Many people incorrectly think of faith as a general property. They say, “I have faith,” or “he is a faithful person.” In reality, faith is a process. It is a tool that can be applied to any topic, situation, outcome, level of knowledge, object of desire, or depth of desire. For example, faith is always exercised at the level of particular beliefs, and beliefs are specific. Beliefs can explain one or very many things, but each and every belief must take the form of a mapping of specific causes and specific effects.
When you exercise faith in a belief, you will either find yourself proving your belief by receiving the intended outcome or you will find yourself revising your understanding of the belief so as to bring it into accordance with new information you have learned in the process.
Knowledge comes through faith
Faith is not knowledge. Knowledge is the product of faith. Faith converts belief into knowledge:
...faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. (Ether 12:6)
When you see the outcomes you predicted via reason occur through your actions, your faith will convert to knowledge:
22 [God] desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word.
26 Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.
27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
29 Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.
30 But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.
31 And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness.
32 Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.
33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.
34 And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand.
35 O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good; and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect?
36 Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good. (Alma 32)
There are many examples of the transition from faith to knowledge in the scriptures. For example, one righteous man found that, after a lifetime of faithfully seeking Jesus, he obtained such great confidence in his existence and character that he could no longer be kept from seeing him:
19 And because of the knowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the veil; and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had faith no longer, for he <u>knew, nothing doubting.</u>
20 Wherefore, having this perfect knowledge of God, he could not be kept from within the veil; therefore he saw Jesus; and he did minister unto him. (Ether 3)
What you can only have through faith
Faith gives people time to come up to greater knowledge. The consequences for disobeying knowledge are higher than the consequences for disobeying faith:
19 And now, how much more cursed is he that knoweth the will of God and doeth it not, than he that only believeth, or only hath cause to believe, and falleth into transgression?
20 Now of this thing ye must judge. Behold, I say unto you, that it is on the one hand even as it is on the other; and it shall be unto every man according to his work. (Alma 32)
Faith is a gift from God designed to help you leverage God’s justice to acquire greater outcomes than you would be able to were you given experiential knowledge of all things all at once.
Those who wait to believe until they are compelled to believe will find themselves held accountable for much in the event that they are unprepared for what they learn.
There are degrees of joy that can only be experienced by those who exercise exceedingly great faith. In many things, experience alone can never provide the same lessons and benefits as experience preceded by faith. For example, the sons of Mosiah—who conducted a tremendously faithful mission to a hopelessly deprived people—experienced such joy upon the completion of their mission, when their faith produced massive results in the form of the heartfelt conversion of thousands of people:
Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness. (Alma 27:18)
Those who seek and act in faith will receive greater outcomes than those who only act when compelled by knowledge:
13 And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved.
14 And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?
15 Yea, he that truly humbleth himself, and repenteth of his sins, and endureth to the end, the same shall be blessed—yea, much more blessed than they who are compelled to be humble because of their exceeding poverty.
16 Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe. (Alma 32)
Only those who act in faith will seek God and obey him to the degree required to learn everything necessary in this life to enjoy eternal life hereafter. Only those who act in faith here will feel comfortable dwelling in God’s presence, because they will find rest in the knowledge that they sought and heeded everything God tried to teach them here, through their own free choice, and not because they had to.
Faith provides a way for us to feel as though we did our part while acknowledging the insignificance of even our best efforts compared to God’s contributions:
Your faithfulness in time of trial shall prove to be a strength, your wisdom and knowledge your salvation; your fear of Jehovah shall be your riches. (Isaiah 33:6, Gileadi Translation)
This blessing can never be merited by us, because his initial, continued, and constant contributions to our faith make it impossible for us to get to the point where we deserve what he offers, even though we must obey all he commands.
Confidence from faith and from knowledge
The necessity of confidence was constantly taught by Jesus. He showed that there are many outcomes that simply can’t come to pass without it. For example:
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. (Matthew 21:21)
Note how Jesus did not say “believe that you can command trees and mountains, and it shall be done.” He said “ if ye have faith, and doubt not...” If you have insufficient reasons to believe that the trees and mountains will obey you, they won’t.
Jacob explained that this kind of confidence can only come through going through many cycles of learning more and acting accordingly:
Wherefore, 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)
Both faith and knowledge provide confidence, but the difference is found in its source.
Faith draws confidence from rational thought. Through the mental processing of information from any of various sources, the faithful person comes to the point where they can say that they have sufficient reasons to believe that a certain set of actions will lead to a certain outcome to the extent that they are willing to act accordingly.
Knowledge provides confidence from physical experience. The individual recalls what they have seen or experienced and assumes that repetition of the conditions will yield the same result.
The domain of knowledge-based confidence is the physical world. The domain of faith-based confidence is the realm of thought.
Faith is a mechanism of action, but it is not the only mechanism for action. Actions come from faith, but they can also come from carnal knowledge.
Carnal knowledge doesn’t mean secular or temporal knowledge. All knowledge comes from God. Carnal knowledge, rather, is the subset of knowledge that excludes knowledge that comes from thought alone. Animals act almost exclusively via carnal knowledge. Of all God’s creations, humans are the most gifted in our ability to think abstractly and critically. However, no one forces us to use these faculties. We are completely able to act no different than animals, and many people choose to do exactly that.
