Faith is a Muscle You Exercise

Just as the body needs to keep in shape so does the Spirit. Bottom line is you cannot keep your spirit in shape and in check without exercising your spirit by Faith. Church is like a gym. The Holy Ghost is your personal trainer. Reading and applying commandments is like your work out and eating healthy is like learning true doctrines. Just as we have a body that needs our care and respect so do we have a spirit that can get weak and have problems without proper care and respect. Work it out!

Do What You Want

Sometimes, I find myself confused over the things I want to do and the things I should do. This might be startling but I honestly believe its better to do the thing you want more than the thing you think you should. Because, you can't do a good thing and have it count with God unless you have real intent. Otherwise its not an accepted offering. Moroni says "except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing" -7:6 and this popular scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-29 says-

For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.
Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;
For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.
But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.

Often I think I should do this or do that and will look for clues but I find that sometimes its just because I'm lazy and don't really care either way but still want to do the right thing. Bu,t "For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward."

I knew a lot of missionaries in my mission who didn't want to be there. They didn't believe and were only there to appease either their parents or to just have that self righteous title of being a "Returned Missionary" and I wish we could have returned them. I appreciated that they did something they thought they should but what does it profit anyone to do something without real intent or with secret intents? Its mockery.

Do what you want. Do it with real intent. Don't take the sacrament unless you do it with the proper preparation and mentality for it to actually profit you. Remember it is not by works you are saved but by faith. You could be a great person but if you don't have faith then no amount of good choices will save you or give you God's approval.

Doctrine and Covenants 8: 10- "Without faith you can do nothing."

The Problem of Faith

In the science community we are always taught that results matter, that experiments, and evidences is the only way to know. It is the same with spiritual matters for to gain knowledge we must first exercise faith and be willing to experiment on the word or the spiritual promptings. James tells us that "Faith without works is dead" and Christ says something to the effect of "If ye have faith of a mustard seed ye can move mountains." This kind of faith requires our effort. But, not just any effort. Faith is a spiritual thing and thus requires spiritual effort. It requires our humility and patience.

The problem is that exercising faith is hard. It is work and it needs us to be responsible over it. If you have faith you are either growing or diminishing because it is a living thing within you. If you cast it away or neglect it, then like a plant withering in winter, you will lose what knowledge you had from your faith.

Faith is a seed that if we plant it and nourish it, then we will begin to view the evidences of it and then you can say that Jesus Christ and His teachings are what they purport to be. But, we cannot blame or call the seed a liar for not growing, if we don't plant it and nourish it.

It requires faith to turn on a light switch. It requires faith to shoot a basketball or even get out of bed in the morning. Behold, we might have knowledge but we don't have a perfect knowledge of all things and do we really know what the next moment will bring?

As Nephi said he was "led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." (1 Nephi 4:6). He didn't know beforehand but He had faith in the Spirit of God and thats really all the knowledge we must have concerning our lives- that God will guide you as you exercise faith in Him. Exercise as you would your body.

The ways to grow your faith are simple and small things but can "move mountains." Here are a few most common ones-

1. Prayer- give thanks, ask for things you need, recognize your unworthiness before God

2. Scripture Study- try to explore what they mean and why God would want you to know them

3. Attend church meetings- share experiences or learn from other's testimonies and build relationships on common beliefs

4. Ponder on teachings and how to live the commandments better- when you ponder the teachings they can more fully be put into your outlook on life and you can more easily understand their depth

5. Be mindful of spiritual promptings- the spirit will bring things to our minds that are able to guide us or help others

I know these things will bless you spiritually and give you faith that will surely yield fruit and grow strong over time.

What the Atonement and Faith in Jesus Christ Mean

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven."
-Math 5:48

"All have sinned, and come short of the glory."
-Rom 3:23

"Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him."
-Moroni 10:32

First the Lord commands us to be perfect. Then we learn that no one is perfect but Him and God. Then we learn that through Him we are perfected.

Is anyone perfect though? No, even with faith in Jesus Christ we are still prone to forget or put at naught God and His commandments from time to time. Thus, it is our duty to always strive to look to God, remember His word, and repent of our sins to be saved with God. Its not a weekend retreat or here and there belief. We can't pick and choose the times. Narrow is the road and straight is the way. Having faith in Jesus Christ means remembering Him and His greatness and our own nothingness, as King Benjamin puts it-

For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, and your worthless and fallen state—
I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—
I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world.
And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told you.

Atonement means Christ's suffering for our sins so that we won't have to but be perfected by our faith in Him. Its like if we bought something we couldn't afford and instead of going into bankruptcy we turned to someone who had enough wealth and paid for us. We sin, He pays. No one else can pay, for all have sinned and all are in debt.

