missionmtctalkfaithinjesus ( ** )

This talk was usually delivered in Sacrament meetings with the missionaries at the Missionary Training Center:

• Grateful, talk about faith in our Savior, thanks to those who have spoken
• President Uchtdorf related the story of the Rabbi and the Soap Maker:
  1/ Soap maker did not believe in God. Said to Rabbi: “I don’t understand.  We have had religion for 1000’s of years, but everywhere there is evil, dishonesty,        corruption, pain, hunger, violence.  Religion has not improved the world at all.  What good is it?
  2/ Came to a playground.  Filthy children, covered in dirt.  Rabbi: “I don’t understand. We have had soap for 1000’s of years, and yet those children are filthy.        Soap has not improved the world at all.  What good is it?”
  3/ Soap maker: “You can’t blame the soap.  Soap has to be used for it to accomplish its purpose.”  Rabbi: “Exactly”.
• Religion has to be used to accomplish its purpose.  Likewise, faith in our Savior has to be exercised for it to accomplish its intended purpose.  For example, a doubter would say to a believer:
  1/ I respect you, my friend, but you say that you have had faith in Christ your entire life.  Look at you now, however.  You have recently been diagnosed with        cancer, several of your children have “left the fold” or “strayed from the path”, and your business is struggling.  It seems to me that your faith in Jesus has         served you no good purpose.”
  2/ But the friend might well respond: “You have missed the purpose of my faith, my friend.  My faith in the Lord remains steadfast and immovable.  You view          faith in Jesus as a shield to protect one from trials.  My faith in the Lord is not to shield me, but to fortify me when trials arise.  I have no expectation that            my faith in the Lord will deflect challenges and guarantee me a care-free life.  I view my faith as a rock solid foundation on which to stand when troubles            confront me.  My faith sustains me, lifts me, blesses me.  I am here having this conversation with you with a smile on my face and hope in my heart                  BECAUSE of my faith in the Lord, not despite it.  A prophet of God has said, “Alma 36:3”.

• In Romans, it states that the just live by faith.  Disciples of Christ live a life in compliance with His teachings and commandments, with a sure knowledge that they will have His divine support.  They live each day as if He was actually walking beside them, and in a very real way, He is doing just that.
• Faith in Jesus is more that just a wish or a belief.   It is a profound TRUST accompanied by ACTION.  Faith implies power, movement, deeds, service.  Faith without works is dead.
• Consider how the following verses relate to faith in the Lord: “Matthew 11:28-30”.  He asks three things  1) Come  2) step into my yoke  3) learn of me.  Can you imagine what we would learn if we were in His yoke for a few days?  We would, of necessity, go where He goes, carry the loads that He carries, see what He sees.  He promises, in return, that we will have His rest, our burdens will be lightened.  But a yoke implies work, effort, sweat.  Indeed it does, but who is helping shoulder the burden.  He doesn’t care how much of the load you can carry.  Just give me your heart, soul and I will make up the difference.  I have carried the weight of the world, I can surely carry your small load.  Exercise your faith, step into the yoke, prove me now herewith.
• Those who develop faith in Jesus do so by first obeying, complying with his doctrine, feeling the pull and influence of His love, striving to become just like He is.  How comfortable and natural that effort is as we more fully appreciate how loving, kind, caring, and supporting He is.
• Over 500 years before Christ came to earth to perform his mortal ministry, Nephi made this wonderful declaration, “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, and we prophesy of Christ…”  I would share now some of the many reasons why Nephi said that and why WE say it now, reasons why our faith in the Lord is sure and strong and immovable.