Neither knowledge nor faith are immune from limitations in understanding or perception. History is replete with examples of human knowledge that was incorrect or incomplete, and we can presume that much of what we consider to be sure knowledge today is likewise incorrect or incomplete. Similarly, much of what people have done and continue to do based on faith was and is incorrect or incomplete.
While we can’t prevent incorrect or incomplete beliefs that are based on our best, honest understanding, we certainly can and should minimize the influence of beliefs based on insufficient reasons—whether mental or physical—and outright abort beliefs that are clearly contradicted until information arises that suggests otherwise.
How does one reconcile faith with the fact that what you initially confide in will often prove incorrect or incomplete? It is highly unlikely that your initial faith target will be correct, or that it will endure all future additional information you might learn. This in no way should deter you from exercising great faith and attempting to learn everything you can.
While “doubting nothing” is going to prove a mistake until you discover all pertinent information regarding what you seek and how to obtain it, having confidence through faith is the only way you’ll discover improved information beyond what you otherwise could not realize was imperfect or incomplete.
Consider shooting targets with a rifle. If your aim is poor, you still may be able to hit close targets with the gun’s default sights. Increased aiming skill will be required to hit a distant target with those sights. If you aim at distant enough targets, you will not be able to distinguish between aim that will hit the target and aim that will not: both sight pictures will be indistinguishable. With the aid of a scope, you can resolve between aims that will hit the far target and those that will not. So it is with faith.
It is always good to know everything you can, precisely because of the fact that greater knowledge will reveal errors and limitations in you that you would not otherwise realize. When you seek, “doubting nothing,” you will find that sometimes you are wrong. That is the point! It is the only way you will discover limits that you would never have noticed if you never bothered seeking in the first place, or if you did so only half-heartedly. The point is not to be correct at first, but to be correct eventually, and to be as correct as possible in the meantime. Those who refuse to be wrong now can never be right later.
We don’t tend to get into trouble for believing things we shouldn’t. We get into trouble when we refuse to change our beliefs when given good reason to. If we truly believe them for honest reasons, we will act according to them, and very quickly discover our mistake.
There is a specific time appointed for faith
We only have a limited time to exercise faith. Life is:
...a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead. (Alma 12:24)
This whole world was created for the precise purpose of providing a space where mankind could exercise faith.
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; 26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever. (Abraham 3)
Faith in a particular belief can only exist until that belief has been physically proven through reaching the expected outcome. Experience is in some ways like sand through an hourglass—rendering beliefs into knowledge.
If you only act according to what is physically obvious, you’re wasting the opportunity of mortality. This is not manifested merely in the spiritual sense.
Consider the temporal outcome of those who refuse to do anything they aren’t forced to do. They live their lives in the squalor of the minimum required.
Consider those who refuse to think critically, sacrifice the present for sake of the future, and otherwise prepare now for what will happen later. They are reliably surprised by some disaster that was completely predictable.
If the principle of faith pays such dividends in temporal applications— and it does—consider how much it matters in spiritual applications, where one’s state will forever be determined through their willingness to exercise faith while in mortality.
What does it look like to make no sacrifices except those that seem absolutely necessary here and now? What does it look like to do only what is required spiritually? Ironically, Jesus never set a minimum standard because what that looks like is as infinite as the number of possibilities that are afforded through faith, but lost through inaction. He made plain that he requires not just everything we have, but everything we can be.
The time and place for faith is here in life. Even within this life, there are many situations that can only be affected through faith for a specific window of time. There are things you can do when you are young that you can no longer do when you are old, things you can do in plenty that you can’t do in privation, things you can do in health that you can’t do in sickness, and things you can do when you are single that you can’t do once you have a family.
Similarly, because knowledge deprives you of the opportunity to have faith, there will be times when your lack of faith in something has resulted in the loss of your opportunity to exercise faith in that thing:
17 Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe.
18 Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it. (Alma 32)
If you find yourself in a situation where you are compelled to believe in something—a situation where life presents to you such sufficient evidences of something that it becomes a sure thing to you, then the time to exercise faith has passed. You can no longer have faith in that thing, and the blessings available for doing so have passed you by.
When faith becomes knowledge
As Jesus was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, he prayed and thanked the Father for hearing him. He then said:
And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. (John 11:42)
It is fascinating to consider Jesus’ surety of the Father always hearing him.
This was not a statement of knowledge, but one of faith. The Father had not yet given Jesus this knowledge—at that time, he still exercised belief that it was the case.
Many people incorrectly assume that Jesus had special access to heaven. In reality, he “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) Jesus experienced angels ministering to him after his forty-day fast and as he bore the sins of the world in the garden of Gethsemane. He heard the voice of the Father testify that he was his son at his baptism and on the mount of transfiguration, where he also saw and spoke with two heavenly messengers. But Jesus obtained these experiences as we do—through first exercising faith. His tremendous experiences came not to provide him with tremendous faith, but because he already had tremendous faith.
Understanding that Jesus, too, was subjected to the need to exercise and grow in faith in his mortal life should cause you to read accounts of his behavior in the New Testament differently. For example, can you ever imagine a situation where you would be so bold as to publicly proclaim something that was based on reasons—but not knowledge—as he did in the foregoing example? Can you imagine yourself having sufficient reasons— but through belief only—to publicly pray to the Father and then attempt to raise someone from the dead? Realize how much more there is to faith than you previously assumed!
