What does it mean to have faith?

Faith is the first principle of the Gospel (See Articles of Faith 4). The Lord commands us in many verses of scripture to have faith.  (See Habbakuk 2:4, Ephesians 6:16, Hebrews 11:6, 1 Nephi 7:12, 2 Nephi 9:23, Alma 22:16, Moroni 7, D&C 8:10, D&C 20::25, D&C 68:25 for a few examples.) He taught his disciples that faith as a grain of mustard seed is sufficient to move mountains (see Matthew 17:20). We are told to live by faith and strengthen our faith. Faith is a key to success in this life from an eternal perspective. It is the principle of power by which God works (see Hebrews 11). So what is faith, how do we know when we have it, and how do we strength it?

According to the Guide to the Scriptures, faith is "confidence in something or someone. Most often... it is confidence and trust in Jesus Christ that lead a person to obey him.... Faith includes a hope for things which are not seen, but which are true.... By faith one obtains a remission of sins and eventually is able to dwell in God's presence."

Job had faith

Job in the Old Testament is the quintessential example of faith. In his story we find the key to what it means to have faith. According to the biblical account, Job was a faithful, obedient, and prosperous man (see Job 1:1-3). He had everything temporally that a man could want: family, friends, health, property, wealth. When Satan and God discussed Job's situation, God extolled Job's faith and righteousness. Satan complained that it was easy for Job to have faith, since he wanted for nothing (see Job 1:9-11). God had given him everything. Why would he not have faith? But, proposed Satan, if Job lost all of his blessings, he would lose his faith and denounce his righteousness.

To prove his point, and to teach us all a lesson, God removed Job's prosperity. In one day he lost his property, was deprived of his wealth, and learned that all of his children had been killed in an accident (see Job 1:13-22). Shortly thereafter he developed debilitating diseases (see Job 2:7-8), and his wife (see Job 2:9) and friends deserted him (see Job 16:2-4). Left in such awful conditions, surely he would turn away from the God who had apparently turned away from him.

Yet he did not turn from God. He held on to his belief that God still loved him and would save him at the last day (see Job 19:25-27). He retained his belief in the goodness of God despite the lack of evidence in his own life. He knew what he knew, and the difficulties of the moment would not dissuade him.

For Job, and for the rest of us, the key to faith is patience. Job was highly distressed and terribly discouraged by the losses he had suffered and the pain he had to endure. He did not understand why everything had turned to ash around him. Yet he did not doubt that God still loved him. He did not abandon his faithfulness. He continued to believe in God, to trust him, and to hope for rescue in whatever time frame suited the Lord. Though he felt abandoned for the moment, he knew he would not be abandoned forever. He did not blame God or turn against him or stop keeping the commandments or stop praying. Job waited patiently for the Lord.

From Job we learn that to have faith is to remain faithful when faith does not seem to be getting us anywhere. We learn that faith is best expressed in patience.

Believing without seeing

Faith does not come by seeing. Miracles do not produce faith, but faith can produce miracles. "And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning [faith]; 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).

If we would expect faith, we must first expect trials. In fact, without trials, there is no faith. Though no one in his right mind asks for trials and afflictions, when they surely come, we can be assured that God is trying our faith, and we can have confidence that there are blessings on the other side of our trials. On the other side of the Red Sea for the children of Israel were manna and water flowing from a rock and Mount Sinai and a land flowing with milk and honey. On the other side of the ocean for Lehi and his family was the promised land. On the other side of Liberty Jail for Joseph Smith was Nauvoo. On the other side of persecutions and the Great Plains and Rocky Ridge for the pioneers was the Salt Lake Valley and Zion. When we are in the midst of trials and troubles on every side, we can look confidently to a future blessing that God is preparing for us.

Faithfulness in patience

But when will this terrible trial end? we ask. That is a good question. We all want to know how long we have to hold out in the face of unpleasantness and distress. We all wonder if we have sufficient strength to endure to the end. The Prophet Joseph wanted to know when the Lord would finally come out of his hiding place and relieve the suffering saints in Missouri (see D&C 121:1-3). It is a legitimate question.

The answer is, in the own due time of the Lord (see 1 Nephi 14:26, D&C 56:3). He tests us by stretching us. He strengthens us by stretching us. How do we gain more faith? We stretch it.

