Heavenly Father is Faithful

[Sal]

Alma 37:16

 

16 But if ye keep the commandments of God, and do with these things which are sacred according to that which the Lord doth command you, (for you must appeal unto the Lord for all things whatsoever ye must do with them) behold, no power of earth or hell can take them from you, for God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words.

we can see through the Words of Alma that God is faithful always to us he seeks our obedience to his commandments God will never never leave you nor forsake you he is true to his word he will bless you and your seed by keeping his words !

 

 

 

[laronius]

2 hours ago, Sal said:

Alma 37:16

 

16 But if ye keep the commandments of God, and do with these things which are sacred according to that which the Lord doth command you, (for you must appeal unto the Lord for all things whatsoever ye must do with them) behold, no power of earth or hell can take them from you, for God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words.

we can see through the Words of Alma that God is faithful always to us he seeks our obedience to his commandments God will never never leave you nor forsake you he is true to his word he will bless you and your seed by keeping his words !

 

 

 

His ability to be perfectly faithful to us is the foundation for our ability to have complete (though perhaps imperfect) faith in Him. 

[Traveler]

So being faithful is the same as having faith?

 

The Traveler

[The Folk Prophet]

3 hours ago, Traveler said:

So being faithful is the same as having faith?

Would you distinguish the two ideas as being different?

[Vort]

1 hour ago, The Folk Prophet said:

4 hours ago, Traveler said:

So being faithful is the same as having faith?

Would you distinguish the two ideas as being different?

I would. A faithful wife (or a faithful friend, or a faithful dog) is not one that necessarily has faith, but one in whom you can have faith. I assume that's at least part of the meaning of the statement "God is faithful".

[The Folk Prophet]

34 minutes ago, Vort said:

I would. A faithful wife (or a faithful friend, or a faithful dog) is not one that necessarily has faith, but one in whom you can have faith. I assume that's at least part of the meaning of the statement "God is faithful".

I can see that (obviously it's semantics). But...a dog does darned too have faith in their owner! 😀

Literally, the dictionary gives one of the definitions of faithful as "full of faith", though it terms the definition obsolete. But I have little doubt that many scriptural usages of that word mean exactly that. 

I don't see that, necessarily, as the singular meaning of "faithful" in the scriptures. But in my study I have determined that to be what it likely often means. 

Actually, even more importantly, to my understanding, I think understanding it in reverse is useful... as in the meaning of "to have faith" means to be faithful. 

[Traveler]

15 hours ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Would you distinguish the two ideas as being different?

It is a matter of perspective and open demonstration.  It seems to me that we are faithful to that for which we have faith.  The more faithful to that for which we most have faith.  Thanks for your question.

 

The Traveler

[Sal]

17 hours ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Would you distinguish the two ideas as being different?

Yep ! Being faithful is being loyal and trustworthy to the tools God has given you to perform your calling so his will would be done ! Having faith is believing in the unseen !

[The Folk Prophet]

39 minutes ago, Sal said:

 Having faith is believing in the unseen !

Exclamation point aside, I think that's a pretty narrow and limiting view of it.

Moreover, I think it's incorrect. Though I will grant that is the primary kids answer that's often the typical view. But I'd suggest that "belief" is it's own principle. One we are commanded on as well.

I think belief plays a role in faith. But claiming faith and belief to be synonymous, as I said, seems limiting. Words have different meaning, of course. And "strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof:" is, indeed ONE of the definitions of it. I don't tend to think, however, that when the scriptures or the prophets and apostles discuss faith that they're exclusively speaking of "belief in the unseen", though sometimes they may be.

In point of fact, the Bible Dictionary explicitly states: "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;"

Though, I will grant, the Bible Dictionary entry on faith is, in my opinion, flawed. I mean it says, for example, "Although faith is a gift, it must be cultured and sought after until it grows from a tiny seed to a great tree." This is scripturally incorrect. Alma does not teach that of faith. The seed that is planted, must be cultured, and which grows from a tiny seed to a great tree is not faith. As Alma clearly states: "Now, we will compare the word unto a seed...." (Alma 32:28)

But I digress.

I think there's room for a broader understanding of what faith is, how it relates to faithfulness, and how application of the two are, in many ways, similar. And I believe it is, as I said, limiting to closing oneself off to that sort of thinking.

[The Folk Prophet]

2 hours ago, Traveler said:

It is a matter of perspective and open demonstration.  It seems to me that we are faithful to that for which we have faith.  The more faithful to that for which we most have faith. 

It strikes me that your answer (in sync with my thinking) demonstrates they are the same at the core.

If one has faith, one is faithful. If one is faithful, one has faith. If one has no faith, one is not faithful. If one is not faithful, one is not having faith.

I can understand that the usage of the words has different contextual usage. Of course. But they essentially, and in practice, amount to the same thing.

Stating one "has" faith but then not remaining faithful puts a lie to the statement that one has faith. They are inseparable.

Restating the quote from the Bible Dictionary in my reply to @Sal, "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;", might well be stated, "Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and is more than belief, since true faith always [means being faithful];"

Having faith. Acting in good faith. Being faithful. Showing faith. Etc., etc.... it's basically all the same.

By the way, the only reason I'm harping on this is because it is quite true that in common usage, "having faith" does mean to simply "believe". And that is problematic. In many ways, that idea is taught us by the movies. You know...Hollywood wisdom. Just what we want guiding our eternal understanding, right?