Faith can grow into knowledge:
26 Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.
27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
29 Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.
30 But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.
31 And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness.
32 Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.
33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.
34 And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand. (Alma 32)
However, we ought not underestimate the duration of the path that leads to knowledge. For each and every target of faith, there is a path one must walk for it to become knowledge. One might have sure knowledge in one area, and still walk by faith in another.
For example, mighty Alma, who at this point had seen an angel, seen the light of God, preached the gospel among the entire country, endured great persecution, received sacred records and seer stones, and been appointed chief judge, still contended in battle against a wicked man:
And it came to pass that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised with much faith, cried, saying: O Lord, have mercy and spare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people. (Alma 2:30)
Isn’t it jarring to consider that this man of God still battled with a sword, that he needed to offer this sincere prayer, that he was at the point of being defeated when he did, and that God’s power in this instance had to be used in such a crude manner?
The juxtaposition of great knowledge with enduring faith ought not be so jarring. A central point of mortality is that, through faith, men and women can transmit great manifestations of light here from heaven, even while remaining in the midst of this fallen world. After all, the holy Lord Jesus Christ still went through the humiliating mortal experience of having to use the bathroom every day of his life.
The purpose of this life is to obtain, through faith, all things that can be obtained through faith. Until we obtain each possible outcome through faith, it is good for us to remain in our mortal limitations in that thing. This life is like a recipe: the completion of one step does not imply the completion of the recipe. While we yet live—while there remains some piece of knowledge we have not yet obtained—there is still work for faith to perform.
Many times, faith becomes knowledge all at once, after the trial of faith, such as when the Lord appeared to the brother of Jared:
19 And because of the knowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the veil; and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting.
20 Wherefore, having this perfect knowledge of God, he could not be kept from within the veil; therefore he saw Jesus; and he did minister unto him. (Ether 3)
Once the Lord had appeared to the brother of Jared, he knew and did not merely believe the Lord’s previous promise that he could be shown anything (see Ether 3:26). Because of this, in the moment he first saw the Lord’s finger, he also obtained access to everything else:
And after the brother of Jared had beheld the finger of the Lord, because of the promise which the brother of Jared had obtained by faith, the Lord could not withhold anything from his sight; wherefore he showed him all things, for he could no longer be kept without the veil. (Ether 12:21)
The greatest blessings come to those willing to endure pressure cooker experiences—trials which build and build without any release until they are finished.
This operates according to the justice of God, who must give a greater reward to those who exercise greater faith. The efforts of people who endure prolonged trials of faith are compounded and yield a much greater blessing than the shorter trials or trials which are punctuated by periodic confirmations of the path.
The greatest outcomes of faith are only available to those who are willing to endure prolonged trials of faith, with few—if any—signs along the way. The greatest knowledge is available only to those who will desire and do the greatest things through faith.
#Chapter 6: Examples of the Faith Cycle
As you learn the faith cycle, you will see it everywhere. You will see it in your life, and you will see it in the lives of others. You will see it all over the scriptures. Let’s consider a few examples from the scriptures to get you started.
Example 1: Jacob
An ancient priest named Jacob reported the following description:
Wherefore, 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)
Jacob described how reading the scriptures yielded many personal communications of information from God and had inspired him and his people to accurately predict the future.
Each time they tested a putative relationship of cause and effect listed in the scriptures, they saw it fulfilled and gained the attendant knowledge. This cycle reached the point where they could read and believe the causes given for such great miracles as commanding trees, mountains, and the sea to the point where their practice of such was as efficacious as it was for those they read about.
Example 2: The man born blind
Jesus once met a man who had been born blind. In the presence of the man, “his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2) Jesus said:
3 ...Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (John 9)
The Lord made mud by spitting on the ground, and rubbed some on the eyes of the blind man. He said: “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” (John 9:7)
The man born blind was given a reason, through what Jesus said, to believe that God had a purpose in his being born blind, and a reason for him to no longer be blind.
On the one hand, the man’s willingness to allow a total stranger to rub spit-mud in his eyes and his willingness to make the long walk to where Jesus told him to go demonstrated an immense open-mindedness. Spitting was considered an extremely crude act at that time, and the pool of Siloam lay far enough away that the instructed walk constituted a significant challenge for a blind man. On the other hand, perhaps he was just honest. He was blind and begging. What did he have to lose? Either way, in obeying Jesus, he was healed.
When those who had known him asked him how it happened, he was honest:
He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. (John 9:11)
He was not gushing with praise for Jesus. He merely said what he had reason to say.
Next, he was brought to the Pharisees, who he surely knew hated Jesus. In spite of this, he told them the same thing. They asked the man who he thought Jesus was, to which he replied, “a prophet.” (John 9:17) The Pharisees were not happy about that, and told the man that Jesus was a sinner. He replied with the reasons he had to believe otherwise—reasons the Pharisees had not managed to displace:
He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. (John 9:25)
The Pharisees pushed him dishonestly, asking questions that feigned sincerity. The man directly and appropriately challenged them on their dishonesty:
26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?
27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?
28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples.
29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
32 Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.
33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. (John 9)
Instead of exercising honest reason and considering the objective weight of the man’s points, the Pharisees ignored everything he had said, appealed to a false understanding, and kicked him out of the synagogue:
They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. (John 9:34)
When Jesus heard that he had been cast out, he went to find him:
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? 36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. (John 9)
Jesus called attention to the fact that this man had honestly acted in accordance with the reasons he had been given to believe something other than what he previously believed.
