
Therefore, true faith leads us to choose the right based upon divine guidance given to us through the wise council of prophets, seers and revelators. And even they to whom the revelations of God come so readily must act in faith, as Joseph Smith once poignantly stated, “I made this my rule: When the Lord commands, do it.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 160.) The scriptures are full of other examples showing faith based action.
It was first and foremost faith that
~ Caused Adam and Eve to offer up a sacrifice without first knowing why
~ Led the prophet Abraham to Mt. Moriah to give the life of his cherished son Isaac
~ Moved David to stand tall against the beastly figure of Goliath
~ Stirred Job to exclaim, even at the height of his suffering, “though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him”.
~ Motivated Lehi and his family to give heed to the commands of God that the Liahona could guide them to safety.
~ Enthused countless others in all ages of time to act in accordance with the commandments.
~ And lest we forget…it was first and foremost faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that brought “the morning stars [to sing] together”, in the premortal realm, and excited “all the sons of God [to shout] for joy”. (Job 38:7)
