"Fasting, coupled with mighty prayer, is powerful. It can fill our minds
with the revelations of the Spirit. It can strengthen us against times of temptation."
My beloved brethren and sisters, I feel as you do that Elder David B. Haight is
an inspiration to the entire Church and so many others.
Two thousand years ago, upon the sand and stones of Galilee walked a man that
few recognized for who He truly was: the Creator of worlds, the Redeemer, the
Son of God.
A lawyer approached Him and asked, "What is the greatest commandment?"
Jesus answered: "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.
"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."1
Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord has established His Church once
again among men. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, restored to
the earth in these latter days, is centered on those commandments the Savior
proclaimed as the greatest: to love our Heavenly Father and to love our fellowmen.
Our Savior said, "If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments."2
One way we show our love is through observance of the law of the fast. This
law is based upon a primary yet profound principle—a simple practice—that,
if observed with the proper spirit, will help us draw closer to our Heavenly
Father and strengthen our faith, while at the same time help us ease the burdens
of others.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members are encouraged
to fast whenever their faith needs special fortification and to fast regularly
once each month on fast day. On that day, we go without eating or drinking for
two consecutive meals, commune with our Heavenly Father, and contribute a fast
offering to help the poor. The offering should be at least equal to the value
of the food that would have been eaten. Typically, the first Sunday of each
month is designated as fast Sunday. On that day, members who are physically
able are encouraged to fast, pray, bear witness to the truthfulness of the gospel,
and pay a generous fast offering. "The law of the fast," taught Elder Milton
R. Hunter, "is probably as old as the human family. . . . In
ancient times, prophet-leaders repeatedly gave to church members the commandment
to observe the law of fasting and praying."3
We observe that in the scriptures, fasting almost always is linked with prayer.
Without prayer, fasting is not complete fasting; it's simply going hungry. If
we want our fasting to be more than just going without eating, we must lift
our hearts, our minds, and our voices in communion with our Heavenly Father.
Fasting, coupled with mighty prayer, is powerful. It can fill our minds with
the revelations of the Spirit. It can strengthen us against times of temptation.
Fasting and prayer can help develop within us courage and confidence. It can
strengthen our character and build self-restraint and discipline. Often when
we fast, our righteous prayers and petitions have greater power. Testimonies
grow. We mature spiritually and emotionally and sanctify our souls. Each time
we fast, we gain a little more control over our worldly appetites and passions.
Fasting and prayer can help us in our families and in our daily work. They
can help us magnify our callings in the Church. President Ezra Taft Benson taught:
"If you want to get the spirit of your office and calling as a new president
of a quorum, a new high [councilor], a new bishop [or, I might say,
a Relief Society president]—try fasting for a period. I don't mean just
missing one meal, then eating twice as much the next meal. I mean really fasting,
and praying during that period. It will do more to give you the real spirit
of your office and calling and permit the Spirit to operate through you than
anything I know."4
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: "Let this be an [example] to all saints,
and there will never be any lack for bread: When the poor are starving, let
those who have, fast one day and give what they otherwise would have eaten to
the bishops for the poor, and every one will abound for a long time. . . .
And so long as the saints will all live to this principle with glad hearts and
cheerful countenances they will always have an abundance."5
Book of Mormon prophets taught the law of the fast: "Behold, now it came to
pass that the people of Nephi were exceedingly rejoiced, because the Lord had
again delivered them out of the hands of their enemies; therefore they gave
thanks unto the Lord their God; yea, and they did fast much and pray much, and
they did worship God with exceedingly great joy."6
The powerful combination of fasting and prayer is exemplified by the four sons
of Mosiah. They faced overwhelming odds, yet worked miracles in bringing thousands
of the Lamanites to a knowledge of the truth. They shared the secret of their
success. They "searched the scriptures" and "they had given themselves to much
prayer and fasting." What was the result? "They had the spirit of prophecy,
and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and
authority of God."7
When we fast, brethren and sisters, we feel hunger. And for a short time, we
literally put ourselves in the position of the hungry and the needy. As we do
so, we have greater understanding of the deprivations they might feel. When
we give to the bishop an offering to relieve the suffering of others, we not
only do something sublime for others, but we do something wonderful for ourselves
as well. King Benjamin taught that as we give of our substance to the poor,
we retain "a remission of [our] sins from day to day."8
Another Book of Mormon prophet, Amulek, explained that often our prayers have
no power because we have turned our backs on the needy.9
If you feel that Heavenly Father is not listening to your petitions, ask yourself
if you are listening to the cries of the poor, the sick, the hungry, and the
afflicted all around you.
Some look at the overwhelming need in the world and think, What can I do
that could possibly make a difference?
I will tell you plainly one thing you can do. You can live the law of the fast
and contribute a generous fast offering.
Fast offerings are used for one purpose only: to bless the lives of those in
need. Every dollar given to the bishop as a fast offering goes to assist the
poor. When donations exceed local needs, they are passed along to fulfill the
needs elsewhere.
