Thoughts on Faith

As given in a talk in the Vineyard Ward, Sunday, July 28.

A brief intro to our family...
The unique way that each of our children have come into our lives has been in the forefront of my mind these past few weeks as I have thought about the topic we were asked to speak on today, which is Strengthening Faith in our Homes and Families.

I believe that the combination of prayer and having great faith is a simple concept to state and a very difficult one to master. The BD states that,

“to have faith is to have confidence in something or someone. The Lord has revealed himself and his perfect character, possessing in their fullness all the attributes of love, knowledge, justice, mercy, unchangeableness, power, and every other needful thing, so as to enable the mind of man to place confidence in him without reservation.”

It is incredibly easy here on earth to doubt, to fear and to lose confidence, however, if it is Jesus Christ that our faith is in, there is no reason to doubt or fear, and what better person in whom to put our confidence?

Growing up in the church and being taught that faith is the first principle of the gospel, I was very familiar with the concept, not so much with how to put it into action. I was of the mindset that having faith and believing were synonymous. It wasn’t until I really needed to exercise the principle in my own life that I learned that faith is a principle of action and of power. Referring to the BD again,

“Faith isn’t sitting and hoping, faith is doing. Faith is more than belief, since true faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action; it carries an assurance of the fulfillment of the things hoped for.”

When faced with a challenge, it is appropriate to consult with the Lord and ask for his counsel and help, but not expecting him to solve the problem. He is eager to answer our prayers and bless us, but only if we are doing all we can. We can’t sit and wait for him to send a magic fix, we can work and study and press forward knowing that if we give it our very best effort, he will compensate and make up the difference.

One thing that is vital to remember here is that Heavenly Father has a greater plan for us. For each of us. When we are asking for something and exercising our faith, we must keep in mind that first, we have to be doing all we can, and second, this particular blessing will be granted when the time is right. We can not see the future and do not understand why sometimes, even though our desire may be a righteous one, it is not coming to pass.
Perhaps we haven’t found the perfect one to marry, been able to get into school or obtain a job to support our family, we don't understand why a sickness or an accident hurt or took someone we love..
The answers will come in time and while your prayers may not be answered in the manner or time frame you expect, have confidence that Heavenly Father is in control and that your desires are not unknown.


This kind of strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Obedience is the “action” component of faith. It is by obedience that we are moved to action. Let me demonstrate how obedience increases our faith.
In order to strengthen faith in our homes and our families, it is necessary to be obedient in regard to the repetitive things we have been commanded do in our homes: hold regular FHE, pray together, study our scriptures, and attend our church meetings.… it is these activities that will determine how we act when faced with difficulty in our lives. When we are faced with a significant challenge, we have two choices when it comes to how we will react. We can choose to stand stronger and allow it to help us grow, or to become bitter and cynical and turn our backs on the Lord, questioning why me, or why now.

Example: when I was a junior in high school, my mother became very sick with a bacterial form of meningitis, called meningicaucus. Incredibly rare, at the time Utah had seen 8 cases, the outcome only being favorable for one. This posed an incredible challenge to our family, especially to my father, who, with 4 dependent children, a large business to run and significant church responsibilities, spent eight weeks wondering if his eternal companion was going to wake up and if so, what the quality of life would be afterwards. It was a time that would have been very easy to question why us, why now? We were living the commandments, we were serving the Lord and yet this heavy burden was given to us anyway. The way our family reacted to this particular event was determined by what our family was doing before this occurred. We had been building a foundation of faith in our home. We had been studying the gospel together and had developed a confidence in our Savior and understood his role in our lives. It would have been so easy for my dad to become bitter and frustrated with the situation, and yet each of us came out of the storm a little stronger and closer to both each other and to our father in heaven.

By being obedient, we were able to weather that storm. We continued to do the things we were supposed to be doing, unto obedience. Faith leads to obedience and obedience provides perspective and understanding. This is how we show HF that we have faith, he says show me your faith by being obedient, and I’ll give you the perspective, understanding, empathy, or whatever you’re seeking. We will all come to a crossroads at some point in our lives, and if we are being obedient now to the commandments of God, and going forward with faith, the choice will be clear as to how we can react when the storm hits. Having personally weathered several small storms, I can testify that Heavenly Father know us, he loves us and he wants us to be successful and happy. If we do all we can to be obedient and live with faith, his plan for us will unfold and it will be the right one.

I believe these principles to be true and I believe that if we teach them in our homes, that when our children are faced with difficulty, they will be able to handle them with grace and confidence and with the assurance that our Father in Heaven loves them and will bless them according to their obedience and their faith.