Workshop Summary

1. Introduction
1. President Hinckley said, "Of all our needs, I think the greatest is an increase of faith."¹
   
2. How would an increase of faith in Jesus Christ help you with the needs you have in your personal life and in your calling?
3. Why do you think our prophet tells us that our greatest need is an increase of faith?
4. This workshop focuses on three principles:
   1. True faith is centered in Jesus Christ.
   2. Faith grows as it is tested and nurtured.
   3. Faith leads to action and power.
2. True Faith Is Centered in Jesus Christ
1. What Scriptures on faith do you love? What do those scriptures teach you about faith?
2. Doctrine and Covenants 20:29 teaches that our faith is centered in Jesus Christ: “And we know that all men must repent and believe on the name of Jesus Christ, and worship the Father in his name, and endure in faith on his name to the end, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.”
3. In the July 2006 Ensign, President Hinckley bore his testimony of the Godhead. He bore testimony of Jesus Christ. “I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the eternal, living God . . . 
   . . .  He is the Savior and the Redeemer of the world. I declare His divinity without equivocation or compromise. I speak His name in reverence and wonder . . . I worship Him as I worship His Father, in spirit and truth. I thank Him and kneel before His wounded feet and hands and side, amazed at the love He offers me.”²
   
3. Faith Grows as It Is Tested and Nurtured
   
   1. President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “As each man or woman walks the way of life there come dark seasons of doubt, of discouragement, of disillusionment. In such circumstances, a few see ahead by the light of faith, but many stumble along in the darkness and even become lost . . . 
           Long ago I worked for one of our railroads whose tracks threaded the passes through these western mountains. I frequently rode the trains. It was in the days when there were steam locomotives. Those great monsters of the rails were huge and fast and dangerous. I often wondered how the engineer dared the long journey through the night. Then I came to realize that it was not one long journey, but rather a constant continuation of a short journey. The engine had a powerful headlight that made bright the way for a distance of 400 or 500 yards. The engineer saw only that distance, and that was enough, because it was constantly before him all through the night into the dawn of the new day.
           . . . And so it is with our eternal journey. We take one step at a time. In doing so we reach toward the unknown, but faith lights the way. If we will cultivate that faith, we shall never walk in darkness.”³
      
      1. What are some tests of faith in the lives of your sisters that cause them to doubt, to become discouraged or disillusioned?
      2. Tests are part of our mortal experience, we know that. All of us have had tests of faith where we had to reach toward the unknown—the darkness—and walk in the light of faith.
      3. Share experiences that were a test of faith.
   2. The Bible Dictionary confirms what we have just experienced, that "faith is kindled by hearing the testimonies of those who have faith."⁴
      
      1. How has hearing the testimonies of your Relief Society sisters bolstered your faith in Jesus Christ?
   3. The Relief Society's role in nurturing faith.
      1. Here are two questions that may be similar to the questions you discuss in your presidency meetings. As you hear them, think about specific sisters in your wards and stakes.
         1. How can we help bolster the faith of the mother who has a family member facing challenges she cannot change?
         2. How can we increase our sisters' faith so they can deal with the hard things in their lives?
      2. How can we nurture our sisters' faith in Christ through the following programs?
         1. Welfare
         2. Literacy
         3. Home, family, and personal enrichment meetings and activities
         4. Transition
         5. Sunday lessons
         6. Visiting teaching
      3. Remember that the programs of Relief Society are tools for us to use—they, by themselves, do not bolster faith. The sisters do that for each other. As we provide opportunities for our sisters to increase their faith, we also are strengthening their families.

4. Faith Leads to Action and Power
   1. "Faith is a principle of action and of power."⁵
      
   2. Share a time when you had to act with faith in your calling.
   3. After baptism, we received the gift of the Holy Ghost. As we keep the baptismal covenant, we are promised "that [we] may always have his Spirit to be with [us]."⁶ That is the promise.
   4. Elder David A. Bednar said, "As we then strive to keep ourselves clean and unspotted from the world, we become worthy vessels in whom the Spirit of the Lord can always dwell  . . . and thereby qualify for the blessings of direction, instruction, and protection that are essential in these latter days."⁷
      1. How have you felt the power of the Holy Ghost bless you with direction, instruction, or protection in your life as you acted in faith?
   5. The promise of Moroni 7:33 gives assurance for us individually and as leaders.

5. Conclusion
   1. Let's go back to the question asked at the beginning of the workshop: Why do you think our prophet tells us that our greatest need is an increase of faith?
   2. Ponder what you will do differently in your personal life as a result of the three points we discusssed today.
      1. True faith is centered in Jesus Christ.
      2. Faith grows as it is tested and nurtured.
      3. Faith leads to action and power.

Notes

1. President Gordon B. Hinckley, "Lord, Increase our Faith," Ensign, Nov. 1987, 51.
2. President Gordon B. Hinckley, "In These Three I Believe," Ensign, July 2006, 3.
3. President Gordon B. Hinckley, "We Walk By Faith," Ensign, May 2002, 72.
4. Bible Dictionary, "Faith," 669.
5. Bible Dictionary, "Faith," 670.
6. Moroni 4:3.
7. Elder David A. Bednar, "That We May Always Have His Spirit to Be With Us," Ensign May 2006, 72.