1. Recall the miracle of Christ feeding the 5000, recorded in Matthew 14.  This huge group had been with Jesus all day, listening to Him.  The disciples suggested that they all return to their homes to eat.  Jesus said, no, they need not leave, and asked what food was available.  Only 5 loaves and 2 fish.  The food was collected, the Lord blessed it.  And now, for me, the most beautiful aspect of the miracle unfolded.  The Lord could have had the apostles step aside, and He could have kept the spotlight on Himself, distributing the food, causing it to multiply as only He could, basking in the praise and adulations of the multitude.  Such is not the character of our Lord.  What did He do instead?  He gave the broken loaves and fish to his chosen disciples, and had them begin to distribute the food, as He stepped into the background.  Picture the scene.  Five small loaves and 2 small fishes would feed perhaps 20 people.  There were 5000 present.  No, a careful reading reveals there were 5000 men.  That number did not include the women and children present.  The actual number fed could have been closer to 8 or 9 thousand.  But it was His faithful disciples through which the incredible miracle seemed to occur.  They were the ones distributing the food, even causing it to multiply.  The spotlight was on them and they passed among the vast throng.  Picture the disciples, as they watch the food multiply, as they see the miracle unfold.  How do you think they felt, what happened to their FAITH in the Lord?  Picture the people who were being fed.  Yes, they had listened to the Lord all day, but who was it that was actually putting sustenance into their hands?  His disciples, his emissaries, his apostles.  The attention was on them, right where the Lord wanted it to be.  How natural and beautiful is it for us to have faith in this wonderful Savior, who was always building others, inspiring others, lifting others, edifying others.  He did that for His disciples then.  Will He do it for us now?
2. Another wonderful example.  On a certain Sabbath day, the Lord was invited to teach and speak in a synagogue.  There were probably a few hundred people present.  Think about the marvelous things He could have shared with these Jews.  But, shortly after beginning, always being sensitive to the Spirit of blessing and lifting others, Jesus discerned that there was ONE PERSON in that large congregation that needed His blessings in a very different way.  In the congregation was an elderly woman described as having a spirit of infirmity 18 years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift herself up.  Can you picture her?  Rather it was due to arthritis or a spinal deformity or scoliosis, she couldn’t stand up straight.  When she walked, she was bent in half.  Can you imagine living like that?  First question – where do you think she was located in the synagogue?  Front row?  2nd question – the scripture states that Jesus “saw her”.  How easy was it for Jesus to notice her?  How did He become aware of her?  Probably through discernment and spiritual insight, as He was always looking for those who needed Him, every waking moment of his mortal life.  3rd question – the scripture states that Jesus “called her to him”.  How much courage did this little bent over woman display in responding to his call?  Do you think she sought the attention of others?  What do we learn of her faith as she slowly made her way to the front of the congregation?  4th question – what more do we learn of our wonderful Savior as we think about the fact that he called her to come to Him?  Why didn’t He walk back to her?  It would have been much easier for her, don’t you think?  He gave this little soul a chance to exercise her faith in Him.  He expects us to work, to stretch, to do more, to leave our comfort zones, in order to follow Him.  “And Jesus said to her, Woman, thou are loosed from thine infirmity.  And he laid his hands on her, and IMMEDIATELY she was made straight, and she glorified God.”  Can we have faith in this wonderful Lord, faith that moves us to action?  Faith that He sees and knows us individually, just as with this little woman, faith that wonderful blessings await us as we stretch and extend and labor for Him.  An incredible sermon was delivered in that synagogue on that Sabbath day, but it wasn’t a sermon spoken over a pulpit.  It was in the healing of a broken soul, physically and spiritually.
3. Another example of the character of Christ that draws us in faith to Him is found in 3 Nephi 17.  In verse 14, Jesus actually groaned in anguish and said to the Father, “Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel.”  His anguish is understandable because just a few weeks prior to this, it was part of the house of Israel that had brought about His crucifixion.  Jesus now kneels and begins to pray in earnest to the Father.  This particular prayer was so heart-felt, so poignant, so moving, that it could not be recorded nor described.  Those who heard the prayer said, “No one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him PRAY FOR US unto the Father.”  Jesus then had the people arise and he said, “Blessed are ye because of your faith.  And now, behold, my joy is FULL.”  He went from profound anguish and sorrow to a fulness of joy because He had had the privilege of praying unto the Father for these faithful Nephite disciples. He was their intercessor, their representative to God.  How easy is it to have unbounded faith and confidence in this wonderful Savior whose every effort is to bless and lift and serve His followers?  Never focusing on Himself, but instead, always seeking service to His disciples and followers.   He prayed to the Father for the Nephites — could he possibly do the same for us?  Not only could He, but it is a surety that He does.
