What is Faith??

Who here has ever wondered what faith really is? I do all the time.. We always hear things such as, "Just have faith" "Be faithful" "If you have faith it'll all work out" "Have faith in Jesus Christ" etc.... Well what does that mean? how can we tell if we have faith? What can we do to exercise faith? Lets find out together =)

(Hebrews 11:1) "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

(Alma 32:21) "And now as I said concerning faith-- faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."

Faith is having hope, its a belief and if you have hope and a belief in something what does (Ether 12:6) say will happen? "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." We will receive a witness after our faith is tried and too many of us think and say it the other way around, "if we receive a witness then shall we have faith"........ and it should not be that way!!! Then in (verse 4 of Ether 12) "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." So wait... The scriptures are telling us that if we have faith, we should be "Sure and Steadfast, always abounding in good works" which brings us to answering, "How can we tell if we have faith?"

In the (Bible Dictionary) it tell us that, "strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in other words, faith comes by righteousness", "Faith is a principle of action and of power", "faith must be based upon correct knowledge or it cannot produce the desired results. Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and is more than belief", "true faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action", "it carries an assurance of the fulfillment of the things hoped for." So... How can one tell if they have faith and how can one exercise that faith? It's simple.. Are you praying every day? Do you study the scriptures daily? Do you go to all 3 meetings of church? are you being obedient to the commandments of God? are you striving to do and live your best? are you trying to learn of the Father and the Son? If faith is having hope and believing and is a principle of action, then doesn't that give us the choice to be faithful and receive the gift of faith?

A friend once told me that if you wake up and believe that your going to have a good day then you'll have a good day!! Because if you believe (have faith) that the day will be good, you'll do what you can to make it a good day (action) Life is what You make it!!

Walk by faith and watch the miracles happen.. I promise they will.. They happen for me all the time!
Most important.. Faith must be centered in Jesus Christ! Amen :)

Not Alone!

     Do you feel hurt, misunderstood, rejected, unwanted, ugly, depressed, stressed, peer pressure, discouraged? Are you addicted to something? Are you sick of trying? Is your load or burden to much to carry? Are you scared of something? Do you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders? Feel like there's no way out? Do you feel Alone??

     Most of the time people incorporate the Atonement of Jesus Christ with just sin... Lets see what the scriptures tell us.. (Alma 7: 11-12) "11. And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

 12. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."

     How many times did sin appear?

The savior knows what it feels like to have to go through things such as getting ditched by friends to losing a family member... He suffered pains, afflictions, temptations, sicknesses, infirmities, misfortunes, stresses, fears, etc... of "Every Kind" .. So does He know what your going through every second of every minute of every hour of every day? I would say He knows more about what we have to suffer through than we do!! Go to Him with everything, no matter how small or large the issue seems to be... And a lot of the time when others see the problems we face they think it's something small and easy to handle, but to you that problem is real!

     Christ can heal and fix you. He loves lost and broken things! Anything that seems unfair about life can and will be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Amen

For God so loved the world

    

     (I feel extremely humbled as I write about such a topic as this, knowing I can't explain well enough, in words on my own, how important the Atonement of Jesus Christ is to man kind. So I hope and pray that the Spirit will be able to testify to your hearts as you read this.)

     Unwavering love is what comes to mind when I think about that great act of selflessness. Also feelings of gratitude wash over me!

    

Ponder in your hearts and in your minds what He did for you. Let's go to (Mark 14: 32-34) "32. And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.

 33. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;

 34. And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch." Sore amazed and very heavy translated mean: amazed, awestruck, astonished. Depressed, dejected and in anguish... Jesus Christ, God of the universe, was Amazed; Astonished; Depressed..... This is the Almighty Son, The Supreme Creator, Alpha and Omega, The Great I AM, the One who made the heavens, the stars, the earth, you, and I. And He was Surprised!! Not only that, let's read (Mark 14: 35-36) "35. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

 36. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt." He was in So Much pain that He Himself asked the Father, "Take away this cup from me"..... "Nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt."

     Shortly after was our wonderful Savior crucified. And from the words of President Jack R. Christianson, "All Jesus had to do was Blink and it would have been over, His enemies would have been destroyed!" But again His love for us was unwavering so He Let them crucify Him. (Luke 23:34) "34. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Our minds can't even begin to comprehend all that He suffered. And all this for what?? So that only a Few of God's children can be saved??... No, Absolutely Not!!! But because That's how important you are to Him, That's how much He loves you, and because the worth of Every soul is great in the eyes of God! ............."For God so loved the world."

...I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

WAIT! Shhhh..... Do you hear that???

(1 Kings 19:11-12) 11. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

 12. And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

     We always hear people say God will answer your prayers through the still small voice or that God will lead us with a still small voice... Well, what does the still small voice sound like? Does it even sound like anything? And how do we know it is the still small voice?

Let's see what the scriptures say :)

(Job 32:8) 8. But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

     There is a spirit in man and we receive inspiration from God to give us understanding.

(D&C 8:2) 2. Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

(D&C 11:3) 13. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;

     We receive inspiration of God in our mind and in our heart by the Holy Ghost.

(2 Nephi 32:5) 5. For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.

(Moroni 10:5) 5. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

     By this power we receive the inspiration.

(Galatians 5:22-23) 22. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

 23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

     Alright.. We've discovered that God uses a still small voice to lead, guide, and answer His people!  And that the still small voice is inspiration given by the Holy Ghost, who delivers the messgae to our minds and our hearts, which is accompanied by feelings of love, joy, peace, goodness, etc...

     So to end I would like to leave you with a quote, " To hear is to doubt; to see is to deceive; but to feel is to believe." I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ Amen! :)

Feed My.......... Alpaca??

       How often do we get caught up with work, family, bills, friends, emergencies, vacations, etc..?? Life gets very busy! And sometimes we feel as if our plate is way too full of things to do. It's stressful, I know!! But how often do we spend our time being a Disciple of the Lord? Or in other words, a follower of Jesus Christ.

John 21: 15-17 says,

     "15: So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs."

     "16: He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep."

     "17: He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep."

So in reference to the fish the Savior asks 3 times, "lovest thou me more than these?" If so, "feed my sheep" .. Just as sheep (or Alpacas) :) need constant nurturing, likewise do we and our Brothers and Sisters need constant nurturing. If we truly love the Savior then we must "feed his sheep" (or Alpacas).. Always look for opportunities to serve one another and to spread the Gospel.

-If the world gives you Alpacas, feed the Alpacas haha :)