How Can I Build Faith?

'Did God send a message that was just for me?  Did I see His hand in my life?'

Trying to remember had allowed god to show me what he had done.

I know that as we seek to remember what God has done for us, His children, we will recognize how much he does love each and every one of us.  Would not this increase your faith?

"remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. (Helaman 5:12)

Don't Take My Word For It

Reading Rainbow was one of my favorite shows of all time!  Learning about Crayons, fish, dinosaurs, germs, candles and more. 

At the end of every show the guy would say, 'But you don't have to take my word for it.'  And then would direct you to a book or two to study about what we learned.  I loved it!  The same principle applies in the gospel.

The Savior said, 'If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.'  (John 7:17)

And the prophet Alma said, 'Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me. Now behold, would not this increase your faith?' (Alma 32:28-29)

I know that if we will 'awake and arouse [our] faculties, even to an experiment upon [His] words, and exercise a particle of faith' (Alma 32:27) we will know what the Lord wants us to do.  And our Faith will swell.  Lets read the Book of Mormon and apply what we learn.

Blackbirds Baked in a Pie

You're one of 24 blackbirds who just got baked in a pie... The pie is opened and you see the king so you start singing (because he's a big deal).  The king goes to count his money while the queen's eating bread and honey, so you sneak out the window and peck off the nose of the maid who baked you in that pie! 

Now you've got somebody's nasty nose in your mouth and she's going to the doctor's.  Who is happy now? 

So none of us reading this are Blackbirds, but we have all had times when we've been baked in a pie - in one way or another.  Shafted, dejected, rejected, insulted, and so on. When we get hurt like this we have to make a choice.  Do we hold a grudge, or do we forgive?  I promise in every case, if you forgive, it will be better for everyone, especially you.  I mean, really, who wants someones nasty nose in their mouth?

They send for the king's doctor,

who sewed it on again;

He sewed it on so neatly,

the seam was never seen.

Climbing Over Mountains of Life

Rock Climbing is the best! When you climb a mountain that is longer than your rope it takes two people.  The 1st climber begins climbing, clips into bolts every 5-10 feet, reaches the length of the rope, anchors into the rock face, and belays the 2nd up to him.  They repeat that until they reach the top of the mountain.

The 1st climber really does the hardest and scariest work because they don't have someone who's shown them the route, and if they fall, they fall far since their anchor is below them.  The 2nd climber has it easy because they just have to follow the route the 1st took. The anchors are all above them so they can't fall (so long as they don't skip any anchors) and the rope connects the dots to show the path the 1st took.



Jesus Christ is the first climber.  He overcame the mountains of life and death.  He showed us the path and left behind principles and ordinances that can be anchors in our life.  The first anchor is Faith in him.  We have to believe that he is ready to catch us when we fall.  The second is repentance which includes acting on that faith and following in his way. We will fall, but the key is to let him catch us.  When we choose to skip these anchors we risk a hard fall, but he will still catch us and put us back on the path. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.  He is at the top of the mountain rooting us on, and as we follow his example we will be on the safe path through life and will reach the greatest heights!

The Savior said,

• "will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may ^cheal you?" (3 Nephi 9:13)

 "The Greek word of which repentance is the English translation “denotes a change of mind, i.e., a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world” (Bible Dictionary, “Repentance,” 760). This means we are to change our thoughts and then behavior until we are turned away from our sins and are aligned with God’s commandments. This change of mind means that we are actually progressing toward what Paul called “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). Repentance is thus a continuing process in which each of us needs to draw on the Atonement for real relief, real forgiveness, and real progress." (See Article)

Jesus Christ made it possible for each of us to have real lasting happiness.  The Atonement means everything to me. I know that Jesus is our Savior.

Watch Out For That... Tree

Walking out of the apartment, I.. OUCH!  too sunny.  I quickly decided to shut my eyes.  I didn't want to stop moving toward the parking lot because time is of the essence, so I decided to reverse-blink until my eyes got acquainted with the light.  I'd take a glimpse, see what obstructions were in my path, and close my eyes again.  Relying on what I could see in a blink every few steps, I made it to the car unharmed.

What do my baby sensitive eyes have to do with the gospel?

Heavenly Father has shown us the safe path through life's struggles: following the example of Jesus Christ.  We can pray and ask Him what he would have us do.  We get answers through the Holy Ghost, or the spirit.

• 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
• 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  (Galatians 5)

When we get our answers it is like glimpses into the safest path, and when we are anxiously 'engaged in a good cause' (D&C 58) we can trust in God that He will be there for us if we are going to run into another car or a bush or something.

'Asked about the role of the Spirit in his professional career, Elder Scott said, “[In my work] it just seemed natural to turn to the Lord to ask for guidance. I’ve never separated church, professional life, family life, or personal life into little compartments; I’ve just felt that the Spirit can guide in all of those.” He said he believes that the Lord is “absolutely aware and very interested in giving us support in whatever we do in life, our professional life included.”' (See Article)