From this example, we see that belief is much more logical than most assume. Faith is not some marvelous thing. Though it leads to marvelous outcomes, it does so step by step, through measured and justified reason. We are not condemned for lack of extraordinary belief, but for refusing to believe what is plainly manifest to us.
Example 3: The Samaritan woman at the well
Our final example is found in the woman Jesus met at Jacob’s well.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. (John 4)
It was highly irregular for a man to ask a woman to fetch water for him, and downright scandalous for a Jewish man to ask a Samaritan woman to do so. The woman’s humility was witnessed by the fact that, instead of running away or even ignoring him, she answered him to ask him why he was acting so strangely.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? (John 4)
Jesus responded to her reasonable consideration of what she had experienced by acting even stranger, saying that he had something called living water. Though she was confused, she did not respond by ignoring him or pretending to understand. She asked yet another two questions. Honest reason requires paying due diligence to evidence provided and asking as many questions as merited by what is observed.
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. (John 4)
Jesus’ response to the woman was to provide even more information. Though she certainly did not understand who he was yet, she responded to the evidence he had shown that he possessed something of value to her by requesting it of him. This was the exactly appropriate response for such evidence as was presented, showing her to be a reasonable person.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. (John 4)
Jesus provided her with greater evidence to show that the value of what he possessed was greater than she could know based on the information she already possessed. To this, she made the appropriate response, increasing her assessment of the value he possessed.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. (John 4)
The woman demonstrated a sincere attempt at reconciling what she was learning from Jesus with what she knew from previous reasoning and experience. Jesus provided her with even more information, finally plainly telling her that he was the Messiah. Having made several iterations through the faith cycle during this conversation, she was now ready to hear the truth plainly, and demonstrated this by the appropriate response to such information: going and finding everyone who would listen to come hear him.
#Chapter 7: Faith and Belief
Cause and effect
Outcomes and the actions that lead to them are laws. These are the rules of reality. They were established before the foundation of the world:
20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. (D&C 130)
Reality is just like a chess game: the rules are established before the game begins. The objective of the player is to navigate those rules to obtain the outcome they seek. They have to learn the rules, make a plan, act to win, and adjust based on new information.
Belief
Belief is the purported relationship between cause and effect. A belief consists of an outcome, actions expected to bring it about, and reasons to believe that such is the case.
People hold all types of beliefs—strongly reasoned beliefs, weak beliefs, wishes, and lies. A belief can have any quantity of reasons, from zero to many, each with some degree of strength or lack thereof.
A belief that has no known reasons is a wish. Wishes may, in fact, be true. An absence of known reasons does not imply that reasons don’t exist. However, without good reasons to believe them, beliefs will not inspire the believer with sufficient confidence to do hard things—at least, not for very long.
Beliefs can be true even when there are reasons not to believe them. However, unless there exist stronger reasons for believing than disbelieving such a belief, it is dishonest to continue to believe such a belief until or unless new information is found.
Belief can come through reason, desire, or both. Beliefs founded on desire alone are not as powerful as beliefs founded on both reason and desire. You won’t act for very long or against much opposition unless you have both reasons and desire.
Belief founded on reason alone will not always win over alternatives based only on desire—you are always free to choose what to believe.
Unbelief
Unbelief is the opposite of belief. Unbelief is to refuse to believe something even when given sufficient reasons to.
As humans, we are constantly working against strong psychological and cognitive biases that prevent us from considering new ideas, especially those that contradict things we hold as important.
A prerequisite for belief is a willingness to consider beliefs other than those you already believe:
...even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words. (Alma 32:27)
While this seems obvious, it is a big problem.
In modern times, there is an all-out assault on both religious and secular belief. We are paradoxically told that long-standing historical beliefs are false and were always so, in spite of objective positive outcomes, while we are simultaneously told that modern, extreme deviations from these beliefs are true, have always been true, and will always be true, in spite of any supporting evidence to that end.
One of these new beliefs is that we are all the same—that any objective differences we see are either figments of the imagination or the vestigial effect of past injustice, and that no one should think or act differently than how they are told.
Belief, whether in the form of desires, reasons, or actions, will always differentiate people, because people will always choose to have different desires, find and accept different reasons, and take different actions.
Those who desire more than others will always live a different life than those who are satisfied with a lesser life. Those who reason more effectively than others will always develop more wisdom and knowledge than those who reason less effectively. Those who act more than others will always achieve more than those who are idle. The products of these practices are outcomes, and those who exceed their peers in one or more aspects of faith will always obtain outcomes beyond those who do not.
Don’t disbelieve anything you have been given sufficient reason to believe. Don’t believe anything you haven’t been given sufficient reason to believe at the cost of anything you have. Don’t buy into the lie that beliefs don’t matter. Ideas do, in fact, have consequences—massive consequences that extend through every outcome in life and in eternity.
Faithful steps tend to build on each other, magnifying the differences in outcomes between those who rightly wrangle with them and those who do not. Those who are willing to open-mindedly consider new information and walk in uncertain paths when given sufficient reason to will have much more abundant lives than those who are not.
