Sunday, December 17, 2000

D&C 42:48-52 -- On Faith

"And again, it shall come to pass that he that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed.
He who hath faith to see shall see.
He who hath faith to hear shall hear.
The lame who hath faith to leap shall leap.
And they who have not faith to do these things, but believe in me, have power to become my sons; and inasmuch as they break not my laws thou shalt bear their infirmities."
Doctrine and Covenants 42:48-52


How interesting this is.  Faith is at the core of so much of our lives.  Miracles happen every day.  People who have debilitating physical... or spiritual... infirmities are healed.  People who have enormous dreams actually fulfill them... because they have faith.  And, although most of us are still working on that kind of faith, sometimes we have it in a certain area.  And, we build it up... slowly healing instead of doing it all at once.  And sometimes we have moments of doubt, where we start to sink.  Crying out, like Peter trying to walk on the water, "Lord, save me."  And he will.  And whether we are sitting in the boat, or standing on the water, our belief in God helps us to move towards him. 

Whether our infirmities are something that the Lord gave us as a part of our lives, to learn endurance and patience, or whether they are temporary obstacles to overcome, the Lord knows what we are going through, and will help us through it.  Interestingly, this scripture doesn't tell us that we have to suck it up and deal with our problems when we don't have the faith to solve them... it says *thou* shalt bear *their* infirmities.  That we need to help each other with our problems.  That is part of the deal.  We can't look at other people and say "Gee, if you just had a little faith..." ... first of all, because when we look at our *own* lives, we definitely don't have any room to talk... and also because we are obligated to be part of a community.  salvation is not a solo flight.  We all need as much help as we can get... and to give as much help as we can offer.  We need to have patience with other people who haven't mastered things that we have... just as *they* are patient with us when we haven't mastered things that they have.

The powers of heaven are available to us, and how rarely we draw on them.  Joseph Smith took the Lord at his word... he needed wisdom, and he asked for it, and it was there.  Too often we need wisdom and we assume that we won't get it, and we never ask.  wisdom, and faith, and healing, and love, and so many things that God offers to us... just the faith to get down on our knees and talk to him causes miracles in our lives.  He will pour down blessings, he will raise up friends... he will answer every prayer.  Faith is the key.  And you know... faith is sometimes hard to come by, but remember Alma 32... "even if you can no more than desire to believe," and let's exercise whatever particle of faith that we can muster.  Then read, expand on that... talk about it, think about it.  Get on our knees and ask God about it.... it works.  it really really does.  We just have to try.

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