Church Chat...Well Isn't That Just Special?!

One of the things I have always liked about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is that they operate with a lay clergy.  Nobody is paid to manage, run or preach to the congregation.  This is unique and a pretty cool thing.  The downside is that you occasionally get asked to address the congregation and that just ain't my thing!  This last Sunday was such a day.  Oi!  I hate speaking in church.  Add to the already difficult task was the fact that the meeting time was already busy and congested due to a baby blessing and a longer Sacrament as a result of the many who were there to support their family that was either blessing a baby or there to hear a returning missionary speak.  I found the subject I was given, "What it means to have faith in Christ" a difficult topic.  There is so much to learn and share and such a limited time to do so. 

I don't think I did that well.  I felt flustered and pressured by the restraints put upon me with the schedule.  I wanted to make sure the returning missionary had time to speak; it was, afterall, his day!  his homecoming!  Also, in the two weeks I had to prepare, I had an overwhelming impression I needed to address my talk to a specific person or persons, unknown by me who that would be.  I felt over and over again that there was a somebody who needed to know that Christ loved them, that they were not alone.  As I prayed in my heart before my turn to speak, I prayed a different prayer.  Typically I prayed that I would "give a good talk", meaning that I would be composed and eloquent and that I was able to communicate the thoughts I had prepared.  This time I prayed that I "would give the talk that was necessary to reach that person and that I would communicate somehow the things they needed to hear."  I hope that was accomplished. 

I am not certain of what I said because I was so all over the place, but below is the talk I intended to give. 

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Brothers and Sisters, Happy Daylight Savings Time.  I wish we could spring forward an hour right now and be done with this.  :)  I am honored to share the pulpit with Elder Judd today.  I was honored to serve in the Young Men's Program with him and now I have the privilege of speaking with him.  Wonderful.  I have to admit though, I am a bit jealous.  I served my mission in British Columbia where there were many Ukrainians.  I enjoyed many meals of Borscht, Perogies and Piroshkis.  I find it a little unfair that I gained weight while Justin managed to lose it!

What does it mean to have Faith in Christ?  This is the topic I have been given to speak on.  There are so many lessons, scriptures and discourses on the subject of faith and it has been fun this past two weeks to study this topic, however I have found it difficult to prioritize what I should share or not in the short time I’ve been given.  I would encourage everybody to take a moment this week and study the lectures on faith along with the chapters on faith found in the books of Hebrews, Alma, Ether and James.

As I studied, I came to this brief understanding of what it means to  have faith in Christ and it can be explained in four parts:  First, To have faith in Christ is to first hope that he exists.  Second, is to study his teachings.  Thirdly, to have faith in Christ is to believe that His teachings are true and that the promises made to us are real.  Lastly, to have faith in Christ is to emulate him, his teachings and his life; To follow His commandments that have been given to us, whether they be given directly from Him or from the mouth of His prophets.

I would like to touch on a few thoughts that I had regarding these four steps.

First - We must have hope.  For without hope, the potential of having faith in Him ceases to be.  As Alma explains in the 32nd chapter, “Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of a thing, but rather a hope for someone or in something that is not seen.”  We must first, accept the possibility that there is a Christ; that there is quite possibly a plan from the beginning of time and that this life is a part of this great plan.  We must first accept that the possibility that this plan requires a Savior and that Jesus is His name.  For, without the willingness to accept this as a potential truth, this hope has no chance to develop into faith.  

A hardened heart with no hope and disbelief is not the fertile soil needed for the seed of faith.  As Alma explains, this seed of hope need only be the smallest of particles, but if planted in our hearts and not cast aside from our disbelief, as we nurture it, we will feel this seed swell in our souls and we will know it is a good seed and our understanding will be enlightened and will grow.  If we have hope in Jesus Christ, we allow ourselves the opportunity to grow in Faith and eventually gain a pure knowledge that Jesus is the Christ.

Secondly and Thirdly we must study the life and teachings of Christ and believe those teachings as actual and factual truth.  We must take him at His word.  We must internalize His word and make His gospel part of our temporal and spiritual make up.  We must learn what is expected of us and what we can expect in return.  