4. Restoring the daughter of Jairus:  Jairus, a leader of a synagogue, displaying incredible faith in Jesus and putting his own status and standing in great jeopardy, has approached Jesus, imploring him to come and heal his very sick, 12-year old daughter.  Jesus responds immediately, and as they make their way to the home, messengers arrive telling Jesus and Jairus that the young girl has already died, and that Jesus need not trouble himself further about the situation.  Jesus turns to Jairus and says, “Be not afraid, only believe.”  As they approach the house, they encounter a large throng of family members and professional mourners, weeping and wailing.  Jesus says, “Why make ye this tumult? The damsel is not dead, but sleeps.”  The crowd mocked Jesus, ridiculed him, and laughed him to scorn.  And now, the main point I would like to make.  Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen, that due to the faith and courage of her parents, this beautiful young girl was going to restored to life.  Jesus could have, with great pride and fanfare, had the girl carried out of house, and in front of all the mockers and scorners, restored her to life, proclaiming His greatness and publicly rebuking the naysayers and doubters.  No, a thousand times no.  He displays His character, that of patience, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned, and kindness.  He moves back the crowd, ushers everyone out of the house, and then enters the home with just 5 people — mother, father, and his three dutiful apostles, Peter, James, and John.  There was no showboating, no proud display of His power, no “I’ll show you who I am” attitude.  Just 5 devoted disciples to witness one of the great events of His life, and a never-to-be-forgotten experience in their lives.  He compassionately took the young girl by the hand, and said, “I say unto thee, arise.”  And she immediately arose.  Picture the father and the mother.  Picture his apostles — how are their testimonies at this point?  And Jesus, always serving, lifting, aware of those around Him, reminds the parents that the young girl is probably hungry, and that they should get her something to eat.  How natural and compelling is it to have faith in this great Son of God, who responds immediately to Jairus’ request for help, who is never frantic or rushed, who can look into a person’s eyes and say “Be not afraid, only believe”, who always resists the temptation to shine a spotlight on Himself but instead to always be focusing on the physical and spiritual needs of those around Him?  He gently took the hand of the young girl and restored her to a fulness of life — will He do the same for us?
5. And finally, can we even begin to imagine the joy, the rejoicing, the exultation that took place in heaven when Jesus completed the Atonement, gave up His life on the cross, and returned in triumph and glory to His Father?  All of us were perhaps part of that universal celebration, that Christ had actually done what He promised to do, that he lived a perfect life, succumbed to no temptation, and made eternal life and exaltation available for all who desired it.  The gratitude, the praise, the hallelujahs, the heavenly choirs, the trumps and acclimations!  And then to have all of the celebrations heightened as He took up His body again and brought to pass the Resurrection for Himself, and thus making it a reality for all of His spiritual brothers and sisters?  Can we picture this?  But now to my point — can we now imagine Christ excusing Himself from these rejoicings, stating that He needed to return to earth because He had 7 very tired, very discouraged, and very hungry disciples that needed Him?  Who were these seven?  Do you recall that not long after Jesus’ death, we find Peter, James, John and 4 other apostles up in Galilee, and Peter announces that he is going fishing?  They all set out in their boat at dusk, and fish all night, with absolutely no success — not one single fish is caught.  As they make their weary way back to shore after a long tedious night, they see a person standing on the shore.  This glorious person has left the heavens, were He would be receiving the praise and gratitude and adulations of countless followers, to attend to the needs of 7 beloved disciples.  And what has He been doing as they made their way to shore?  He has started a small fire and has prepared a meal of fish and bread for them.  Where is the spotlight?  Where is the attention? Once again, not on Himself, but on souls who need Him.  The celebrations can wait, I have souls who need saving.  Picture it, the Creator of Heavens and Earths is cooking a simple meal for his friends.  Did He gather the wood Himself, how were the fish and bread provided?  And the scripture tells us that He not only cooked the meal, but He served it to his apostles.  The sweetness of this simple act, placed in the context of where He could have been and what He could have been experiencing, is beyond adequate description.  How natural and comfortable is it to place our faith in a Divine Being who always, always is blessing, inspiring, lifting, and edifying those who love Him?  He fed these 7 devoted followers — could He feed and nourish us?

My testimony of the Savior is simple yet sincere.  He lives, He loves, He lifts.  I echo the moving testimony of Joseph and Sidney as they proclaimed, “Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-24”.