Two great scripture stories to illustrate our need to depend on Christ more than ourselves or the world-

And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
-John 8:3-11

In the story, we can easily put ourselves in the place of the sinner. Satan wants us to pay for our own sins because then we are in his power. Christ makes the point that we are only to believe in Him and sin no more to be free of the chains of our sins.
If we believe in Him and strive to sin no more then He will not condemn us. So, what we can do is strive to sin no more but also realize that we aren't perfect without Him. Then, we will be perfected in Him. Satan wishes only to throw rocks at us.
Isn't it interesting as well, that He who had no sin had all the rocks throw on Him? Wherein then are we ever justified to doubt or be ungrateful to God?

And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
-Numbers 21:5-9

Once again we can easily place ourselves in the role of the sinner. But, this time the Lord sent fiery serpents to the sinners. Was that punishment? Yes, but it wasn't eternal punishment. All God wanted to do was remind us that it is through Him that we are healed and delivered from our state of uncleanliness. God can easily prove that He is right and we are wrong but what would be the point? He would rather us be righteous with Him than punish us, for our sins. Thus, He gives us this time to repent and look to God for our salvation. Notice that all the people had to do was look at the Serpent to live. Obviously, the Serpent represented Jesus Christ.

"And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal."
-Helaman 8:15

"O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever."
-Alma 37:46

The Scrabble Parable and Gifts from God

I found the greatest eternal truths in the game of Scrabble the other day. My wife and I were playing and my mind quickly thought upon the things of the Gospel and life in general.

While playing Scrabble you receive a certain amount of letters. These letters are given at random and are given to you to use the best you can. When you use the letters you are given more, so as to always have a fill of what you need in order to play the game.

Winning doesn't matter. Just as in life you can play your hardest or try your darndest but you still might lose everything. What matters then is that you do play. Sometimes I found myself not wanting to put down some letters for fear that I might give another an advantage or for fear of looking dumb and not getting enough points.

But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine danger is kindled against them.
And it shall come to pass, if they are not more faithful unto me, it shall be taken away, even that which they have. -Doctrine and Covenants 60:2-3

Part of the foundation of the United States is that "all men are created equal" and that every man may be free to pursue life, liberty and happiness. But, we are not all endowed with the same gifts or abilities or even timing as to be equal in greatness. In Scrabble you may think of a great word but just not have the letters or you may have the letters and someone else takes the word or uses it in a way that makes it impossible for you to do the same. This constant change happens in life. Each day we may find familiar surroundings but have different opportunities. We may have different ideas and use time differently. The Lord is aware which is why He asks of us to not fear or hide the talents which we are given. Use it or lose it. We may wait to do something once we are assured a great return but this is not the way to gain favor with the Lord. We must play the talents we have and play them to the maximum or they will turn to our demise.

At the end of Scrabble there is a rule that whatever letters you can't play will be taken away from your total score. I think this same condemnation applies to us in eternities. "But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world. And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also." -2 Nephi 9:30

"For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; or whosoever will save his life, shall be willing to lay it down for my sake; and if he is not willing to lay it down for my sake, he shall lose it." -Joseph Smith Translation Mark 8: 37-38:37

The gifts you have are meant to be played and thats the reason they're given. Not for points to win, or money to be lifted up in pride, but, to be played, to show gratitude toward God, for giving them. As the scripture says "if laborers in Zion labor for money, they shall perish."- 2 Ne. 26: 31

Benefit of the Doubt

Everybody is a little good and a little bad. Sometimes it seems easy to make someone out to be a bad guy, when they're not all bad, and likewise good, when they're not all good. Why do we wish to label others and judge them? Its easy. Its easier for our minds to label people, so we know how to treat them or to stay away from them. We do it to have control. But, we don't know so much.

We don't know what others are really thinking or what they are capable of doing but the Lord does. The Lord knows us best and gives us time to repent and do good.

Alma taught, "There was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead" (Alma 12:24). God has granted us chance to repent and be righteous. Should we not give others a chance as well?

Nephi said, "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things" (1 Nephi 11:17).

He also said "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do" (1 Nephi 4:6).

I think the only judgment we can truly trust is that of the Spirit. By following the Spirit we have safety in the Lord. We will be given the wisdom we need and the intelligence to manage all the crazy situations or crazy people we encounter. In the church you always hear people saying things similar to Nephi saying "I don't know why I did it but I had a feeling and was prompted" and oft times it comes to fruition that it was for the best.

Thus, its crucial that we look at others as our brothers and sisters and not enemies, for our only true enemy is sin, not the sinner. For if we hate the sinner we must hate ourselves for we are all imperfect and sinful in God's eyes. But, God sees us for who we are and thus gives us a chance to do good. Amen.