MANIFESTING POWER OF FAITH

 

“If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.

“If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there would be no evil – all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls.

“Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood.”

-          President Spencer, W. Kimball, “Faith Precedes the Miracle”, p 97

In all that President Kimball said here, the test of strength, development of character and growth of power is the most significant. 

A few years ago I wrote a post on the social media extolling the virtues of Christ’s grace and His power to save us, but not only in regards to our overall salvation, but in every aspect of our lives. I basically attacked the often repeated phrase of our day, “you are enough”. I said we are never enough without Him.  My comments highly aggravated one reader who commented to me that I was wrong to be making people believe in and rely on a person they couldn’t even see. She said when she needed something to happen in her life, she gathered up all her strength and she went ahead and did it, not relying on anyone else. I thought at the time that this was her way of denying the existence and power of Christ. I replied that I don't have the power to make anyone do anything, it is up to the individual what they believe and do.

I have learnt since then there is some truth in this. I had come to the point where my faith in God became the only thing I relied on, to the denial of my own power. I have learnt of late that sometimes we rely on God far too much to do things for us, to rescue us from situations we don’t like, to heal our cracks, to make every situation better….and when He doesn’t we question His goodness, His mercy and even, in the end, His existence.

Imagine if God did everything for us. We would remain like toddlers for eternity, relying on a parent for our very existence. Sometimes we forget that we are here to rise to the status of a god. Some years ago I received an understanding that we are here to learn to harness the power of faith, without which we cannot become gods…..but not just any faith. The faith that we are to have in our control is manifesting faith. This is the power of the individual.

This is manifesting faith…. It is speaking the Word and creation comes into being (John 1:1-3); it is sending forth the winds, the rains and the floods from your mouth and controlling the elements according to your will (Ether 2:24); it is cursing the fig tree and watching it wither as you speak (Matthew 21:19,20); it is speaking to the tempest waves of the sea and watch it become still (Mark 4:39). It is seeing the end result in your mind and bringing it into being.

Brother of Jared learnt this lesson well when he presented 16 stones to the Lord and saw His finger light them up (Ether 3: 4-6) and when he ‘said unto the mountain Zerin, “remove” – it was removed.’ (Ether 12: 30). If God exercised His power in our behalf constantly, we would never come to learn of the strength of our own power. Yes, there are things that are beyond us at times, when we can do something ourselves and when we have to rely on the Lord. The wisdom is in knowing the difference. If we combined faith in ourselves and faith in God, we would be unstoppable.

Think about it…..Christ couldn’t walk for Peter on the sea of Galilee….He could only say: “Come” (Matthew 14:29)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Come by David Bowman)

FAITH

 

“There are two kinds of faith. One of them functions ordinarily in the life of every soul. It is the kind of faith born by experience; it gives us certainty that a new day will dawn, that spring will come, that growth will take place. It is the kind of faith that relates us with confidence to that which is scheduled to happen.

“There is another kind of faith, rare indeed. This is the kind of faith that causes things to happen. It is the kind of faith that is worthy and prepared and unyielding, and it calls forth things that otherwise would not be. It is the kind of faith that moves people.

“It is the kind of faith that sometimes moves things….It comes by gradual growth. It is a marvelous, even a transcendent power, a power as real and as invisible as electricity. Direct and channeled, it has great effect….”

-          Boyd K. Packer, “What is Faith” in FAITH [1983] p 42-3

 

For now I walk unsteady steps

On this earthly soil beneath my feet

But one day I will run to You

With perfect faith in waves of deep.

 

And when in distance Your glory beckons,

When You come to take me home,

I will run into Your arms

And forever be Your own. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Focus On Me, Not the Storm by Brent Borup)

YET TO COME

 

I am sure many of us know of more records that are yet to be revealed. In relation to this, Elder Neal A. Maxwell said: “Today we carry convenient quadruple combinations of the scriptures, but one day, since more scriptures are coming, we may need to pull little red wagons brimful with books” (A Wonderful Flood of Light [1990], p 18). Does this seem overwhelming to those of us who do not study the scriptures now??? It should, because we cannot be given more if we are not ready to receive it.

This is what is yet to come: writings of Enoch (D&C 107:57); writings of Apostle John (Ether 4:16); records of the Lost Tribes (2 Nephi 29:13); the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon comprising approximately two thirds of the record (2 Nephi 27:10,11; see Elder Maxwell’s quoted book). Does it not blow your mind that what we have now is only one third??? Do we know the one third well enough to be given another two thirds to study?. This is what caught my eye the most as I studied 2 Nephi 27 in relation to the sealed portion: the revelations contained in the sealed portion ‘reveal all things from the foundation of the world unto the end thereof….and the day cometh that the words of the book which were sealed shall be read upon the house tops’ (vs 10,11).

And this is the most intriguing part of the sealed portion. Besides the writings of Apostle John which are also contained therein (Ether 4:16), Moroni wrote upon the sealed section ‘the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared’ (v4). I can only assume these revelations are those that ‘reveal all things from the foundation of the world unto the end thereof’. Moroni also states that the Lord commanded him to write these revelations and seal them up together with the interpretation thereof (v5).

And here is something that we need to know. The Lord said to Moroni that these revelations will not be revealed until: 1. the Gentiles shall repent and become ‘clean before the Lord’ (v6) and 2. The Gentiles exercise faith in the Lord even as the brother of Jared did (v7). 'The Gentiles' here refers to us, His Church. He says the revelations were manifested to the Brother of Jared and the Lord will manifest them to us. The operative word here is MANIFEST. Why? Because the brother of Jared did not have just any old weak as water faith….he had a manifesting faith that he exercised when he saw the finger of the Lord.

I am fascinated with the concept of ‘manifesting faith’. I remember when Jesus was walking towards Jerusalem with His disciples. He was hungry and sought figs on a barren tree. He cursed the tree and it withered before their eyes (Matthew 21:19-22). This is manifesting faith….when you bring into reality something that aligns with your belief. This is the faith that manifested the Lord’s finger to the Brother of Jared. This is the faith that is going to be required of us to bring the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon into reality. I think we have some work to do…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Brother of Jared by Emily Pugmire)