Exercise Your Faith

Faith is the very first principle of heaven. All hope of understanding God and his plan for us hinges on faith. We cannot receive answers to prayers without it. We have to have it, act on it, and get more of it. For me, one of the best analogies to understand faith and how to get more, is working out.

Regardless if you have tiny muscles, or if you are a word-class weight lifter, the only way to get more muscle is to use the ones you have. If all you can lift is 5 pounds, you start there. You keep on lifting it, keep on working with it, and eventually you can lift a little more weight. From there you keep working till you look like the Hulk and can lift whatever you want.

It's the same thing with faith. We are all at different levels. Some are spiritually strong, and some are spiritually out of shape. Those that are strong in faith enjoy peace, and assurance that everything is going to be OK; they want even more of those wonderful feelings. Those that are weak in faith experience fear and doubt. In both cases, to get more faith, they must use the faith they have; there must be action. James 2:17 says, "Even so, faith if it hath not works is dead, being alone." If all you can do is read one verse in the scriptures, you start there. You consistently read one verse a night, until pretty soon you can read two or three. From there you get stronger and start having sincere prayers. Pretty soon you are actively participating in church. All the while you are growing closer to Christ, and feeling the assurance and confidence that He is there and loves you.

In the Book of Mormon, Alma 32:27, it says, "But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."

Believing in Christ and trusting in His promises is ultimately what makes this life worth living. This is how we come to believe that we can be clean from sin, live again, and be with our families forever. Without that belief, we are here just to live and die,... and that's it. Without faith there cannot be hope. If you want to be happy, seek to gain faith in the Savior. Live righteously and he will bless you with increasing faith. You will feel His power more and more, until you know that He will make good on his promises. You will enjoy the satisfaction of being spiritually fit. I have experienced these blessings in my own life, and I know they will work in yours. I know that Jesus Christ will do everything He told us He would if we but have faith, and act on it. Decide what you can do to exercise your faith today, and then do it!

Little By Little

I learned a valuable lesson when I was riding my bike not long ago. As I expound, I am talking about my experiences serving my mission, but the principle can apply to a wide array of topics in life.


When I came out on my mission to Florida, I wanted to be the best. I wanted to be as good as my trainers who had both been out over a year. I wanted to know the scriptures, know how to teach, and know how to talk to people as well as they did. It bothered me so bad that I could not just jump forward and instantly have the level of skill that they did. My frustration at myself started mounting. I just couldn't stand my faults.


We were out riding our bikes one day. At the bottom of a massive hill, we mounted our bikes. My bike was in the highest gear it could be, so, when I got on and tried to pedal, I went nowhere. A little irritated, I pushed harder and harder trying to get rolling. Despite my effort, I didn't budge at all. In fact, I just kind of teetered over.
There was no way I could start in so high a gear.


So, I downshifted. I started rolling. Little by little I picked up speed until I could shift up one gear. From there, I gained a little more speed and shifted again. Eventually, I made it all the way to the highest gear that I had earlier failed to ride on. And that's when it hit me. It was not only at the bottom of that hill I tried and failed to start in high-gear, I was also trying to do it in my experience as a missionary.


After that, my faults started bothering me less and less. I knew I had to start in a lower gear before I could build up to my full potential. The skills I want to develop are coming little by little. Every now and then, I can shift gears and move at a quicker pace. I am building to my potential.


A scripture from the Book of Mormon summarizes my thoughts. Mosiah 4:27 says, "And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order." 


So whether it be missionary work, a career, family life, or whatever else, don't try to run faster than you have strength. Don't expect unrealistic things from yourself. Be patient with your faults, and just try to improve little by little, and soon you will reach your full potential.

Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself

When Jesus was once among the Pharisees, one of them who was a lawyer wanted to test Jesus' knowledge in an attempt to trick him, or find fault with him. He asked mockingly, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" Or in other words, "Which of all of the commandments is the most important?" The answer that Christ gives is simple and yet so profound.

First he says, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment." He goes on to say, "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

What he meant by that is that our obedience to all the other commandments all comes down to whether or not we love God, and love others. If we love God, we will not take his name in vain or put any other gods before him. A love for God will lead us to keep the Sabbath Day holy. And if we love others, we will not steal, cheat, lie, kill or anything like it. What amazing wisdom the Savior had, to sum up all the commandments into two simple sentences.

There is a piece of this puzzle that is often overlooked, however. Reading His answer, we know that we have to love God and our neighbors. But there is more to it. "Love thy neighbor as thyself." It does not do us any good to love somebody as ourself, if we don't first love and respect our ownself.

If you do not love yourself, take a step back and try to understand who you really are. You are a child of God! You are unique and individual; you are special to Him. You have been blessed with unique gifts and talents. The most powerful being in the universe is your father and wants the best things for you. What is not to love?

If we do love ourselves and have self-confidence, and then have that same love for others, life itself will gain more meaning. We will naturally gravitate to that which is good and holy. The world will become a better place. After all, as Jesus well knows, love makes the world go round.