The Advantages Of Exceedingly Strong Faith

The Things Of My Soul

Ether 12:19 (Book of Mormon), “And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad.”

Faith is a real source of power, and there are many vivid evidences to prove this. Literally rending the veil is but one example. You don’t have to be a prophet or an apostle to stand in the presence of God and Jesus Christ in this life. Others developed faith so strong that they could;

• Stop the mouths of lions
• Quench the violence of fire
• Break mountains
• Divide the seas
• Dry up waters
• Turn waters out of their course
• Put at defiance the armies of nations
• Divide the earth
• Break every band
• Stand in the presence of God
• Be translated and taken to heaven

Another wonderful example of the power of faith is Jesus Christ physically walking on the water, by defying the laws of gravity. This shows that faith can break all the laws of nature that scientists believe are absolute. Mountains have been literally moved by the command of man.

Exceedingly great faith is available to anyone who is willing to pay the price; therefore, almost everything has a price to pay, and spiritual powers are no exception. That price of Godly power is worth any sacrifice.

I thought the phrase, “they had beheld with an eye of faith,” very significant because everything is first created spiritually before it is physically created. You must clearly see it in your minds eye, which is why dreaming is valuable.

Elder Holland said this about dreaming, “God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if you don’t pray, and He can’t if you don’t dream. In short, He can’t if you don’t believe.” Terror, Triumph And a Wedding Feast.

Growing exceedingly strong faith requires putting God first in your life, because it is easy in this busy world to lose sight of what is most important. That distraction is a great obstacle to powerful faith. The Nielson media ratings company reported that the average American watches 5 hours of TV per day and more than 33 hours in a week. The article also said you watch more TV as you grow older.

Cutting out most of the TV is a big step towards acquiring great faith, because it will buy you a lot of time to build a strong relationship with Christ. With building relationships, President Eyring said there are three ways to do it and it is the same whether you want a stronger relationship with Jesus Christ or with your spouse and family.

1. You talk to…
2. You listen to….
3. You do things for….

The more time and effort you spend doing these three items, the stronger your relationship will be.

President Eyring also said strong faith has a short shelf life, meaning potent faith requires constant and consistent effort. Why is consistency critical?

Consistently is critical because the small things add up to big things. That is how people become apostates; they stop doing the basics. And, immersing yourself in the word of God and then starving yourself doesn’t work either. Remaining focused is essential.

Priorities will help you remain focused. This is why you want to plan your day, because if you don’t consistently think about what matters most to you, it will slip away from you.

Exceedingly strong faith requires your exercise of agency, which demands making deliberate choices. Elder Maxwell said you can’t cherry pick your way through life, and that is why powerful faith requires choosing between alluring alternatives.

If you want solid faith, go to the source of truth (Jesus Christ) through the apostles and prophets because they speak the mind and will of Jesus Christ. Surround yourself with people who know the Lord, i.e. the apostles and prophets.

Jesus Christ is the head of the church and the apostles are the foundation.

Of all truths you could learn, there is none more important than the atonement of Jesus Christ; because the entire plan of our Heavenly Father would be null and void without Jesus Christ, and our lives would be pointless, worthless and hopeless because it would all be in vain. That truth can bring you to eternal life.

Chapel Address and contact information: 1928 E. South Campus Drive, Salt Lake City; (University of Utah, next to the institute) Call 801-259-6709 for the mission home in Midvale if you want to talk to someone.