The "own due time of the Lord" is when we are stretched to the breaking point. It is when we have toiled against the storm into the fourth watch of the night and the boat is filling with water (see Matthew 14:25). It is when the waters of the Red Sea are lapping at the soles of our feet (see Exodus 14:10-12). It is when we have no money left and our sons are about to be sold as slaves to pay our debt (see 2 Kings 4:1). It is when we are in the moment of ultimate despair and ready to abandon ourselves to destruction (see Joseph Smith-History 1:15). It is the "true last minute".

God knows that moment better than we know it. So if we have not yet been rescued, if we have not yet been stretched to the limit, if we are not yet in the fourth watch, it is not yet the true last minute.

When that moment comes, he will part the sea, still the storm, grab our hand, fill the cruse with oil, send a pillar of light - whatever it is that we truly need to rescue us. In that moment of rescue, we will know from whence our salvation has come. It will be clear that we did not save ourselves, for we will know assuredly that we could not have saved ourselves. Our strength will have been exhausted, and all hopes of getting ourselves out of the situation will have been dashed. Every coincidence and stroke of luck will have been abandoned. When God saves us, it is clearly his hand, and not ours or anyone else's, who has snatch us from our certain destruction.

When we learn to trust the Lord till the truly last minute, we will have faith.

Does Heavenly Father hear all of our prayers? Yes. Does he answer them all? Yes, but not always the way we want or when we want. We pray sometimes like we are ordering a Happy Meal at McDonald's. Imagine what life would be like if God answered every one of our prayers immediately and exactly as we ordered. Not only would we go through this life as spoiled brats, but we would miss out on the good things that our Father has in store for us, and we would probably do ourselves and others grievous harm in the process. We do not believe in a  "McDonalds God" who takes our order at the drive-thru window and dispenses nutrition-ridden, calorie-crammed blessings that have been reheated under an infrared lamp. He loves us too much and expects too much of us to treat us like whining children, even when that is what we are. He gives us what we need when we need it. He gives good gifts when they will do us the most good. His objective is not to make us happy but to make us gods.

The rest of the story

Job passed his test of faith. Despite every reversal and defeat and trial and affliction, he trusted in the Lord with all his heart and refused to curse God and die. When the test was over, the scriptures report that "the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. He had also seven sons and three daughters" (Job 42:12-13). Our trials may seem to be forever, but they are not. Father may seem to have abandoned us, but he has not.  Our afflictions may seem more than we can bear, but they are not. Our finite, mortal eyes cannot see the end from the beginning, but the Lord's eyes can see it all. He knows how it will all turn out, and he calculates that it shall turn out for our good. When we believe that, we have faith.

If You Want to Walk on Water, You Have to Get Out of the Boat

We are all familiar with the story of the Apostle Peter trying to walk on the water, as found in Matthew Chapter 14. Jesus had performed the miracle of feeding the five thousands from five loaves and two fishes. He had then sent the disciples ahead of him while he dismissed the people and went into the mountains to pray. Per Jesus's instructions, the apostles took a small ship and began sailing across the Sea of Galilee.

A storm arose during the night, and the apostles ship began to thrash about among the waves and the wind. Jesus, who had been watching them from the hillside, saw their peril and went out to them, "walking on the sea".

When the disciples saw the dark figure of a man walking on the water towards them, "they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear."

Jesus heard their fearful cry and answered them with comfort. "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid."

Then Peter did a remarkable thing. He said to Jesus, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water."

Now, I would have been perfectly satisfied to have sat in the boat and waited for Jesus to come and get in. But Peter had a different idea. As a dedicated disciple, he wanted to do everything that he saw his master do. If Jesus could walk on the water, then Peter wanted to do it, too. He did not, however, want to presume that he could walk on water simply because he wanted to. He wanted Jesus to command him to come out of the boat. He knew that if Christ could do it, and if Christ commanded him to do it, he could do it, too.

At Peter's request, Jesus issued the command, "Come." Peter dutifully climbed over the side of the boat and set his feet on the churning waters. To his great satisfaction, the water beneath his feet felt as solid as ground, and he began to walk towards Jesus.

As the account continues, we read that Peter got distracted by the waves and the wind, and he began to doubt his ability to remain on top of the water. Because he doubted, he began to sink. What he forgot in his moment of fear was that it was not his personal power that was holding him up. It was Christ's power. Jesus was still standing steady despite the waves. Had he kept his eye on Jesus and focused on his Master's steadiness, Peter could have continued.

