Please note that these talks are my own work. Feel free to use the references in them and to learn from them. I kindly ask that you do not quote anything I say here as I am, by no means, an authority on the subject. Thank you.
Perhaps one of the most well-known scriptures concerning faith was written as an Apostle of the Lord wrote an epistle to the Hebrews after Christ’s resurrection: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Often, when it is asked for the definition of faith, this is the scripture quoted. Yet, that may not entirely answer the question. In other words, what does it mean to be the “substance of things hoped for?
Continuing in this chapter, Paul recounts a number of historical events that were performed by faith. Abel was able to offer “a more excellent sacrifice,” (11:4); Enoch and his city were translated (11:5); Noah “prepared an ark to the saving of his house,” (11:7); Sara, the wife of Abraham, “received strength to conceive seed,” (11:11); and “by faith Moses…was hid,” and “when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” (11:23-25)
With each action of faith, Paul also notes a particular reward to that faith. For Abel’s sacrifice, “he obtained witness that he was righteous.” Enoch was translated, “for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Noah prepared an ark, “by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Sara bore a child “because she judged him faithful who had promised.” Moses rejoined with the Israelites because he esteemed “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.” Every action of faith is accompanied by testimony. In some cases, the use of faith helps to gain a testimony, and in others, testimony becomes the source of faith.
Paul was not the only to notice the correspondence of faith and testimony. Jacob wrote on the Gold Plates that “we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.” (Jacob 4:6) Faith gives the power to gain testimony, and testimony gives the power to gain faith. This faith can be used to perform miracles and command the elements around us.
So therefore, faith is the substance of hope, or the source of testimony, as well as the ability to act in God’s name. Having this hope, how do we strengthen it? It involves testimony, and a will to act. What is it we are to act on? Each act of faith mentioned by Paul was performed through a covenant. Simply put, the Lord gives a commandment, and the receiver receives a blessing.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke of these covenants in the April 2009 General Conference. He said, “The new and everlasting covenant is the gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, the doctrines and commandments of the gospel constitute the substance of an everlasting covenant between God and man that is newly restored in each dispensation.” (Ensign, May 2009) The commandments are part of a covenant between man and God. Walking in obedience to these commandments brings about the fulness of blessings of the gospel into our lives.
In connection with these covenants, Elder Christofferson spoke of three ways that covenants help us endure through life. The first and second we already mentioned: 1) receiving blessings by walking in obedience to the commandments of the gospel, and 2) the covenants themselves produce more faith to continue to obey. The third is most vital to our salvation. As we accept and live covenants, we are endowed with “the power of godliness.” (D&C 84:20) When we are endowed from on high, this power comes in the influence of the Holy Ghost, and without his influence in our lives, miracles could not happen, for miracles are performed as our will is joined with the will of the Father, manifest by the same Holy Ghost. Thus, the covenants themselves give a power to perform miracles as Jacob and his people did.
Yet we are still weak. We make mistakes, and life presents us with unexpected surprises. Remember, as Jacob put it, these weaknesses exist “that we may know that it is by his grace…that we have power to do these things.” (Jacob 4:7) Many think of faith as a water bottle—we fill it while times are good, and when challenges come, we use that faith to get through. That notion, however, is not true. These moments are also times to grow in faith. Jacob continues,
“For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created, O then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure?
“Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand.” (Jacob 4:9-10)
This gospel is true. The Plan of Salvation is a plan inspired by God himself. We are blessed with the ability to have faith and to perform miracles. Yet the grandest of miracles include those of the Creation, the Atonement, and the Resurrection. No miracle will ever be as grand as the climax events of this plan. So why shouldn’t we take comfort in our Father who has power to perform even the simplest of miracles? After all, He accepted Abel’s sacrifice. He saved Noah and his family. He allowed Sara to bear a child, even in her own age. He helped Moses to accomplish the impossible task of delivering Israel from Egypt’s hand. If He can accept their faith, then He can accept ours. He can heal our hearts; He can forgive us; and He can help us through our weaknesses.
As we accept the Lord’s hand in our lives, then we shall have that greatest of blessings imaginable. As stated in the Joseph Smith Translation,
“And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
“God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:39-40)
It is my testimony that through our faith, anything is possible. It is my testimony that through faith, we can become better persons, and become an influence of good in others’ lives. He lives. Through His Infinite Gift, we have the hope needed to live in His presence, in this life as well as the life to come. Faith is the substance, or manifestation, of that hope, through which the Lord can perform miracles in and around us. I bear this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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