To have faith in Him is to accept what he says and to trust that the promises he makes us are real as are the consequences.  To have faith in Christ is to learn his commandments and to develop a love for Him and a belief in His counsel as we study His teachings.  

How many of us have read of His love for us and have studied His crucifixion and suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane only to find ourselves at some point in our lives in the pits of despair; believing there is no hope for us and that all is lost.  To have faith in Him is to believe Him when he tells us that our lives are saved by His sacrifice.  

How many of us continue as best as we can to everyone around us and end up running faster than we have strength, and thus find ourselves wearied and burdened with the weight of the world or worse, by sin?  To have faith in Him is to believe Him when we read, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”  

To have faith in Him is to forfeit our lives to His cause and to trust that we will find peace and rest and that we are worth the price he paid for us.  To have faith in Him is to lay our worldly possessions, our burdens and our sins at his feet and to believe that we are never far from his love and embrace.  To have faith in Him is to believe that we can find joy and life eternal in the kingdom of our Father as he has promised.  I have faith in Him when I consider the promise He makes to me that death is not the end and that families are forever; that I will be reunited with my Father and family once more.

Naturally, as hope develops into faith, faith will develop into outward action.  As they say, the proof is in the pudding.  If you’re gonna’ talk the talk, you gotta’ walk the walk.  It’s time to put up or shut up.  This is where the rubber hits the road.  This is where faith finds it’s greatest power and blessing.  To have faith in Christ is to emulate his life and to put into action those things he taught; To obey the commandments and to apply His teachings in order to bless the lives of others and our own.  

Faith precedes the miracle and is the precursor of every act and miracle wrought by the prophets of God throughout the world's history.  By faith Able offered up a sacrifice to God.  By faith Enoch was translated.  By faith Noah built the ark and extended man's existence.  By faith Abraham wandered in the wilderness and by faith he offered up his son, Isaac, the very son by which Abraham's posterity was to number as the sands in the sea.  By faith Moses' parents hid him from harm and set him adrift in a basket.  It was by faith that Moses chose a life of slavery and affliction over that of privilege.  It was by faith that he parted the waters of the Red Sea and led the children of Israel out of Egypt.  It was by faith that Alma and Amulek caused the walls of the prison to tumble to the earth.  It was by faith that the Brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord. 

Ether 12:18 tells us "And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the son of God."  Thus we see that faith is the common characteristic of every moving miracle from the hands of the prophets throughout history.  In each example, the believer first had faith in Christ and the miracle then followed.  This faith is not limited to the use of God's chosen prophets, but available to each of us if we will obtain, develop and exercise that faith in Christ throughout our lives.
Faith without Works Is Dead.  Some may argue that it is by grace and grace alone that we are saved and that works are an unnecessary characteristic of faith.  It is true that, at the end of the day, it is by God’s great grace and mercy that we are saved.   By his grace he has given us a Savior to help us overcome death through his atonement and resurrection.  He has explained that it is through His Son and His grace that we are saved, but this does not negate the need for works, for it is in our actions that our faith is manifested.  Some may say that I only need to read a simple prayer and accept Christ as my Savior in order to be saved.  Me?  I can’t comprehend what “accepting Christ” is to be without the inclusion of good works.   Is not praying an act?  I propose that “Accepting” is an act as well.  Our actions are a literal manifestation of our belief and faith, otherwise, why would we accept Him if we had not hope?  Why would we pray if we had not faith?  

In the book of James, 2nd chapter, it reads, - "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works?  Can faith save him?  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works:  Shew me thy faith without works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.  Though believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble.  But wilt though know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"

In my honest opinion, it makes no sense to belabor the point. For if one truly has faith in Christ, you shall know it by their fruits.  I'm sure everybody would agree it is better to have faith supported by good works than it is to have faith alone.

What good does it do to profess love for Christ when we do not show that same love to our family, neighbors or even strangers, as He would?  Again, to have faith in Christ is to study and believe His word.  It was Christ who said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”  What good does it to profess faith in Christ and his commandments while never striving to keep them?  It makes no sense.  Did he not say, “If ye love me, keep my commandments?”  If one has faith in Christ, one WILL strive to keep his commandments.