When he began to sink, Jesus reached out and caught Peter by the hand and lifted him up again. The touch of the Master's hand was sufficient to remind Peter by what power he stood upon the water. He had every right to be afraid of the storm if he thought that he was out on the water under his own power. But with Jesus by his side and supporting him, he had no need to fear. Back on his feet again, with his confidence restored, Peter walked with the Lord to the boat, and they both climbed aboard.

Peter did it, and so can we

We make much of Peter's near-fatal failure to stay afloat, but the reality is that he walked on the water like Christ. He did the Master's bidding, and he was sustained in his efforts. He accomplished the impossible. He got out of the boat.

We can do hard things in our lives. We can do miracles. The key is knowing the will of God. If he wants us to do a seemingly impossible task, and he bids us to do it, we can go with confidence that he will support us. If we keep our eye focused on him and recognize that it is his power, and not ours, that is sustaining us, we can succeed at whatever the Lord asks of us. Whether it is serving a mission, fulfilling a calling, raising a child, paying tithing, forgiving someone who has hurt us, befriending someone who is unlovable, healing the sick, or pulling a handcart, we can do whatever the Lord asks us to do. We can be confident that he is right there with us. When we fear or doubt our abilities, we have only to look to him, and he will steady and strengthen us.

Not all miracles are ours to perform

Some miracles, however, are not within our power. We can do anything that is God's will for us to do. if it is not his will, then our courage and bravado may not be enough to sustain us. On any other day, Peter would have jumped out of the boat and sunk straightway. For example, when Peter had been fishing and saw the resurrected Lord standing on the shore, he jumped out of the boat and swam to shore to meet him. It was not his time to walk on the water.

How do we know when a miracle is God's will and not our own pride or wishful thinking. We must be bidden. Remember, Peter said, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me to come unto thee on the water." If the Lord directs us to action, either by revelation through the Holy Ghost or by a call from a priesthood leader, we can be confident that we can do what is asked of us. And not because we are capable by our own power, but because we know God will sustain us in keeping his command.

On the other hand, there are some things that are not within our power to do. We cannot violate another's agency. We cannot heal those whom God has ordained to die. We cannot remove a test from a loved one when God has placed that test to help our loved one grow and gain faith. We cannot make an investigator gain a testimony or choose to be baptized. We may force a child to read the scriptures with us, but we cannot force him to feel the Spirit.

Greater works than these

Nevertheless, when the Lord calls, we can do marvelous things. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do" (John 14:12).

Jesus converted only a few of his countrymen, but Peter convert 3,000 in a single day, and Wilford Woodruff brought more than 8,000 into the Church in England during a single mission. Jesus never left Palestine, but the Apostle Paul traveled across the entire known world, and Orson Hyde circumnavigate the globe in proclaiming the gospel. Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead; so did Peter, Paul, Alma, Joseph Smith, and Ephraim Hanks, and many others.

These valiant servants all had one thing in common. When the Lord called, they were willing to get out of the boat.

A Universe of Love

We live in a universe that is created and governed by love. I astounds me that the mightiest Being in the universe is also the Being who is filled with the most love. If there was any shadow of hate or anger or bitterness in that Being, we on this earth would truly tremble and fear because of his wrath.

Think if Satan had prevailed in the War in Heaven. Satan is the antithesis of God. Near the pinnacle of power, Satan would rule for his own selfish ends. He would assure that no one sins so that no redemption is necessary. He would escort us through mortality not because he loves us, but because we serve his ends to his personal glory. Those who disobeyed him would be instantly destroyed with no opportunity to repent.

Thankfully, wonderfully, mercifully, such is not our God. Hence my astonishment and my gratitude that the God of power is also the God of love.

God's Power

First, consider the majesty of God's power. While he has the power to do all things, the power he enjoys the most – the power about which he is most anxious and pleased to tell us about – is the power to create. Consider the following representative examples of God's power:

Isaiah 44:24 "the Lord, thy redeemer... maketh all things... stretcheth forth the heavens alone... spreadeth abroad the earth by myself."

