More Faith

When my students catch hold of the idea that faith is not just a mental exercise of coming to know that Jesus is the Christ but that it is also a power that gives them strength and allows them to do things they couldn’t possibly do without it, they want to know how to gain more faith. The answer is simple. To gain more faith we must be more obedient.

In King Benjamin’s beautiful sermon he says that the Lord “doth require that ye should so as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you” (Mosiah 2:24). There are many blessings attached to commandments. For example, one of the blessings of living the Word of Wisdom is that we “shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint” (D&C 89:20). But while that blessing will come to all who live the Word of Wisdom, it is not the immediate blessing.

The immediate blessing that is given every time we obey a commandment of God is increased faith. Every time we choose to do what is right we grow in faith. It is immediate and it is unvarying. Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, “Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness. It is always given when righteousness is present, and the greater the measure of obedience to God's laws the greater will be the endowment of faith” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd Edition, [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft] p. 264).

Knowing how faith comes helps motivate me to keep the commandments. When I’m tempted to do something wrong I know that if I give in I will miss out on the faith that could have been mine if I had obeyed. And I need all the faith I can get!