Gospel Principles
Unit 6: The Gospel of Jesus Christ
Chapter 18: Faith in Jesus Christ
Concept 3.2: How Can We Increase Our Faith in Jesus Christ? (split in two parts, very long section.)
"We can also increase our faith by praying to Heavenly Father about our hopes, desires, and needs (Alma 34:17-25 "17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.
22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies .
23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all alma/34/23c">righteousness .
24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.
25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase."
But we must not suppose that all we have to do is ask. We are told in the Scriptures that "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (James 2:17). The following story is about a man whose faith was shown by his works.
This man wanted to study the Scriptures , but he could not read. He prayed for Heavenly Father to help him learn to read. In time a teacher came to his village, and he asked the teacher to help him. He learned the alphabet. He studied sounds and learned to put the letters together to make words. Soon he was reading simple words. The more he practiced, the more he learned. He thanked the Lord for sending the teacher and for helping him learn to read. The man has increased his faith, humility, and knowledge to such a degree that he has served as a branch president in the Church.
President Spencer W. Kimball explained: "There must be works with faith. How foolish it would be to ask the Lord to give us knowledge, but how wise to ask the Lord's help to acquire knowledge, to study constructively, to think clearly, and to retain things that we have learned" (Faith Proceeds the Miracle, p. 205).
Faith involves doing all we can to bring about the things we hope and pray for. President Kimball said: "In faith we plant the seed, and soon we see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood and have reversed the process". He continued by explaining that many of us want to have health and strength with out keeping the health laws. We want to have prosperity without paying our tithes. We want to be close to the Lord but don't want to fast and pray. We want to have rain in due season and to have peace in the land without observing the Sabbath as a holy day and without keeping the other commandments of the Lord. (see Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 4.)
An important way to increase our faith is to hear and study the word of the Lord. We hear the word of the Lord at our Church meetings. We can study his word in Scriptures .
"And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith." (D&C 88:118).
Discussion
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Why do you think President Kimball said, "faith involves doing everything we can"? How can we strengthen our faith? (Pray, fast, study the Scriptures, obey commandments.)
Will you do these things to strengthen your faith?"