Belief and uncertainty
Belief is a property that has to do with the perspective and choice of the holder, not the actual underlying truth of the belief itself with respect to reality. This is a strange idea, and yet it is critical to understand if one hopes to achieve more than mediocre outcomes in life and eternity. You can believe and yet not desire, and you can have reasons for a belief and yet choose not to believe it.
Belief exists across layers of confidence. The ability to have high confidence in a belief is based on your perception of the reasons that support the belief, not the set of all reasons (which may, in fact, contradict the belief) that transcend your perception. Your perception of reality is always severely limited compared to all that really is. Even when you are as certain as someone can be about something, your belief could be (and is, in fact, likely to be) incomplete or incorrect.
And yet, incomplete or incorrect beliefs can be highly effectual. All of science and religion alike attest to that fact.
To have unshakable belief in something, you must have reasons. However, those reasons will never be sufficient to finally prove your belief. Only experiencing the outcome can do that.
The uncertainty of belief is extremely important for several reasons.
First, you have to learn to act with the degree of confidence justified by your reasons. You must learn to shift your threshold of action from some concept of fundamental and unchangeable truth to what is sufficiently supported to justify specific actions.
Faith doesn’t operate on a yes or no basis of truth. Faith operates with sufficiently strong reasons to undertake the actions that seem to lead to the outcome at hand, as best you know, for now. That threshold of sufficient confidence for action will be different for every outcome: You don’t need massive reasons for taking a tiny action, and weak reasons are insufficient for massive actions. If you are locked into a cruder gradation of truth, reasons, and actions, you will be as limited in the number and goodness of outcomes you can attain as a child is in what he can build with big wooden blocks versus a full set of Legos.
Second, uncertainty affords you the opportunity to do more than simply walk across some minimum threshold of action. Uncertainty allows you to leap when the reasons support it. This is one meaning of what Jesus meant when he referred to the faith of a child.
We tend to excuse ourselves from belief in big things because we become aware that, while the reasons we know of are clearly in one direction, we simply don’t know everything. Is this not as true in any situation? If you applied that same standard to every situation, you would never act in anything. The question isn’t whether you know everything. The question is: based on what you can learn for now, does reason suggest that a specific set of drastic actions will lead to an outcome that you desire? If so, execute.
The ability to take bold, believing actions in spite of uncertainty is critical to obtaining the best outcomes in life. While God promises to make what is good and what is evil as plain to us as the difference between day and night (see Moroni 7:15), he does not promise that the gravity of the decision will be revealed to us at the outset. In other words, while he will show us which fork in the road is better, he will not typically show us by how much:
Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. (Alma 37:6)
Those who will act in the most reasonable way will learn, over time, that what they thought were small decisions have made massive differences in their lives.
Third, uncertainty keeps you extremely open to the fact that your belief is incorrect or incomplete. Nascent beliefs, when honestly considered, will either grow until they are sufficient to suggest action, or fade under inspection:
28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
29 Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge. 30 But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.
31 And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness. 32 Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.
33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good. (Alma 32)
As you execute the faith cycle, you will learn more and have many opportunities to revise your belief by changing your desires, reasons, actions, and outcomes. It is all too easy to prefer flawed but comfortable beliefs to uncertain but potentially better ideas. Life is full of scenarios where promising but unknown paths must be preferred to lesser but wellknown paths. Lean on reasoning. Always reconcile yourself to the full implications of what you presently know.
Fourth, there are mechanisms in this universe that operate based on the belief of the actor, independent of the absolute truthfulness of the belief. This property is much more common than you think. Rather than thinking of it as an exception, come to recognize it as the rule. The requirement of so many miracles, for example, is that you believe. While belief is not merely guessing or desiring, it doesn’t require knowing God’s will exactly. Belief means that you have sufficient reasons to believe that what you are asking will actually happen. On the one hand, you need a reason to believe. You will never be able to exercise perfect belief in something you have no reason to believe, or something you have good reason not to believe. Ignorance cannot generate perfect belief. On the other hand, if you have sufficient reason to believe, and insufficient reason not to believe, you must honestly have high confidence in your belief, until given a reason not to.
The ability to steadfastly believe in what you have reasons to believe is not something that is specific to any given belief. It is an extremely accurate indication of one’s honesty, in the most profound sense. One who is integrally honest will be perfectly reconciled to all their beliefs in all things at all times. One who falls short of this standard can’t exercise full faith, because they will always lack the belief necessary to act towards the same outcomes in the same ways as someone who is:
15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?
16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?
17 Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and say—Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth—and that he will save you?
18 Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God?
19 I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?
20 I say unto you, can ye think of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become subjects to the devil?
21 I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be saved; for there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.
22 And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against you? (Alma 5)
Belief requires shutting down doubt. Doubt is an obstacle to belief, but it is not insurmountable and it is not a bad thing.
Doubt and belief can’t coexist, but the way to vanquish doubt is not through willful insistence (also known as wishing). Instead, it is through learning : through greater observation and reasoning.
When the Lord said, “If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” (Matthew 21:21), he wasn’t saying “if you wish really hard, you can move mountains.” He was saying that the presence of doubt belies a lack of understanding how it is that mountains are moved and why trees are withered when cursed, according to God’s knowledge and purposes.
As long as it is honest doubt and not unbelief, doubt is a helpful indicator that suggests you need to spend more effort reasoning about that particular belief. If you find sufficient reason to overcome the doubt, you will have more confidence than previously. If you fail to find sufficient reason in spite of appropriate effort, you have gained freedom from a poorly supported belief, at least until sufficient new information is available.
