Elder L. Whitney Clayton
Of the Seventy
"We promote the process of strengthening our faith when we do what
is right—increased faith always follows."
On one occasion, the Savior encountered a great multitude of people who
were listening to a discussion between His disciples and the scribes. He then
asked the scribes, "What question ye with them?"
A certain man, kneeling down to Him, answered that he had asked the disciples
to cast an evil spirit out of his son, but "they could not." The father
begged Him, saying, "But if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on
us, and help us.
"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to
him that believeth.
"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears,
Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."
The Savior then rebuked the evil spirit and charged it to "come out of
him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and
came out of him."1
All of us have come face-to-face with difficult, even desperate hours, when
with tears we have fallen on our knees and pled as did this father, "Lord,
I believe; help thou mine unbelief."
Just as the Savior stood ready to help this father whose son was "sore
vexed,"2 so is He ready
to help our unbelief today so that with faith we can survive our mortal struggles
and "come off conqueror."3
Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and is
more than mere belief.4 Faith
is a "hope for things which are not seen, which are true."5
"Faith always moves its possessor to . . . physical
and mental action."6 "To
have faith in Jesus Christ means to have such trust in him that we obey whatever
he commands. There is no faith where there is no obedience."7
Faith comes from hearing the word of God and is a spiritual gift.8
Faith increases when we not only hear, but act on the word of God as well, in
obedience to the truths we have been taught.9
Mary's reply to the angel's announcement provides an excellent example. Mary
was told by the angel Gabriel: "Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring
forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be
called the Son of the Highest." Mary then obediently said to Gabriel, "Behold
the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."10
On another occasion, "Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren,
Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for
they were fishers.
"And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
"And they straightway left their nets, and followed him."11
After the Savior's Resurrection, Peter and other disciples went "a fishing."
However, "that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now
come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus."
He told them to "cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall
find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude
of fishes."12
We find similar faith-developing obedience in the life of the Prophet Joseph
Smith. Following the angel Moroni's all-night-long visits with him in September
1823, Joseph went to work in the morning with his father. Having been awake
nearly all night, he "found [his] strength so exhausted as to render
[him] entirely unable" to perform "the necessary labors of the
day." His father told him to return home, and he "started with the
intention of going to the house; but . . . [his] strength
entirely failed [him], and [he] fell helpless on the ground, and for
a time was quite unconscious of anything." When he awoke, he "looked
up, and beheld the same messenger standing over [his] head, surrounded
by light as before." Joseph was commanded to "go to [his] father
and tell him of the vision and commandments which [he] had received."
Although understandably weary, he obediently "returned to [his] father
in the field, and rehearsed the whole matter to him." His father replied
"that it was of God, and told [him] to go and do as commanded."
Exhausted but obedient, Joseph then "left the field, and went to the place
where the messenger had told [him] the plates were deposited, a journey
of several miles."13
Each day we decide what we will do and what we will not do, among myriad alternatives.
When we choose to obey the commandments cheerfully as our first priority, neither
murmuring about nor measuring the things He commands, we become the handmaids
of the Lord and fishers of men and cast our nets on the right side of our own
ships. We simply go and do the things the Lord has commanded, even when we are
weary, trusting that He will help us to do exactly as He asks.14
As we do so, the Lord helps our unbelief, and our faith becomes powerful, vibrant,
and unshakable. The Prophet Joseph wrote from Liberty Jail, "Therefore,
dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power;
and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance [ or faith], to see
the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."15
No matter who we are or where we live, there is much about our daily lives
that is routine and repetitive. As we go about this dailiness, we must be deliberate
about doing the things that matter most. These must-do things include making
room first for the minimum daily requirements of faithful behavior: true obedience,
humble prayer, serious scripture study, and selfless service to others. No other
daily vitamins strengthen the muscles of our faith as fast as these actions.
We also must remember that genuine fasting fosters strong faith. This is especially
important as we faithfully seek to fix deeply embedded character flaws which
go "not out but by prayer and fasting."16
Developing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a step-by-step, line-upon-line,
and precept-upon-precept process. We promote the process of strengthening our
faith when we do what is right—increased faith always follows as a consequence.17
If we exercise our faith daily with prayer, study, and obedience, the Savior
helps our unbelief, and our faith becomes a shield to "quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked."18
Alma taught that we may "withstand every temptation of the devil, with
[ our] faith on the Lord Jesus Christ."19
However, we can neither ignore nor reject the essential ingredients of faith
and then expect to reap a rich harvest.
We see countless examples of faith developing in Church members today. As young
men, young women, and mature couples accept calls to serve missions, as couples
prepare themselves in virtue to be married in the holy temple, as parents train
up children in the way they should go,20
they strengthen their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As we keep the Sabbath
day holy, magnify callings, pay tithes and offerings, welcome new members into
Church circles, and invite friends and neighbors to learn gospel truths, we
strengthen our faith. When we choose to abandon our sins and repent willingly,
and when we fall to our knees in prayer in good times as well as in turbulent
times, we develop strong faith.
We then find occurring in our own lives an experience described in the Book
of Mormon: "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger
and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ,
unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying
and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because
of their yielding their hearts unto God."21
I know that the Savior lives and that He helps our unbelief. In the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.
NOTES
1. See Mark
9:14–29. See also Matt.
17:14–21.
2. Matt.
17:15.
3. D&C
10:5.
4. See A
of F 1:4; Bible Dictionary, "Faith," 669–70.
5. Alma
32:21; see also Heb.
11:1; Ether
12:6.
6. Bible Dictionary, 670.
7. Gospel Principles (1997), 118.
8. See Rom.
10:17; Moro.
10:11; Bible Dictionary, 669.
9. Bible Dictionary, 669–70.
10. Luke
1:31–32, 38.
11. Matt.
4:18–20.
12. John
21:2–4, 6.
13. JS—H
1:47–50.
14. See 1
Ne. 3:7.
15. D&C
123:17.
16. Matt.
17:21; see Mark
9:29.
17. See Bible Dictionary, 669.
18. D&C
27:17.
19. Alma
37:33.
20. See Prov.
22:6.
21. Hel.
3:35.
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