What is Faith?

[Giuseppe]

James E. Talmage said:

"The terms faith and belief are sometimes regarded as synonyms; nevertheless each of them has a specific meaning in our language, although in earlier usage there was little distinction between them, and therefore the words are used interchangeably in many scriptural passages. Belief, in one of its accepted senses, may consist in a merely intellectual assent, while faith implies such confidence and conviction as will impel to action. Dictionary authority justifies us in drawing a distinction between the two, according to present usage in English; and this authority defines belief as a mental assent to the truth or actuality of anything, excluding, however, the moral element of responsibility through such assent, which responsibility is included by faith. Belief is in a sense passive, an agreement or acceptance only; faith is active and positive, embracing such reliance and confidence as will lead to works. Faith in Christ comprises belief in Him, combined with trust in Him. One cannot have faith without belief; yet he may believe and still lack faith. Faith is vivified, vitalized, living belief. (AF:87-88").

The Articles of Faith collect some of the main principles of the Mormon Faith. It is good to remember that they are not simply "Articles of Belief" because they need to compel us to action.

[Weaver]

Repentance is the second principle in the 4th Article of Faith. Repentance is required of us all on a daily basis. Ecclesiastes 7:20 states that, "There is not a just man upon the earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."

Because of the great love our Father in Heaven has for each of us, He has given us the principle of repentance. This principle is provided for us to become free from our sins and receive forgiveness from Heavenly Father.

The privilege of repenting is made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, in which He suffered the penalty for all our sins

I believe repentance can be easy or difficult for each of us, depending on our attitude and upon the seriousness of the sins we have committed.

We must each remember that there are steps we must follow to complete the repentance process - of course depending on the seriousness of the sin.

1) Recognizing that we have sinned. If there is no admission of a sin, then

there can be no repentance.

2) There must be sincere regret for the sin commited, a feeling of regret for

something terribly done.

3) The sincere regret should lead one to not repeat the sin.

4) One must confess the sin to Heavenly Father; this confession releases the

heavy burden of what has been done and allowed the Savior to carry the

burden.

5) Part of the repentance process is making restitution

6) Forgiveness. 3 Nephi 13:14-15 reminds us that "God will not forgive us

unless our hearts are fully cleansed of all hate, bitterness, and bad

feelings against other people."

7) The repentance process is complete when the obedience to all the

commandments of God are kept. A truly repentant person will have a

great desire to obey the laws of God. For example, paying tithing,

keeping the Sabbath Day holy, keeping the Word of Wisdom, etc.

And finally - a truly repentant person is one whose life changes for the better.

With all that said and still needing to remind myself often of the true repentant person, I still need to work on this process and do what the Lord expects of me. I thank the Lord for His patience with me!

[Jeny]

I have an interesting story about how I was able to build upon my faith...I will cut and paste it here...

A Faith Project Named, Fred.

I would like to tell you a story about a plant named, Fred. This is a true story; mind you, one that has blessed my life and many other's lives with whom I have shared it. It all started back in 1986, I was walking down the street thinking to myself about the subject of faith. That week in church, I had heard my pastor preach about faith being a muscle that gets stronger as you exercise it. He talked about body builders and how they have to tear their muscles a tiny bit during each work out in order to build upon them. He admonished his congregation to get a faith project. Just like a body builder, we needed to exercise our muscle (faith) in order to build upon it. I was thinking about this sermon and my own lack of faith, as I was walking along. By and by, I happened upon a pile of rubbish at the side of the street. Thrown into that pile was a dead plant, well, almost dead...there was one green leaf, still barely clinging to life amid all the other withered and brown ones. As I walked past the plant, I thought to myself..." Yeah, I know the feeling!" I was feeling withered, brown, and cast aside at the moment myself. I continued on, past the plant and pile of rubbish, when the thought struck me..."Everybody needs a second chance!" I stopped, went back and plucked the one living leaf off of the dying plant. I took it home with me, placed it in a glass of water, named it,"Fred" and started praying for it!

Silly, you say? Perhaps, but I needed tangible proof that my heavenly father answers prayer, so...each time I would bow my head to pray...after I would send my entreaties heaven ward, as an afterthought, I would say,"...and by the way God, bless Fred! I'd like to see that plant grow and my faith along with it."

You see, each time God answers our prayers; our faith grows that much stronger. Since God has his own timing for answers to prayers, and since I am a person not known for an abundance of patients, I decided that I needed to see tangible proof of an answer to my prayers. Fred became my "faith project". He soon sprouted roots, and I put him into soil. I watched him grow and grow! My Fred plant grew to over 6 feet tall, and I gave many of my friends and family cuttings off of him (or her, since she had so many babies!).