Effect of belief of others
Like unbelief, belief is infectious. It is easier to have faith around those who have more faith than you. You will see this effect everywhere you look, in all aspects of life. Wise men and women of all walks of life have realized this truth, and they will tell you things such as “the people you surround yourself with will influence how you are,” and “the ideas you expose yourself to will determine your identity.”
Beliefs come from outside of you: from other people, or from God, or from the devil. These all operate in you, but they don’t start there.
Faith “comes” by “hearing” (see Romans 10:17). In this case, “hearing” means perceiving any invitation to believe in something that you don’t currently believe. It is possible to experience an invitation to believe without perceiving it. The scriptures are full of injunctions to “see” and “hear” these invitations: “Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.” (Isaiah 42:18) During his mortal ministry, Jesus repeatedly lamented his audience’s unwillingness to perceive in spite of their ability to do so:
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. (Matthew 13:13)
He commended those who responded to the invitations they were capable of perceiving:
But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. (Matthew 13:16)
“Hearing” is not limited to what you audibly perceive with your natural senses, though it includes that information. “Hearing” means receiving these signals in the multiple ways they can manifest, across the infinite breadth and infinite depth of information they can transmit. It means paying attention to them so that you can perceive them. It means honestly responding to them as justified by their content as soon as you perceive them.
The possession of beliefs by one person will make it easier for others to believe the same. In the idea phase, a belief can be spread from one person to another. Once put into practice, a belief generates evidence, making it easier for others to believe it. Or, as Jesus expressed, “wisdom is justified of her children.” (Matthew 11:19) A belief is hard won in the mind of the first person who receives it, but it is much more easily transmitted from person to person, just as it is easier to use an invention than create one.
The transmission of true beliefs through other people provides a way of catalyzing action in others that would not otherwise occur. This is how faith spreads: first appearing in the minds of those who exert the extreme effort necessary, then more easily spreading abroad to those who are unwilling to do the same:
22 For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing.
23 And God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ should come.
24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them.
25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ. 30 For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.
31 And the office of [angels] is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.
32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men. (Moroni 7)
Because the foregoing passage refers to faith in Christ, you may be tempted to assume it does not apply to all circumstances where one could have faith. Realize that “faith in Christ” refers to the full set of anything anyone can have faith in. Anytime you see someone catalyze action towards an otherwise unobtained outcome, you see this pattern in play. In all places and all circumstances, faith rests on the laws of cause and effect as they really are. These laws were generated by and fulfilled in Christ. Faith can be applied in any circumstance by any person, and it is fully applied when that person realizes that Christ is the fullness of the laws of cause and effect in all situations.
Effect of unbelief of others
The transmissible nature of beliefs is a benefit with true beliefs, but causes great harm with false beliefs. While those with more faith than you boost the signal, those with less faith than you attenuate it. Your exercise of faith will be impeded by the presence of those with less faith. Jesus couldn’t do great miracles in places where people had little faith (see Mark 6:5), and when he did work miracles, he noted how “virtue [went] out of [him].” (Luke 8:46)
Avoiding the presence of those with less faith is one way to mitigate their negative influence. For example, when Jesus went to raise a young girl from death, he first dismissed those who would not believe from the room:
40 And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.
42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. (Mark 5)
Sometimes, it is not practical to separate yourself from those with less faith. In such cases, what becomes important is the duration and frequency of time you can spend apart from them. The more faith you have in comparison to those around you, the more often you will have to do this. Jesus routinely left everyone to be alone with the Father. All of the righteous ancients did the same, to some extent.
When you are figuratively or literally in the mountains, this is the place and time where you access the deepest, fullest faith to obtain, articulate, distill, and refine ideas. These times away from those who would detract from your faith are like jumping in zero gravity. You will have an easier time obtaining, developing, and refining ideas regarding your desires, reasons, actions, and outcomes. Leverage that time to capture those ideas and carry them back into times and places where you interact with others of less faith. Always have a means to write down and revise everything you can while there. At the conclusion of these sessions, you can go back into the world and act from your recorded plans, leaning on your preparation to push back against the faithlessness of others around you.
Belief as action
The choice to believe can be a substantial form of action in and of itself. For most people, the difference between a known and unknown path is separated by a gulf of belief that is excruciatingly difficult for them to cross, even when very strong reasons and desires exist to suggest it should be done.
No one is forced to exercise faith. Everyone has the choice to believe or not:
Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds. (Alma 42:27)
Jesus routinely counseled his followers to not only act, but also choose to believe (see, for example, Mark 5:36). Some substantial outcomes require tremendous belief, but hardly any physical action. For example, mountains can be moved, the dead can be raised, the sick healed, and many other mighty miracles, by speaking only if one believes:
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. (Matthew 21:22)
And Jesus said unto them...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (Matthew 17:20)
Actual belief is such a deep test of the heart. If you can say something and truly believe it, it will be done. This isn’t a blank check, because sincerity constrains what can be done through:
- Your knowledge of God. If you know that you know nothing about God, how can you be confident in your belief? You can’t believe in God completely in ignorance.
- Your obedience to God. Your confidence will be commensurate with the degree to which you have fully reconciled to God in your desires, thoughts, words, and actions.