As an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, I have traveled the world testifying
of Him. I come before you today to bear another witness—a witness to the
suffering and need of millions of our Heavenly Father's children. Far too many
in the world today—thousands upon thousands of families—experience
want each day. They hunger. They ache with cold. They suffer from sickness.
They grieve for their children. They mourn for the safety of their families.
These people are not strangers and foreigners but children of our Heavenly Father.
They are our brothers and our sisters. They are "fellowcitizens with the saints,
and of the household of God."10 Their fervent prayers
ascend to heaven pleading for respite, for relief from suffering. At this very
hour on this very day, some members even in our Church are praying for the miracle
that would allow them to surmount the suffering that surrounds them. If, while
we have the means to do so, we do not have compassion for them and spring to
their aid, we are in danger of being among those the prophet Moroni spoke of
when he said, "Behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel . . . more
than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted."11
How well I remember my father, the bishop of our ward, filling my small red
wagon with food and clothing and then directing me—as a deacon in the Church—to
pull the wagon behind me and visit the homes of the needy in our ward.
Often, when fast-offering funds were depleted, my father would take money from
his own pocket to supply the needy in his flock with food that would keep them
from going hungry. Those were the days of the Great Depression, and many families
were suffering.
I remember visiting one family in particular: a sickly mother, an unemployed
and discouraged father, and five children with pallid faces, all disheartened
and hungry. I remember the gratitude that beamed in their faces when I walked
up to their door with my wagon nearly spilling over with needed supplies. I
remember how the children smiled. I remember how the mother wept. And I remember
how the father stood, head bowed, unable to speak.
These impressions and many others forged within me a love for the poor, a love
for my father who served as a shepherd to his flock, and a love for the faithful
and generous members of the Church who sacrificed so much to help relieve the
suffering of others.
Brothers and sisters, in a sense, you too can bring to a needy family a wagon
brimming with hope. How? By paying a generous fast offering.
Parents, teach your children the joys of a proper fast. And how do you do that?
The same as with any gospel principle—let them see you live it by your
example. Then help them live the law of the fast themselves, little by little.
They can fast and they can also pay a fast offering if they choose. As we teach
our children to fast, it can give them the power to resist temptations along
their life's journey.
How much should we pay in fast offerings? My brothers and sisters, the measure
of our offering to bless the poor is a measure of our gratitude to our Heavenly
Father. Will we, who have been blessed so abundantly, turn our backs on those
who need our help? Paying a generous fast offering is a measure of our willingness
to consecrate ourselves to relieve the suffering of others.
Brother Marion G. Romney, who was the bishop of our ward when I was called
on a mission and who later served as a member of the First Presidency of the
Church, admonished: "Be liberal in your giving, that you yourselves may grow.
Don't give just for the benefit of the poor, but give for your own welfare.
Give enough so that you can give yourself into the kingdom of God through consecrating
of your means and your time."12
The deacons in the Church have a sacred obligation to visit the home of every
member to collect fast offerings for the poor. President Thomas S. Monson once
related to me how he, as a young bishop, began to sense that the young deacons
in his ward were complaining about having to get up so early to collect fast
offerings. Instead of calling the young men to task, this wise bishop took them
to Welfare Square in Salt Lake City.
There, the boys met a disabled woman operating the switchboard. They saw a
blind man placing labels on cans, and an elderly brother stocking shelves. As
a result of what they saw, President Monson said, a penetrating silence came
over the boys as they witnessed the end result of their efforts to collect the
sacred funds that aided the needy and provided employment for those who otherwise
would be idle.13
As members of the Church, we have a sacred responsibility to assist those in
need and to help relieve their heavy burdens. Observance of the law of the fast
can help all people of all nations. President Gordon B. Hinckley asked: "What
would happen if the principles of fast day and the fast offering were observed
throughout the world[?] The hungry would be fed, the naked clothed, the
homeless sheltered. . . . A new measure of concern and unselfishness
would grow in the hearts of people everywhere."14
Fasting in the proper spirit and in the Lord's way will energize us spiritually,
strengthen our self-discipline, fill our homes with peace, lighten our hearts
with joy, fortify us against temptation, prepare us for times of adversity,
and open the windows of heaven.
Listen to the rich blessings prophesied for those who live the law of the fast:
"Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall
say, Here I am. . . . The Lord shall guide thee continually,
and satisfy thy soul in drought, . . . and thou shalt be
like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."15
As we live the law of the fast, we not only draw nearer to God through prayer,
but we feed the hungry and care for the poor. Each time we do so, we fulfill
both of the great commandments upon which "hang all the law and the prophets."16
I know that Jesus the Christ lives. I know that President Gordon B. Hinckley
is our prophet, seer, and revelator. And I bear solemn witness of this reality.
I also bear witness that He who had compassion for the "least of these"17
looks with love and compassion upon those today who "succor the weak, lift up
the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees."18
I raise my voice in testimony and promise along with the great Apostles that
have preceded us that those who live the law of the fast will surely discover
the rich blessings that attend this holy principle. Of this I bear solemn witness
in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Previous