Now, as I write this story about Fred, it's May 27th,2007. 21 years have come and gone since I first started praying for one solitary leaf named,"Fred". In that time, I have become a convert to the LDS church; Fred actually played a significant roll in that conversion...

...The sister missionaries were over to my house, I was still investigating the church at the time. The topic of faith came up. I suggested that the ladies get a "faith project", I then explained the story about Fred. Later that night, I was reading in the Book of Mormon that they had given me. I read Alma chapter 32 for the first time. I couldn't believe it! I had been quoting the Book of Mormon and didn't even know it! I had spent years searching for the truth before I ever thought to investigate the Mormon church. I had memorized 33 chapters of the Bible by this time and the Bible says, "My words shall not return void" (Isaiah 55:11). They didn't, and even though I had never read the Book of Mormon, I had the word of God hidden in my heart and I was quoting it without even knowing it when I was explaining to the ladies about the seed of faith being like a plant. I was so excited after I read Alma 32; I called the ladies immediately, got their answering machine, and preceded to leave them a very excited message. I knew in my heart that the Book of Mormon WAS the truth; it HAD to be, because I was quoting what I already had in my heart from previous Bible exposure.

I did not have Fred anymore because my estranged husband had put my beloved plant on the curb while my children and I were in a battered woman's shelter. As I said, I had given pieces of Fred to my family and friends over the years, but I had no idea if any of them still had their Fred plants. So, the next day, I decided to surprise the ladies with a shaflera (that was the kind or plant Fred was). I looked in several stores, but was unsuccessful at finding that particular plant. I went home discouraged. Later that week, I was at my sister's house (I don't go there very often) and I noticed a 4-foot "Fred" plant in her living room! I exclaimed, "Juanita, where did you get that plant!?" She said, "Don't you remember? You gave it to me; it's a baby off of Fred." I didn't remember giving her a cutting, but I asked her if I could have 5 cuttings off of her plant. She gave them to me and I in turn gave each of the ladies one (I kept 3 for myself).

Those first missionaries finished their missions and went home taking their Fred plants with them. I later received a letter from one of them along with pictures telling me how she used the story of Fred as a lesson in her study group! I gave the other two cuttings (besides the one I kept for myself) to the new missionaries; one of those plants is still in the apartment of the sister missionaries. My cutting grew into a nice plant, which I have since given several cuttings off of to various church members and other missionaries. Pieces of Fred are in California, Utah, West Virginia, Canada, and even in Tonga! After 21 years, several moves, even my husband's attempt at destroying him, Fred lives on and is still blessing the lives of everyone who comes into contact with him! This all started with one leaf that I decided to pray for! This is a testament to the power of prayer AND the power of God! PRAISE GOD!!!!!!

[Guest Purple Smidgen]

Originally posted by Weaver;134

Repentance is the second principle in the 4th Article of Faith. Repentance is required of us all on a daily basis. Ecclesiastes 7:20 states that, "There is not a just man upon the earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."

Because of the great love our Father in Heaven has for each of us, He has given us the principle of repentance. This principle is provided for us to become free from our sins and receive forgiveness from Heavenly Father.

The privilege of repenting is made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, in which He suffered the penalty for all our sins

I believe repentance can be easy or difficult for each of us, depending on our attitude and upon the seriousness of the sins we have committed.

We must each remember that there are steps we must follow to complete the repentance process - of course depending on the seriousness of the sin.

1) Recognizing that we have sinned. If there is no admission of a sin, then

there can be no repentance.

2) There must be sincere regret for the sin commited, a feeling of regret for

something terribly done.

3) The sincere regret should lead one to not repeat the sin.

4) One must confess the sin to Heavenly Father; this confession releases the

heavy burden of what has been done and allowed the Savior to carry the

burden.

5) Part of the repentance process is making restitution

6) Forgiveness. 3 Nephi 13:14-15 reminds us that "God will not forgive us

unless our hearts are fully cleansed of all hate, bitterness, and bad

feelings against other people."

7) The repentance process is complete when the obedience to all the

commandments of God are kept. A truly repentant person will have a

great desire to obey the laws of God. For example, paying tithing,

keeping the Sabbath Day holy, keeping the Word of Wisdom, etc.

And finally - a truly repentant person is one whose life changes for the better.

With all that said and still needing to remind myself often of the true repentant person, I still need to work on this process and do what the Lord expects of me. I thank the Lord for His patience with me!

