The substance for things hoped for, all my life I have grown up listening to people talk about "Faith". The older I got the more I understood what it meant. What is Faith to me?! Well like the scripture states, it is Hope. To me Faith means many things, it means to believe, Hope and to truly know with all my heart that what I believe is TRUE. My Faith in Heavenly Father is all that. I have Faith in the Lord, not because my parents told me or because that is what I was told in church. But I have Faith because I have learned to have a relationship with my Savior and Lord. I have asked for and received personal revelation giving me the certainty that what I believe is true. Through Prayer, Obedience and the scriptures I have been able to have Faith.
In Alma 32:21 it states......" And now as I said concerning faith—afaith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye bhope for things which are cnot seen, which are true." I do not have a perfect understanding of the Gospel or even life itself. But I do have Faith in that the Lord loves me and has a plan for me. I trust him and know that he will guide me, and protect me on my Journey. Faith is not something we can get from one day to another. Faith is not instantly developed....rather Faith is slowly "cultivated"...Just like it Alma says in chapter 30:40-43....."But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and withapatience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree bspringing up unto everlasting life.
42 And because of your adiligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the bfruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst. 43 Then, my brethren, ye shall areap the brewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth cfruit unto you. We must nourish our faith, and we can do this by studying the scriptures, attending our church meetings, our obedience, attending the Temple, listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost...Just like we would take care of a plant, by watering it and making sure it gets sunlight so that it grows strong, we must too take care of our Faith. Make sure it is rooted to a strong foundation. Once we have Faith we must continue on the right path, by living a righteous life, by always knowing that our Lord is with us and will always take care of us.
In my experiences I have learned that the stronger your Faith the easier it is to fall and maybe doubt. The adversary is out to make us doubt, to make us loose faith. And the stronger our faith is the harder he tries. That is why i think it is so important to constantly nourish our faith. without it then there is no hope, No hope for eternal life, for our eternal families ...no hope for our happiness and return to Heavenly Father. And if so then why are we here?....What a dark place would it be if we had no Faith, No hope for anything better...I am grateful for all of the trials that I have gone through, it is because of my Faith that I am still here, and have been able to over come them. I have been blessed with many things. And I know that it is because of my Faith.
True faith brings miracles, visions, dreams, healings, and all the gifts of God that he gives to his Saints. By faith one obtains a remission of sins and eventually is able to dwell in God’s presence. A lack of faith leads one to despair, which comes because of iniquity (Moro. 10:22). As a member of the Church I have learned the importance of Faith, it is a vital part of life. Without it we have nothing. I am truly blessed to be able to know that Heavenly Father loves me, and has a wonderful plan laid out for me. I am not perfect, and I have a long way to go but I know that I can one day live with him again. Day by day My Faith grows and so does my Testimony.
Just like president Robert D. Hales stated in one of his talks; ..."We cannot find Enos-like faith without our own wrestle before God in prayer. I testify that the reward is worth the effort. Remember the pattern: (1) hear the word of God, spoken and written by His servants; (2) let that word sink deep into your heart; (3) hunger in your soul for righteousness; (4) obediently follow gospel laws, ordinances, and covenants; and (5) raise your voice in mighty prayer and supplication, asking in faith to know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I promise that if you do these things sincerely and unceasingly, the words Christ spoke to His disciples will be fulfilled in your life: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” 29
When the challenges of mortality come, and they come for all of us, it may seem hard to have faith and hard to believe. At these times only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement can bring us peace, hope, and understanding. Only faith that He suffered for our sakes will give us the strength to endure to the end. When we gain this faith, we experience a mighty change of heart, and like Enos, we become stronger and begin to feel a desire for the welfare of our brothers and sisters. We pray for them, that they too will be lifted and strengthened through faith on the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ.
