8/7/2019 Faith in Jesus Christ speach
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Faith in Jesus Christ
Creemos que los primeros principios y ordenanzas del Evangelio
son: primero, Fe en Seor
Jesucristo; Segundo, Arrepentimiento; tercero, Bautismo por
inmersin para la remisin delos pecados; cuarto, imposicin de manos
para comunicar el don del Espritu Santo. (Los
artculos de fe 4).
Today Ill talk about the very first one- the faith in Jesus
Christ, the mighty faith of
miracles.
If we think we have faith, we should ask, faith in whom or faith
in what? For some, faith isnothing more than faith in themselves.
That is only self-confidence or self-centeredness.Others have faith
in faith, which is something like relying on the power of positive
thinking
or betting on the proposition that we can get what we want by
manipulating the powerswithin us.
President Dallin H. Oaks in General conference April 1994
states: The kind of faith thatincludes trust in the Lord stands in
contrast to many imitations. Some people trust no one but
themselves. Some put their highest trust in a friend or another
family member, perhaps because
they feel that person is more righteous or wiser than they. But
that is not the Lords way. He told
us to put our faith and our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
For us it requires more than recognizing faith as a gospel
principle. In Bible dictionary we read: To
have faith is to have confidence in something or someone (Bible
Dictionary, Faith, 669). True
faith must be centered in Jesus Christ. Faith is a principle of
action and of power (Bible
Dictionary, 670). It requires us to do, not just to believe.
President Kevin W Pearson in session of
General conference April 2009 says: Faith is a spiritual gift
from God that comes through the Holy
Ghost. It requires a correct understanding and knowledge of
Jesus Christ, His divine attributes and
perfect character, His teachings, Atonement, Resurrection, and
priesthood power. Obedience to
these principles develops complete trust in Him and His ordained
servants and assurance of His
promised blessings.
In the book The teachings of Spencer W Kimball we read: In faith
we plan the seed, and soon we
see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood
and have reversed the process.
They would have the harvest before the planting, the reward
before the service, the miracle
before the faith. President Kimball adds Faith must come first,
than follows knowledge. Faith,
then the miracle.
So how do we have a mighty faith and put the things back into
the right places? Our desire, works,
sacrifice and obedience have a crucial role in the process. Lets
first talk a little bit of a role of our
desire. Our faith may be measured by the amount of time we spend
thinking about what we
desire- because we get what we ask for. The Lord gives us what
we truly want most- especially
8/7/2019 Faith in Jesus Christ speach
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when we want what the Lord wants. Moroni wrote, I know that thou
workest unto the children of
men according to their faithWherefore thou workest after menhave
faith (Ether 12:29-30).
Talking further about our works, our faith may be measured by
the effort we spend on obtaining
our desire. We show our faith by our works. That is what James
taught. He illustrated it with the
example of the great patriarch Abraham: Was not Abraham our
father justified by works, whenhe had offered Isaac his son upon
the altar. Seest thou how faith wrought his works, and by works
was faith made perfect? ye see then how that by works a man is
justified, and not by faith only
(James 2:21-24).
The author of the book 8 Mighty changes God wants for you before
you get to heavenD. Kelly
Ogden clarifies the meaning of the sacrifice as a part of faith,
To exercise the faith we must be
willing to sacrifice, to give up anything the Lord may require
of us. The Prophet Joseph Smith in
Lectures on Faith wrote, A religion that does not require the
sacrifice of all things never has
power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and
salvation. We may not literally have
to give up all our earthly possessions, but we have to be
willing to sacrifice whatever the lord may
ask. Abraham, Lehi, and modern missionaries are examples: when
they are called by the Lord to
do so, they leave behind every person and everything they have
ever known, and they go
anywhere the Lord sends them. Lord calls each of us to go a
couple of blocks to do our visiting and
home teaching. The sacrifices he requires of us, for our own
good, include taking the time to pray
and study the scriptures, giving up food and drink to fulfill
the wonderful law of the fast, giving up
time for our own pleasures to go to the temple and serve others.
These works and sacrifices show
our faith in our Savior Jesus Christ.
And the last thing I will share with you is the role of the
obedience. According to the scriptures,
the results of mighty faith are mighty miracles: God has
provided a means that man, through
faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great
benefit to his fellow beings.
(Mosiah 8:18). Mighty faith can also result in mighty changes.
When I was an investigator, my best
friend who was a member, once told me that if I struggle with
faith in Jesus Christ, I should read a
Book of Mormon every day so I can become to know him, to love
him and to develop faith in him.
Thats what I did. I started to read the Book of Mormon every
single day. It changed my heart and
let meto hear the spirit if the church is true. And I did
receive the answer. I was attending a singles
ward every single Sunday before I got baptized maybe month and a
half. In one of the sacrament
meetings the bishop Canfield gave a speech about being worthy of
partaking sacrament. At that
moment I knew what I had to do. I knew so clearly that only by
getting baptized I will be worthy to
partake the sacrament. Since that day I know what the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ means in my life. I
know that this is the only church on the earth which represents
the true church of Jesus Christ
whichhe established when he was on the earth. I enjoy the
blessings of it every single day. I know
that Thomas S Monson is the prophet and receives the revelations
for us constantly. I know that
the faith in Jesus Christ and repentance will bring me closer to
the eternal life with my wonderful
husband and hopefully my family who are not members. I love the
gospel and share these things
with you in the sacred name of our savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.