Christ stands with the Father as the Supreme Creator. He makes everything that exists. Man in all the imaginations of his heart did not create the heavens and the earth. God created them. Now, he may have delegated responsibility, as we learn in the temple, but the work was done under his direction and by his power.

Isaiah 40:12-15 "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing."

God is powerful enough to hold all of the oceans in the cup of his hand. He can measure the breadth of the sky with the span of his hand, from the tip of his thumb to the tip of his little finger. He can put the largest mountains on a scale and measure their weight. There is no one who knows more than God. He needs to be taught by no one. The great nations of the earth, such as China, India, and the United States are but drops of water in a bucket to him. They are like dust on the surface of the scale, which makes no difference in the balance.

Moses 1:33 "worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten."

Now take our earth, which God has created and which he can hold in his hand and measure on a scale and which is just a drop in the bucket and is like inconsequential dust, and about which he knows everything, and multiply it endlessly. Such is only the beginning of power of God.

Moses 1:35 "behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them."

Yet amid all of this creative power, God does not forget a single thing he has created. Though the number of his worlds is too great for the human mind to comprehend, God knows and remembers every one of them.

Moses 1:37-38 "And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine. And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words."

As special and unique as we may feel our world is in the great span of creation, we are just one of innumerable worlds. And yet, each world is special and unique to God. Each one belongs personally to him. His work goes on forever, and he reveals himself forever to his creations. Worlds come and go through their stages of mortality, but God does not forget a single one.

Moses 7:30 "were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still"

God revealed the same truth to Enoch that he revealed to Moses. If we could count the particles – even the molecules, the atoms, and the subatomic particles of the atoms – contained in this earth, we would have to multiply that number by millions, and we could still not approximate the number of God's creations. And he is still creating today.

Such is the God we worship.

God's Love

And yet, amidst all of this power, there is love. Indeed, all of this creative power is the expression of love. When he could do anything he wants in the universe, why does God choose to create galaxies and stars and worlds and oceans and mountains and dust and molecules and atoms?

Moses 1:39 "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

God works so that we, his children, can become like him. He does not create worlds just for the fun of creating them. He creates them for us.

And how do we know he does this out of love, and not for some ulterior motive?

Isaiah 44:21-23 "Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel."

God has redeemed us. He has done the work to remove all of our sins. Having paid the price for us, he can never forget us.

Moses 7:30 "yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;"

God's heart is centered on us. It is in his very nature to be merciful and kind. He is just, for that is also in his nature, but he has worked out a way for mercy to overcome justice.

Isaiah 49:15-16 "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

God's love is stronger than a mother's love. Even if a mother could forget the child she bore, Christ would not forget us, the children he has born and for whom he has labored and sacrificed and atoned. We are never out of his thoughts.

Isaiah 49:24-25 "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children."

Though we may be temporarily captured by the terrible enemy of our souls, Christ will wrest us from Satan's hold. He will fight against Satan in our behalf, and he will save us who are his children.

Romans 8:35-39 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The Father and the Son cannot be separated from us. We may choose to separate ourselves from them, but they will not be separated from us. There is no power in heaven or on earth that can tear us from their hearts if we choose to be connected to them.

Jeremiah 31:1-11 "I [will] be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people... saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.... For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God. For thus saith the Lord; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.... They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he."

God is the father of our spirits. Christ is the father of our spiritual rebirth. We are all equal in their eyes. They treat each of us as if we were the firstborn, their only child. We weep when we think of how much they love us. Though we may wander off, Christ will gather us back to him as a shepherd gathers his lost lambs. He has ransomed us from the "natural man", who is often stronger in this mortal world than our spirits.

2 Nephi 1:15 "But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love."

What does it feel like to be loved by God? It is like being encircled in his arms. It is like being wrapped in a warm blanket after having fallen into icy waters on a cold night. It is a feeling that never has to end.

How do we know God loves us?

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Because he sent his Son to prove it.

Conclusion

The God who made the earth and the sun, who causes the sun to shine, who holds the planets and stars in their orbits, and directs the universe – this God of power hears the prayers of a pathetic little creature, such as myself, because he loves me. He has a whole universe to love, and yet he loves me. How blessed I am – how blessed we all are – to live in a universe that is governed by love. And further, how blessed I am to live in a time and place when that truth is readily known and is easy to apprehend. Of all the things to be thankful for, today I am thankful for God's love.