Faith and Things Unseen
- itcametopass
- Dec 26, 2018
- 3 min read
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we always talk about faith and its importance; sometimes this topic can feel ambiguous. We talk of faith, but what is it really?
Is faith a blind belief? Is it something unattainable?
The answer to both of these questions is no.
Firstly, faith is not a blind belief. Faith is not blind because it is built on a foundation of personal experiences that testify to the reality of God’s existence. These personal experiences do not have to be groundbreaking to qualify. You don’t have to see an angel or have a miraculous vision to have faith. Personal experiences that testify of God’s existence can include a feeling of comfort in a time of chaos, receiving an answer to a prayer, or any tender mercy we recognize. Faith is also built on a desire to believe and a “hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21). Hope is usually talked about with skepticism, but in truth, it is an even more powerful source of belief. For example, in the Book of Mormon, Laman and Lemuel saw angels and witnessed miracles on several occasions and yet they still did not have faith in God. This goes to show that even seeing an angel cannot compel someone to have faith who does not first have the desire or hope.
Secondly, faith is attainable, and not merely a gift for a select few. Faith is not reserved only for the Twelve Apostles or the Prophets of old. It’s available to you and to me today. We access faith as we act on our hope and desire to choose the right. Faith is like a muscle that must be exercised in order to strengthen it.
A while ago I was experiencing a trial of faith. I felt far from God and was having trouble finding the motivation to pray. Here’s the deal though, you can’t expect to build your faith if you aren’t doing the basics: praying, reading your scriptures, and going to church. I had the desire, but my hope was waning and I felt like I was floundering without a life preserver. Eventually, I cried out to God in prayer, and I mean like actually crying; I was on my knees and poured out my frustration to Heavenly Father. Couldn’t He see that I needed His help?
Why couldn’t He just fix it all?
Heavenly Father knew that I needed His help, but He couldn’t solve all my problems because then I wouldn’t be able to grow. I did receive help from God during this trial, but I still needed to put forth my best effort to become better than before. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time praying: on my knees, in my car, or while I walked. I did my best to “work out [my] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). That’s not to say that it was easy to rebuild my faith--it wasn’t, and in fact, I’m still trying to build my faith. The process of building your faith is not ever finished. I testify of the truthfulness of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
-Alyssa Dove
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