To begin exploring this concept, consider that those who believed in Christ before he came to earth as a mortal received the same blessings as those who believed in him after giving his life as a witness to his reality and mission:
`Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son, and ye may obtain a resurrection, according to the power of the resurrection which is in Christ, and be presented as the first-fruits of Christ unto God, having faith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the flesh. (Jacob 4:11)`
`And the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them. (Mosiah 3:13)`
`And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole. (Enos 1:8)`
This kind of faith doesn’t just apply to forgiveness of sins through Jesus. Abraham exercised this kind of faith by leaving his homeland and traveling to a new land—two explicitly temporal actions—even though he had never seen it and did not know how to get there:
By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. (Hebrews 11:8)
Note that, in these cases and all besides, these people were still acting on information. They weren’t guessing or wishing. The difference between these situations and those without faith is that the information was ideological, not experiential: it consisted of desires and reasons concerning the future, not physical sensations experienced in the present.
There are outcomes God possesses and desires to share that can only be obtained through faith. If one does not act in faith before obtaining the knowledge that renders faith impossible, they cannot obtain the same standing as those who believed before having that information. Those who require a physical witness before acting can’t have the same results as those who are willing to act on ideas only. Once you see it, you can’t have the same share of blessings as those who believe and act without seeing it. Those who believe without seeing are blessed more than those who first see and then believe.
For example, after his resurrection, Jesus explained how those who believed him because of the words of his apostles would be blessed above those who believed because they had seen him:
1 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called, (now the number of them who had been called, and received power and authority to baptize, was twelve) and behold, he stretched forth his hand unto the multitude, and cried unto them, saying: Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am.
2 And again, <u>more blessed are they who shall believe in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that</u> ye know that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins. (3 Nephi 12)
Note here that believing in the words of those who testify of ideas superior to your own is not the same as outsourcing your faith to another. Hearing comes by faith, but faith is not limited to merely hearing. Hearing must be followed by obtaining and evaluating reasons to believe and acting so as to obtain the firsthand knowledge that will always come from living truth.
Those who are willing to act for mental reasons to the same extent as they would for physical reasons obtain greater outcomes because of the law of justice:
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, <u>do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?</u>
15 Yea, he that truly humbleth himself, and repenteth of his sins, and endureth to the end, the same shall be blessed—yea, <u>much more blessed than they who are compelled to be humble.... (Alma</u> 32)
They are willing to do more with less, therefore they will obtain more.