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.