FAITH
"If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me."1 "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed…nothing shall be impossible unto you."2 According to Mormon belief, faith is a gift from God and one that must be cultivated on a daily basis to keep strong.
The definition of the word faith is reiterated by the Apostle Paul in Hebrews: "…Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." And the Book of Mormon Prophet Alma explained, "If ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." How then is faith cultivated, in whom should faith be centered around, and why is faith an important part of our mortal existence?
Faith must be centered in the Lord Jesus Christ and in trusting Him completely. It means, trusting in His infinite power, intelligence, and love and believing in His teachings. It means believing that even though we don't always understand all things, He does. It is through the Atonement of Christ that He has experienced all of our hardships, pains and infirmities. He knows how to help us rise above all of our daily afflictions if we will only have faith in Him. He counsels us in the scriptures to, "Look unto Me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."3
Faith is an action word. It would be useless to pray for a healthy body and then eat or do those things, which do not warrant a healthy body. We are told in the scriptures that, "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."4 Faith involves doing all we can to bring about the things we hope and pray for.
We must remember that faith is a gift from God. We take care of that gift by cultivating it: by praying in the name of Jesus Christ, expressing our gratitude for all that we have been given, praying for forgiveness, keeping all the commandments, and studying the word of God. As we draw close to the Savior through our diligence, our faith increases and the Lord is able to work miracles in our life.5
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