Joseph Smith said “As faith is the moving principle of all action in temporal concerns, so it is in spiritual matters.”  I may have faith that flipping a light switch will illuminate the room, but without walking to and flipping the switch, the room will remain dark.  Thus faith is not sufficient.  We must act in that faith to realize the reward.

Unfortunately, we are not perfect.  Our faith will waiver.  We will err.  What then?

We must never cease to cultivate and nourish the seed of faith that was planted in our heart.  Surely, we will slip along the way .  Fortunately, a gracious Father in Heaven has planned for this and has made accommodation through His Son’s atonement.  As we sin, and throughout life, we must apply and reapply the process of faith; first having hope, then studying Christ’s teachings, believing what he taught and the promises he made.  Then acting in repentance, as the seed of faith swells within us, we must trust that we will be forgiven as he has promised.  It is through faith in Christ that we gain a perfect knowledge of Him and His love for us.  For this is the way we will return to Him.  

Over and over again as I prepared this talk, this point made an impression on me.  We must believe that He is the way.  We must come to an understanding and belief that He has gained through His experience in the Garden of Gethsemane, a deep and very real understanding of our suffering and trials and as a result of that experience, He will forgive us.  I see around me wonderful people with a great testimonies of the Savior; testimonies in action, but somehow in our little corner of the world, I also see a people who expect sooo much of themselves that they find it hard to forgive themselves when they stumble.  We read about how we shouldn’t covet or find jealousy, yet we get caught up in keeping up with the Jones’.  Far too often, the joy and pleasure of our own accomplishments are overshadowed by the accomplishments of others.  Oftentimes we accomplish such great things, but allow the simple short-comings or failures to hold a weight greater than our many successes.  This commonly leads to battles with depression, low self worth or low self esteem which can quickly lead to self destructing behavior such as bitterness or addiction.

Many live with a happy and righteous façade while inside they doubt their own capabilities or feel discouraged and unaccomplished.  To these people I say, Have Faith!  Have faith!  Know that Christ loves you!  He has told us this time and time again in word and deed.  He has promised to lift our burdens if we will but lay them at his feet.  He has promised to pay our debts at judgment day if we will accept him, repent and strive to be better.  We must have faith in him.  We must trust that He speaks truth.  We must know and appreciate that we are worth the price he paid for us.  Each of us.  Not collectively, but personally and individually.  He felt your individual pain.  He knows what it is to suffer defeat, depression, heart break, illness and sin.  He elected to experience these things in order to make him the perfect judge filled with mercy and love.   

So it is in my life.  Some of you may be aware of the trials I faced last year.  Last year truly was the worst year of my life.  I spent the bulk of last year in immense physical pain, spending the better part of three months in bed. With my Father's health failing fast, I was unable to assist him like I wanted to and eventually lost him to cancer. During these six months, I felt physical pain, emotional discomfort, mental anguish and a strong sense of inadequacy as I was unable to provide for my family like usual.  

In addition to my amazing wife and a few good friends, it was really two things that helped me endure.  An understanding and belief that God gives no man any trial that cannot be endured and faith that I was not alone.  It was my faith in that Christ knew precisely how I felt that gave me strength.  With that knowledge, I found comfort that my pain was understood.  I found solace in His atonement.  I knew my suffering would not be eternal, but that it too should pass.  This same comfort is afforded to each of us in times of conflict, trial or in sin.  

To me, to have faith in Christ is to have hope that he is real, to study his words and put into practice his teachings and to nurture that hope into faith.  To me, ultimately, my faith saves me.  I know from my studies what I must do.  My faith is manifest in what I do and still, I know I will fall short.  To have faith in Christ is to believe that all we can do is all we can do, and that He will make up the difference.  He WILL bridge the gap.  His sacrifice makes my life eternal a reality.  What greater gift can there be than to go through this life knowing that I cannot fail so long as Christ’s atonement is real and that I take advantage of it.  I hope in Christ, I have faith in Christ and I know Christ loves me.  I see it in everything around me.  I see it in each of you.  I see it in Elder Rich’s service.  I see it in my wife and Children.  For this I am grateful.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.