Plausible details
If you can’t describe what you believe in detail, do you really believe it? Could you explain your reasons to others? Can you make a coherent, cogent case as to why you expect these actions will generate the outcome you seek?
One reason some struggle to believe is that they have not done the work to lay out a plausible path to the outcome they seek. As described elsewhere in this book, the more audacious your objective, the less likely you are to know all the details of how it will actually come to be (see, for example, Figure 2). However, if you can’t describe one way that it might come to be in such a way that it is plausible to believe it could happen, you are highly likely to fail to act sufficiently to bring it to pass.
As you learn more details through acting, you can and should revise your best understanding of a plausible path to your outcome.
The more vivid your expectations, the more motivating they will be. Details can pull you through almost any obstacle.
If you don’t have details, you will never have strong enough desires to achieve the outcomes you desire. If you don’t have details, you will never have strong enough reasons to persevere through obstacles that tend to increase in frequency and intensity commensurate with the value of the outcome. If you don’t have details, you will never make all the right choices necessary for the outcomes you seek, which tend to increase in frequency and importance commensurate with the value of the outcome.
Details are not without cost. The more vivid your expectations, the more you will be tempted to be disappointed when you are proven wrong. Don’t be. Every additional piece of revelation is a step that brings you closer to what you seek. Being correct from step one does not yield your outcome. Learning where you need to improve to get there does.
#Chapter 8: Faith Exists by Degrees
Reading descriptions of faith such as those found in Hebrews 11 may lead a reader to think that faith is a binary attribute that you either have or don’t have. That is not the case.
Faith is not a binary attribute. Faith is a continuous attribute. It exists by degrees. You can have a little, or you can have a lot, or anything in between. This is why faith is described variously as great or weak, sufficient or lacking.
Different people have different amounts of faith. Everyone has some faith. Faith is inseparable from action. All actions happen through faith. Having no faith at all would rob you of the ability to act of your own volition. You would merely be acted upon.
You have yet to meet a single person who has no faith, no matter how evil they may be, and no matter how much of an enemy to God they are. Even Satan is full of faith:
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (James 2:19)
His faith, like ours and like God’s, is the source of his power. You can’t have power without having faith.
Faith varies in which aspect of the faith cycle it is manifested and in degree. You can have great or small desires, great or small reasons, or great or small actions. In concert, these will determine the greatness or smallness of the outcomes you receive.
Those who are “more faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord” will be “favored of the Lord,” receiving manifestations of his power such as answered prayers and miracles (see Mosiah 10:13).
For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he showed himself not unto the world. (Ether 12:7)
Great faith makes it possible to receive great outcomes. For example, the brother of Jared saw the Lord many years before his birth because of his “exceeding faith” (see Ether 3).
Great faith
What does it mean to have great faith?
Great faith means taking the next logical step beyond what you were explicitly told. So often we limit our faith by refraining from the logical extensions of our belief. The centurion who sent his friends to Jesus to request him to heal his servant had great faith:
6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:
7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. (Luke 7)
The centurion not only recognized that, if Jesus could heal others, he could heal the centurion’s servant, but also realized that anyone who had power from God to heal would also be able to do it without being present. Great faith means acting as extremely as your reasons suggest. In order to reach Jesus, a group of four lowered their handicapped friend through the roof of the house where Jesus was. Some might consider their actions excessive:
3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. (Mark 2)
Yet, was there anything excessive about it? If you cared about your friend, you believed there was a way he could have a normal life, and you found a man who was healing the sick, would you not do this and more to get in front of him? Most people today will go through more trouble than this just to see their favorite band play or to go on vacation.
Great faith means pushing forward with the reasons you have in spite of strong opposition and abundant reason for hurt feelings. One woman was commended for her faith when she pressed forward in spite of several rounds of poor treatment from the apostles and even Jesus:
22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. (Matthew 15)
The woman pushed forward in spite of the apostles telling her to leave, Jesus telling her to leave, and Jesus calling her a dog. The fact that she didn’t turn away from her still-valid reasons for believing Jesus was capable of healing her daughter evidenced her great faith.
Great faith means you will have a willingness to act on information received, even if it is new or strange. So often we won’t take the necessary actions to further investigate new possibilities just because they are different from what we already believe. A willingness to believe must precede new knowledge. An ancient queen exemplified a willingness to act on information received when she set aside her status and her previous beliefs after her servants suggested that a man named Ammon was a prophet and could perform miracles:
2 Now the queen having heard of the fame of Ammon, therefore she sent and desired that he should come in unto her.
3 And it came to pass that Ammon did as he was commanded, and went in unto the queen, and desired to know what she would that he should do.
4 And she said unto him: The servants of my husband have made it known unto me that thou art a prophet of a holy God, and that thou hast power to do many mighty works in his name;
5 Therefore, if this is the case, I would that ye should go in and see my husband, for he has been laid upon his bed for the space of two days and two nights; and some say that he is not dead, but others say that he is dead and that he stinketh, and that he ought to be placed in the sepulchre; but as for myself, to me he doth not stink.
6 Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—
7 Therefore, what the queen desired of him was his only desire. Therefore, he went in to see the king according as the queen had desired him; and he saw the king, and he knew that he was not dead.
8 And he said unto the queen: He is not dead, but he sleepeth in God, and on the morrow he shall rise again; therefore bury him not.
