More Thoughts on Faith

-
Several months ago, I read Lectures on Faith, and my understanding of what faith is deepened. I wrote about it here.

In Institute this morning, as we were reading Ether and Moroni's words about faith in Ether 12, I had another one of those "ah-ha" moments.

Someone in class said that there was a time in her life that she was waking up at 4:30am fully alert, and she was able to use that time to really study the scriptures, and so she had the Spirit with her throughout the day, guiding her and teaching her. Someone else commented that a returned missionary complained that after returning home, he didn't feel the Spirit as powerfully as he had when he was a missionary. It was brought up that maybe we don't need to feel the Spirit so strongly all the time. Sometimes the Lord trusts us to make good decisions without his guidance shouting in our ears. Sometimes the rewards for us are greater when we are walking on our own, in faith.


There have been times in the past when I really wanted to see a miracle. I wanted to have the same kind of faith as the Brother of Jared or Moses, to be able to see God, or even an angel. I wanted to have the kind of experience that would leave no doubt in my mind that God exists. I'm realizing now, that even if I did have that kind of faith, chances are very good that it wouldn't happen - BECAUSE I don't need for it to happen.

Faith requires a knowledge that God exists, a correct understanding of God's attributes, and a knowledge that the course one is pursuing is in accordance with God's will. (Lectures on Faith) In each dispensation, God has revealed himself to (usually) just one person, so that person can be the prophet and testify of God's existence to all the other people on earth. Yes, that person needed faith in order to see God, but the fact of the matter is that God still wouldn't probably have shown himself to them unless there was a greater purpose than just to satisfy that person's desire. God appeared to them because He needed them to be a witness.

I might have just as much faith as Joseph Smith had when he went to the grove of trees to pray. But he was able to see God, and I will probably have to wait until the next life because I don't need to see him now. I don't have to lead a dispensation. I don't have the responsibility to be a witness to all the world of a living God.

At the same time, even though I haven't seen him in person, I do know that God exists. I believe that Joseph Smith saw God. I believe the scriptures that tell of people who have seen God. I am aware of blessings that can only have come from God. In the end, not seeing, and still believing is far greater than believing because of having seen. Not seeing helps us to be humble. It reminds us to keep coming to the Lord for guidance and direction. Not seeing, not knowing for sure, but still taking that wild leap into the dark in faith is what brings miracles.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Talk about Gratitude

-
I recently told my bishop that I enjoyed giving talks in Sacrament Meeting, and it is true. I didn't expect, however, that I would get an email from a bishopric member on Thursday last week to say that his talks for Sunday had to leave town, and would I be willing to speak? Here is the talk that I gave on Sunday, May 27th, 2012: For my topic today, I was given a talk which was given by President Monson in 1992, entitled “An Attitude of Gratitude”. In his talk President Monson begins by telling the story of the 10 lepers. I would like to share it with you. In Luke 17 we read: And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” And when he saw them, he said unto them, “Go show yourselves unto the priests.” And it came to pass, that, as they went, ...
Read more

How Clean is Clean Enough?

-
Image
How clean is "clean enough"? I realize this question is loaded and the answers are very individual, so for a moment, think about yourself and your home and consider, for you, how clean is "clean enough"? What is the difference between a "quick clean", a "daily clean" and a "deep clean"? At what point do you consider your home "clean enough"? Does "clean enough" mean having a clear path from the front door to the other rooms in the house? Is it having the clutter picked up and the floors vacuumed? Must it be dusted every week, every month, or at all? Is it a quick swipe on the surface to remove the dust or crumbs? Is it a scrub with disinfectant? Is it clearing tables and desks, or delving into cupboards and drawers, purging and organizing?    Does it depend on the day of the week? Is "clean enough" on a weekday the same as "clean enough" on a weekend? If not, is it more clean, or less? Is there a...
Read more

School closing, Josh adventures, Back pain relief...

-
On Wednesday school was cancelled all over the Denver area because there was a credible threat that an 18 year old woman with a fixation on the Columbine shooting would attack a school. Apparently she arrived in Denver and bought a gun and then vanished, so they shut down everything just in case. (They found her body later that day... She committed suicide. More info here .) John was frustrated that school was cancelled because one acts are coming up (they are this week!) and he needed the rehearsal time. Instead, John took advantage of the free day to go to School of Mines to check out the campus and talk to someone about getting his admission deferred. I got a ride to my book club, and both of us were home again before Josh and Peter rolled out of bed. Early in the afternoon I took Josh to Children's Hospital to see a cardiologist about his seizures . They did an EKG, but the results were normal. He doesn't have a heart murmur or anything else they could identify. I still thi...
Read more