Faith

This morning I was reading in the Book of Mormon about faith. (I love that book. It has all the answers and questions you could ever ask for.) I was pondering faith, and how the world defines it in comparison to the Gospel and how it's applied in the Gospel. Dictionary.com defines faith as the following :
–noun

1.

confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.

2.

belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.

3.

belief in god or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.

4.

belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.

6.

the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith.

7.

the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles.

The Bible Dictionary states this about faith:

Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true (Heb. 11:1; Alma 32:21), and must be centered in Jesus Christ in order to produce salvation.... Miracles do not produce faith, but strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in other words, faith comes by righteousness, although miracles often confirm one’s faith.

Faith is a principle of action and of power, and by it one can command the elements and/or heal the sick, or influence any number of circumstances when occasion warrants (Jacob 4:4–7). Even more important, by faith one obtains a remission of sins and eventually can stand in the presence of God.

All true faith must be based upon correct knowledge or it cannot produce the desired results. Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and 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. A lack of faith leads one to despair, which comes because of iniquity.

Notice how the world defines faith as a noun, whereas the Bible Dictionary states that faith is a principle of action, or in other words a verb. I love the absolute truth of the scrpitures. In the book of Ether, in the Book of Mormon, there is a prophet referred to as the Brother of Jared.



For those that don't know the story of the Brother of Jared, I will offer a brief description. Jared, his Brother, their families, and their friends were present at the destruction of the Tower of Babel, and the confounding of language recorded in the book of Genesis in the Bible. They exercised their faith in the Lord after pleading not to have their language changed. They were not only granted this blessing through thier faith, but where also granted the blessing of being led to the promise lands in the Americas. In order for the people to get to the Promised Land, they were commanded to build barges that were water tight. They are described as such in the scriptures:

 ETHER Ch. 2 V. -

17 And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly ^atight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish.



There arose some concerns from the Brother of Jared. One of these concerns was how to have light in Barges that are water tight? The Lord asked The Brother of Jared to present a plan to Him in which this concern could be overcome. Again we will turn to the scriptures:

ETHER Ch. 3 Vs. -

1 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the ^amount, which they called the mount ^bShelem, because of its exceeding height, and did ^cmolten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent ^dglass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord, saying: ....

 4 And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all ^apower, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy ^bfinger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have ^clight while we shall cross the sea.

6 And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the ^aLord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his ^bfinger. And the ^cveil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared ^dfell down before the Lord, for he was struck with ^efear.



 7 And the Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the earth; and the Lord said unto him: Arise, why hast thou fallen?

 8 And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should ^asmite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood.

 9 And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me ^aflesh and blood; and never has man come before me with ^bsuch exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this?

 10 And he answered: Nay; Lord, ^ashow thyself unto me.

 11 And the Lord said unto him: ^aBelievest thou the words which I shall speak?

 12 And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and ^acanst not lie.

 13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord ^ashowed himself unto him, and said: ^bBecause thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my ^cpresence; therefore I ^dshow myself unto you.

 14 Behold, I am he who was ^aprepared from the foundation of the world to ^bredeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the ^cFather and the Son. In me shall all mankind have ^dlife, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my ^esons and my daughters.

 15 And never have I ^ashowed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man ^bbelieved in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own ^cimage? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image.

 16 Behold, this ^abody, which ye now ^bbehold, is the ^cbody of my ^dspirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh.

The Brother of Jared had great faith, but more than that he acted in the faith that he had. He presented a plan to the Lord, and was blessed because of his great faith. Let's all act in our faith like the Brother of Jared did. Will we see the Lord face to face? I couldn't say. What I can say though is that I know blessings come from faith, and faith is proved by action. I know that when we show the Lord that we are willing to take that first step without being pushed to it, we are given more blessings and opportunities then we could ever imagine.