9 And Ammon said unto her: Believest thou this? And she said unto him: I have had no witness save thy word, and the word of our servants; nevertheless I believe that it shall be according as thou hast said.
10 And Ammon said unto her: Blessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith; I say unto thee, woman, there has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites.
11 And it came to pass that she watched over the bed of her husband, from that time even until that time on the morrow which Ammon had appointed that he should rise. (Alma 19)
She believed that he could raise her husband from his coma in spite of the fact that the only reason she had to believe stemmed from the words of her servants and this foreign missionary.
Great faith means you conduct multiple traversals through the faith cycle without resisting or rejecting. It means you seek and obtain all value from all people and situations you have access to. In the case of messengers from God, this means learning and living everything they know about God that you don’t. Jesus commended the Nephites for their faith because, in one sitting, they had listened to and believed everything he had taught the Jews over several years:
35 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying he came again to the disciples, and said unto them: So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not show unto them so great miracles, because of their unbelief.
36 Verily I say unto you, there are none of them that have seen so great things as ye have seen; neither have they heard so great things as ye have heard. (3 Nephi 19)
The more consistently and speedily you make it through the faith cycle without resisting or rejecting, the more abundant your outcomes will be in frequency and quality.
Little faith
What does it mean to have little faith?
You have little faith when you are so concerned with immediate circumstances that you can’t make decisions with respect to long-term consequences. Jesus said that our whole desire must be completely focused on the glory of God:
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6)
There is no space in the life of a disciple of Christ for worldly desires, except as couched in and subordinate to the desire to seek and follow God’s will in all things:
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6)
You have little faith when you fail to exercise your capacity to reason. Jesus chastised the disciples for having little faith when they opted not to understand his teaching about the leaven of the Pharisees, even when it should have been very easy for them to understand:
5 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. (Matthew 16)
You have little faith when you refuse to believe, even when given sufficient reasons to. Jesus chastised his disciples for having little faith because they did not believe him when he told them they had power to heal the sick:
14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (Matthew 17)
Jesus also chastised the eleven apostles after his resurrection because they did not believe the account of those who had first seen his resurrected body:
Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. (Mark 16:14)
You have little faith when you abort the process of faith by remaining in an emotive state, failing to advance to reasoning about cause and effect.
Jesus chastised his apostles for being so afraid and worried when their boat was caught in a storm:
23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! (Matthew 8)
What makes this story even sadder is remembering that several of the apostles were fisherman who surely had experience weathering storms, and thus had even less justification for being worried.
You have little faith when you doubt a course that was rationally designed without receiving new evidence sufficient to motivate a change or to cause doubt. Peter suffered from little faith when, after seeing that Jesus could enable him to walk on water, he ignored reason and succumbed to fear:
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? (Matthew 14)
Gaining and losing faith
Faith can fluctuate. There are choices you can make to lose it, and there are choices you can make to increase it.
Gaining faith happens internally. Faith happens in you, not to you. It happens in your mind and in your heart, as you introspect and pay attention to what you think and what you feel and why. It happens as you act on what you already know. It happens as you change your desires and augment your reasons.
You lose faith by refusing to act when given sufficient reason to. You gain faith by acting when given sufficient reason to. Faith increases as you seek God and as you reconcile yourself to what he teaches you:
Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God. (Helaman 3:35)
Calling on God as you contend with the challenge of reconciling to what you know is a sign of faith, and will bring more faith, so long as you are sincere.
Calling on God without an intent to change and without sincerity will not help you build faith. When a father pled with Jesus to help his son, Jesus said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” (Mark 9:23) The man didn’t have sufficient faith, but he used what he had to implore the Lord for help:
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. (Mark 9:24)
The father did not delay—he asked straightway. He did not weakly request—he cried out. He was not limply emotionless—he said it with tears. You lose faith by ignoring opportunities to learn more about reality. You gain faith by making the most of every opportunity to understand more about reality. Rather than thinking of faith as a gift from God, think of it as a matched gift. You can’t beg God for faith and expect him to magically give you more without your contribution.
Success in life is not a function of your ability to beg God. A successful business person is not just another homeless person who happened to beg more or make a more convincing sign to hold up. He found the rules of the game, and he played the game better than those who were less successful. If you want success in life, you will obtain it in the same way. You will discover the rules God lives by, and you will choose to live by them. The more effort you put into discovering the rules, and the more closely you obey them, the more you will progress towards being all that God is and, because of that, having all that he has.
An ancient military leader wrote about how he gained faith in his challenges through calling upon God:
10 Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people.
11 Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him. 13 And thus we did go forth with all our might... (Alma 58)
This man was praying in belief with great effort and the intent to act accordingly. He wasn’t begging God to magically change outcomes. He was praying for confidence to act and wisdom in knowing how to act. He was asking God to magnify his own willing contribution.
You lose faith by intentionally acting contrary to the best you know how. You gain faith by acting in the best way you know. Faith will not increase against your will. To increase in faith, you have to start by doing what you already know.
When a group of prisoners were enshrouded in supernatural darkness, they cried out in horror, presuming they didn’t know what to do about it. One of their fellow prisoners reminded them that three missionaries had already taught them what they should do:
40 And it came to pass that the Lamanites said unto him: What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us?
41 And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you. (Helaman 5)
Faith exists by degrees. Only those who develop great faith will encounter all outcomes available to us in this life and beyond.