I have a question...What If you repent of something...then do it again? I mean...I'm really sorry for my sin, but it is hard to get rid of...say, cussing, for example. I ask God to help me to get rid of it, I repent, but I still end up cussing in frustration or when I hurt myself...how can you tell when you are truly repentant?

[Giuseppe]

You know that you have repented "completely" when you don't do the same mistake again and you don't even have the desire to do it again.

However, it is not always easy to get rid of something and I suppose that we are all in process of repenting of several things. Certain things we get rid of faster and other require more time.

Our entire life should be a repenting process.

Does it make sense?

[Jeny]

I have been LDS for three years and I am still repenting every day...conversion is a process, Don't expect to be perfect overnight...G-d looks on the heart, man sees the actions of man, G-d sees the reason FOR those actions....Just put your trust in the lord and follow him with all your heart and you will see a change in your heart...you will no longer want to do the things that you are struggling with now, you will see...

[imported_Mollie]

When we truly repent of a sin, do we really have no desire to ever do it again? Are we to truly forget that sin - it seems that we need to remember what we did so that we don't do it again. Need some clarification from others

[Jeny]

That's a good question, Molly...The people of king Benjamin's time seemed to have no desire to sin again...I'm not that perfect...I still desire coffee after three years in this church...I think it is a process, repentance and conversion are a process and change isn't always instantaneous.

Does that make any sense?

[emeliza]

When we truly repent of a sin, do we really have no desire to ever do it again? Are we to truly forget that sin - it seems that we need to remember what we did so that we don't do it again. Need some clarification from others

The desire to do it is gone, but we don't forget it truly. I remember many things in my life that I have done and have repented of. I no longer want to do whatever it was again, but I remember it. Generally instead of a desire to do it, I remember why I don't want to do it anymore.

[HiJolly]

I thought I had: When we gain knowledge in a thing that we *used* to have faith in, then that new knowledge introduces us to new realms of possibility, in which we can now exercise new faith. So, rather than knowledge eliminating faith, what it does is spark or create whole new vistas in which faith for the first time becomes active.

HiJolly

[Jeny]

I thought I had: When we gain knowledge in a thing that we *used* to have faith in, then that new knowledge introduces us to new realms of possibility, in which we can now exercise new faith. So, rather than knowledge eliminating faith, what it does is spark or create whole new vistas in which faith for the first time becomes active.

HiJolly

That is so true!! The more my faith is confirmed, the more G-d allows me to reach out further!! What a powerful incite!! Thank you for that!!

[Maya]

Faith is to jumpin into the darkness KNOWING He is there to catch you!

Hmm I think I put that asmy motto or something...

[bunnzy]

Theoretically, what would happen if HF didnt answer your prayers, (for whatever reason). What if Fred hadnt sprouted?

What if you have jumped into the darkness and not been caught? What if horrible, awful things have happened to you, and you are angry at God for not helping you?

How do you have faith when you cannot feel the spirit because of an illness? (and lets not argue this point, i know its true, because it has happened to others i know, not just me)

[HiJolly]

Theoretically, what would happen if HF didnt answer your prayers, (for whatever reason). What if Fred hadnt sprouted?

Happens to me all the time. I have found out that HF doesn't want to just give me answers -- He wants me to sweat and work for answers. I think I can count the direct answers I've rec'd on one hand. And that's over 45 years of asking. (more or less). If I've really got my shorts in a bind, He'll make sure I get the message - but only ONCE did he answer directly and with power, in a timely way (and even then, it was weeks in the making).

I know a couple of people that say that God hasn't ever answered their prayers. Don't know what to say, except I could claim that myself for many years, but did not. I saw in my life many answers that MIGHT have come from HF in a really round-about way. Now, after more experience, I know they were answers from HF. They just didn't come the way I expected and/or wanted them to.

What if you have jumped into the darkness and not been caught? What if horrible, awful things have happened to you, and you are angry at God for not helping you?

This happens to one of my sons quite a bit. He simply can't judge things by the spirit, and gets himself into trouble THINKING he's following the spirit. All I can say is, if you know you're "challenged", you gotta take extra precautions. Like if you know you easily get lost driving to a new place in town, you take maps, looking it up on mapquest or whatever.

I have found that Mormonism is a very practical religion. It's about doing what works in life. Thank HF!!

How do you have faith when you cannot feel the spirit because of an illness? (and lets not argue this point, i know its true, because it has happened to others i know, not just me)

Faith is not like many people think, IE, screwing up your face in concentration and making something happen. That's not what it is. JS taught that faith is a principle of ACTION. If you eat food, you have faith that it will nourish you (or taste good & make you fat ). If you have faith in the Church, you participate. If you have faith in God, you try to obey the commandments. JS also taught that faith is a gift from HF to those who try to do what's right. It goes in degrees.

