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.