Hope these comments help---

HiJolly

[emeliza]

We had a lesson in SA FHE last night on faith. The lesson involved setting mousetraps walking thru them in a maze type blindly with only direction from a friend.

My friend teaching it correlated it to faith. He mention how life is full of traps and sometimes we walk blindly thru them. But we have to take a risk and rely on Heavenly Father for help.

The end of his lesson he asked, "But is it really a risk if we are putting our trust in HF?"

[Maya]

Theoretically, what would happen if HF didnt answer your prayers, (for whatever reason). What if Fred hadnt sprouted?

What if you have jumped into the darkness and not been caught? What if horrible, awful things have happened to you, and you are angry at God for not helping you?

How do you have faith when you cannot feel the spirit because of an illness? (and lets not argue this point, i know its true, because it has happened to others i know, not just me)

No theory.. I have jumped... for some reason He did not quite cach me and it has for sure happened awfull things. Yes I been angry at God I still would likie ta ask him why... I would not shout I would just cry and I am sure He will come with a good reason like someone else had to get to experience something that hurt me and that He knew I could handle it.

Funny thing was once when I jumped I did it, cause I knew I had got an answer.... and still I got hurt more than I could ever have emagined that I could endure. But I was never alone... I am never alone!

I was at the edge and the temptation to jump and make sure no one cauched me, so I could end it all, was enormous, but hey I am still here and I have made a decition to trust my HF and leave what ever has done against me to him to deal with. Gee that decition makes me feel so much better. But stil it is not easy to meet the people that have done wrong to me, but I try to be as if nothing happened. They never said they are sorry cause they believe I did wrong, which I did not do... which I have tried to tell them... complicated.

[JohnBirchSociety]

James E. Talmage said:

"The terms faith and belief are sometimes regarded as synonyms; nevertheless each of them has a specific meaning in our language, although in earlier usage there was little distinction between them, and therefore the words are used interchangeably in many scriptural passages. Belief, in one of its accepted senses, may consist in a merely intellectual assent, while faith implies such confidence and conviction as will impel to action. Dictionary authority justifies us in drawing a distinction between the two, according to present usage in English; and this authority defines belief as a mental assent to the truth or actuality of anything, excluding, however, the moral element of responsibility through such assent, which responsibility is included by faith. Belief is in a sense passive, an agreement or acceptance only; faith is active and positive, embracing such reliance and confidence as will lead to works. Faith in Christ comprises belief in Him, combined with trust in Him. One cannot have faith without belief; yet he may believe and still lack faith. Faith is vivified, vitalized, living belief. (AF:87-88").

The Articles of Faith collect some of the main principles of the Mormon Faith. It is good to remember that they are not simply "Articles of Belief" because they need to compel us to action.

Faith is the ultimate power in a creative universe.

[jadams_4040]

James E. Talmage said:

"The terms faith and belief are sometimes regarded as synonyms; nevertheless each of them has a specific meaning in our language, although in earlier usage there was little distinction between them, and therefore the words are used interchangeably in many scriptural passages. Belief, in one of its accepted senses, may consist in a merely intellectual assent, while faith implies such confidence and conviction as will impel to action. Dictionary authority justifies us in drawing a distinction between the two, according to present usage in English; and this authority defines belief as a mental assent to the truth or actuality of anything, excluding, however, the moral element of responsibility through such assent, which responsibility is included by faith. Belief is in a sense passive, an agreement or acceptance only; faith is active and positive, embracing such reliance and confidence as will lead to works. Faith in Christ comprises belief in Him, combined with trust in Him. One cannot have faith without belief; yet he may believe and still lack faith. Faith is vivified, vitalized, living belief. (AF:87-88").

The Articles of Faith collect some of the main principles of the Mormon Faith. It is good to remember that they are not simply "Articles of Belief" because they need to compel us to action.

The word faith to me means very simply "trust".

[CourtneyP]

To me, faith is a belief in something that cannot be scientifically proven.

For example, as kids we all have faith that Santa brings us presents on Christmas Day. Santa's existence has never been proven. Explorers to the North Pole have never found a workshop or a sleigh or toys. But millions of little kids believe that Santa exists and that he's the one bringing presents to them.

Faith in God is similar. We believe that He exists. We believe that his son Jesus died so that we may have eternal life. We believe that the Book of Mormon is true and is another testament of Jesus Christ. Do we have any scientific proof in these things? No, but we still hold fast to these beliefs.

That is faith to me.

[fish4kitty]

Faith for me is real simple It's taking God at His word.

f4k